Launched as the official cryptocurrency of the unLOCK Art festival, bLOCKcoin was designed to pay tribute to canal scrip, an historic currency that played a major role in the development of the Illinois & Michigan Canal and the town of Lockport, IL.

A website was launched for festival goers to learn about the project, with instructions on how to buy bLOCKcoin and to see what local shops it could be redeemed at around town during the festival. Limited edition sculptural objects were sold at these shops with the intention of driving foot traffic into small businesses in the area.

The cryptocurrency was released with a multichannel video installation inside the First National Bank of Lockport, and later relocated to the Illinois State Museum which served as a currency exchange.