Tiger King is now a cryptocoin

FILE – In this Aug. 28, 2013, file photo, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, answers a question during an interview at the zoo he runs in Wynnewood, Okla. The Oklahoma zoo, featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King” documentary, has closed after federal authorities investigated it for alleged maltreatment of animals and suspended its license. The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park closed to the public after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, suspended the exhibitor license for current-owner Jeff Lowe for 21 days.(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

by: Hicham Raache/KFOR, Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: May 27, 2021 / 07:00 PM AST

Updated: May 27, 2021 / 03:26 PM AST

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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Tiger King pop culture wave has now crashed onto cryptocurrency.

Tiger-King Crypto Coins are now available for purchase, according to the website of Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage. Money raised from the coins will go toward a defense fund created for Maldonado-Passage, the self-proclaimed Tiger King.

Cryptocurrency is digital money secured by encryption technology.

Maldonado-Passage is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for two counts of hiring someone to murder Carole Baskin, a big cat advocate and his long-time rival, as well as 17 federal wildlife violations that include killing tigers he kept at his Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.

The story of Maldonado-Passage and his feud with Baskin was told in the Netflix docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” which became a massive hit for the streaming service.