Terry Crews Launches $POWER: A New Era for Artists and Fans

Renowned actor Terry Crews is venturing into the realm of blockchain technology. Collaborating with social currency startup Roll, Crews is introducing his own social currency, designated as $POWER.

Understanding Social Currency

The concept of social currency allows creators to redefine their interactions with fans and users. Roll facilitates the creation and distribution of these currencies, built on the ERC-20 standard. Creators then establish methods for their communities to both earn and utilize these digital assets.

Roll’s founder and CEO, Bradley Miles, explained to TechCrunch that this represents a “mass personalization of content.” He further noted that, similarly to content creation, anyone can now generate their own form of money.

The system mirrors the accumulation and redemption of credit card rewards, but bypasses traditional financial institutions. Creators reward engagement with their work by distributing social currency, which fans can then exchange for exclusive content or merchandise.

Roll's Growing Ecosystem

Currently, approximately 300 creators, including Terry Crews, are utilizing the Roll platform. The company, backed by investors such as Balaji Srinivasan and Trevor McFedries, recently surpassed a $1 billion market capitalization for its social currencies.

To illustrate the functionality, Bradley Miles provided an example, gifting .10 $WHALE (valued at around $3). This allowed for a firsthand experience of how creators are leveraging Roll, specifically to acquire Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

However, a specific NFT, the Podmork Pix 35 WS, priced at 28 $WHALE, remained beyond immediate reach.

$POWER: Empowering the Community

Crews intends for $POWER to be earned through purchases of blockchain-based art, NFTs, physical products, and unique experiences. Initial community engagement will occur through a dedicated Discord channel, with access granted to those holding 50 $POWER.

“If I give you $POWER, you own a piece of me,” Crews stated, emphasizing the significance of carefully selecting those who hold this currency.

Long-Term Vision: Artist Empowerment

While still in its early stages, Crews envisions $POWER eventually facilitating interest-free microloans for artists. The overarching objective is to empower creators and provide them with greater control over their work.

“That’s our long-term plan,” Crews said. “To become this thing that this community can live and exist in. You could use it anywhere you are — at Target, the grocery store.”

The Catalyst for Change

Crews’ interest in this technology stems from a personal experience approximately four years ago.

While attempting to purchase furniture from a respected artist at Salone del Mobile in Milan, he encountered difficulty securing the necessary funds. His request for assistance from American Express was met with a referral to a local bank.

The bank manager, upon seeing Crews, immediately refused his request. Crews observed that other patrons were being served without issue, leading him to believe he was denied service due to his race.

“I’m watching all these white men and women pass me in line, and they’re looking at me strangely,” Crews recounted. “I’d been standing there for 15 minutes and it slowly dawns on me that because I’m Black, I was not going to get my money.” “That was the moment I knew everything had to change for me.”

He ultimately resorted to a check-cashing service, even requiring a reluctant Uber driver to take him there, to obtain the funds.

“Bringing it up still makes me angry,” he admitted. “What I love about this new world of finance is that cryptocurrency does not know what race you are, how old you are.”

A Future Without Gatekeepers

Through $POWER, Crews aims to restore power to artists and creators. He believes this new system eliminates the barriers that previously hindered their success.

“There’s no gatekeeper to tell us no,” he declared.

Crews also plans to share his own content directly with the $POWER community, granting collective ownership to its members.

“This is bigger than me,” he emphasized. “This is a new future.”

Beyond $POWER: A Wider Vision

Miles envisions a future where $POWER and similar social currencies are widely accepted, potentially at locations like movie theaters or Paramount Pictures properties.

“[Social currency] is not to replace the dollar,” Miles clarified. “It’s to complement [money] and do work that probably the dollar is not suited to do.”

Separation from Hollywood

Crews clarified that his involvement with $POWER doesn’t signify a departure from Hollywood, but rather a consequence of past experiences. He previously sued William Morris Endeavor in 2017, alleging harassment by an executive, and settled the case in 2018.

“And they were done with me,” he said. “But the deal is, is that I had my power. I still had my talent. William Morris threatened to end everything I’m doing. But everything I’m doing right now, you can’t take. So that’s when I separated from Hollywood. I’ve never felt like a Hollywood person, even to this day. But every artist out there probably feels the same way. They want their power.”