As reported on various news sites, and illustrated at coinyewest.com, the currency will launch on 11 January with the catchphrases “we ain’t minin’, we pickin” and “we takin’ shots at Bitcoin”.
In an interview with music website Noisey, a spokesperson behind the new venture said the goal was to “make it easier for people to use cryptocurrency”.
West himself has not authorised the launch, though the spokesperson offered to send him 100,000 Coinyes if he was to “name check” the idea.
In November, the value of the Bitcoin surged to almost $1,000, but its prospects were hit last month when the People’s Bank of China announced it was prohibiting Chinese financial institutions from using it.
Other cryptocurrencies have been launched in recent months including Ripple, Litecoin, Peercoin and Namecoin.