The idea to create a marketplace where Monero was being used was termed Project Coral Reef. It was mainly supported by Riccardo ‘fluffypony’ Spagni, one of Monero’s founders, and Naveen Jain. Funds for the project were crowdsourced, where some 200 contributors funded the project but remained anonymous. It was launched on the 6th of December with several online stores available, but mostly for buying music albums from celebrity musicians.
At the time of the launch, there were already 45 celebrity musicians who had accepted to support Monero. From the marketplace, fans would be able to purchase music albums and even merchandise. Several celebrity musicians even offer discounts for using Monero, up to 15% off. The online stores too offer discounts, for example Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento. Some of these celebrity musicians who accept Monero as payment include Mariah Carey, Marilyn Manson, Sia, Backstreet Boys and other popular names.