Mazacoin Launched as Native American Cousin of Bitcoin

Since it was first spotted on the World Wide Web a few years ago, Bitcoin has had a very interesting history. The virtual currency has become one that is accepted at more businesses than some would have ever imagined. Not every story about Bitcoin has been a positive one however.

There have been numerous reports talking about the negatives of the new currency, including one story about someone actually managing to collect the virtual money as ransom against a police department. Now, a new currency, being called Mazacoin has risen as the official currency of the Lakota Nation. The tribe specifically created the cousin of Bitcoin in order to wage a bit of a virtual war against the United States and its regulations when it comes to economic policy.

Native American activist Payu Harris is at the front of this brewing fight, as he gaveled the meeting officially releasing Mazacoin onto the world into action. At the meeting, Harris was wiling to sell the new currency for 10 cents a piece. As two people came up to him and asked to make some purchases, he started hunting around the room, so he could print out the bill of sale.

Tribes have been using Mazacoin over the last month and say it makes it easier to spend money at reservation stores. They can also easily translate the currency into dollars when they want to journey to the nearest Walmart or Target (News - Alert). While the United States does not actually recognize Mazacoin, Harris says that isn’t really an issue as long as trading and use is done on reservation property.

"We're on sovereign soil so we have the right to have Bitcoin, Litecoin, MazaCoin," Harris recently told The Verge. There are some who believe that the U.S. will push back if Mazacoin takes off the same way that Bitcoin has. Some of the leadership of the Lakota Nation have said they expect a fight on a legal level, with the government hitting them with citations. Some in the tribe believe the fight is worth it in order to establish independence.