The campaigns on the significance of marijuana have continued to expand its wings across the globe and most countries are slowly withdrawing their initial tough legal policies on the growth and consumption of cannabis products. This is despite the federal legislation still categorizes cannabis as illegal thus making difficult for business operators to conduct business through established traditional financial institutions such as banks.
However, with the rapid adoption of digital currencies such as cryptocurrencies, cannabis operations have become easier, allowing operators to carry out financial transactions via a selection of cryptocurrencies. Though Bitcoin is the pioneer and popular form of digital currency, other emerging coins are changing the rules of the game. Currently, operators in the cannabis industry are carrying out their financial transactions through the support of cannabis-related crypto coins.
There is a wide range of digital coins that support cannabis businesses. Table 1 describes five popular coins that have dominated the cannabis industry based on market cap and business volume as of October 22, 2019:
Table 1: 5 Popular Cannabis Cryptos
| Cannabis | Technology | Financial Backing | Founders | Year Established | Trending Volume | Market Value |
| Potcoin (POT) | Proof-of-work and uses HD wallets, the fastest network compared to Bitcoin | It backs financial transactions for marijuana operators | Joel Yaffe | 2014-2017 | 420,000,000 | $1,359,976 USD |
| GreenMed (GRMD) | Blockchain technology | Supports cryptocurrency applications | David Gahan and others | 2017 | 14,899,993 | $1,539 USD |
| HempCoin (THC) | Blockchain technology code -Komodo | Supports farmers, medical and recreational businesses | Timothy Renzetti | 2014 | 252,974,337 | $614,660 USD |
| DopeCoin (DOPE) | Proof-of-stake currency | Provide easy ways of conducting business in cannabis world | Adam Howell | 2014 | 116,845,228 | $196.1K |
| CannabisCoin (CANN) | Proof-of-work, Peer-to-peer open system and virtual wallets | To easy financial transaction for cannabis operators | N/A | 2014 | 91,859,176 | $294,885 USD |
- Potcoin (POT)
PotCoin is one of the well-established cryptocurrencies that supports cannabis industry. The coin was launched in 2014 by Joel Yaffe in Colorado to support the marijuana business operations. The coin gained popularity in 2017 after NBA star Dennis Rodman made highlights on the benefits of the currency. This made the coin to hit the market cap of up to $2.77 million for the previous $81,547 in 2014 (PotCoin.com). PotCoin provides cannabis industry with the decentralized infrastructure and payment system to allow free flow of transactions.
Source: Coinmarketcap.com
- GreenMed (GRMD)
GreenMed was established in 2017 by a team of entrepreneurs including David Dahan as an electronic payment platform to enable customers of cannabis products to purchase products and services, especially in dispensaries. It uses Ethereum based currencies unlike other cryptocurrencies such as PotCoin and CannabisCoin that only support Bitcoin currencies.
Source: Coinmarketcap.com
- HempCoin (THC)
HempCoin was founded in 2014 by Timothy Renzetti to provide a platform to enable individual buyers to easily purchase their marijuana products. The cryptocurrency is popular among the farmers and medical dispensaries. It caters to all types of natural products and it is not limited to marijuana.
Source: Coinmarketcap.com
- CannabisCoin (CANN)
CannabisCoin is a digital currency coin offering peer-to-peer, proof-of-work platform that connects cannabis dispensaries across the regions that have legalized. The coin was established in 2014 by a group of cannabis enthusiasts known as the “Yes We CANN” team to provide alternative payment solutions to the medical cannabis.
It converts the digital currencies into the cannabis form thus allowing easy transactions between buyers and sellers. According to coinmarketcap.com, the coin has a market cap of $294,885.
Source: Coinmarketcap.com
- DopeCoin (DOPE)
DopeCoin was established in 2014 by James Allen to provide a secure financial solution platform to enhance the operations of marijuana markets in legalized regions.
Source: Coinmarketcap.com
