Bitcoin is betting on the glitz and glamour of television to help shed its infamous image in Japan.
The popular digital currency and its underlying technology is about to get the television treatment in Japan starting October, according to Cointelegraph.
BitGirls is a cryptocurrency-themed show that “will involve blockchain voting and a crowd sale,” which will be hosted by digital currency exchange Zaif. The show, according to the report, will give audience tokens that they can use to vote for their favorite contestants.
Takao Asayama, CEO of the digital currency exchange, told the news outlet: “With the power of the blockchain we can simulate each girl member as if they are a ‘corporation’ by issuing tokens.”
Viewers, which Asayama referred to as “Torekabu holders,” will have tokens that they can use “as dividends to make a scenario for each episode.”
Asayama said the show is currently auditioning 10 girls to become contestants. So far, three contestants are “ready to join.”
Bitcoin’s has suffered in Japan following the collapse of popular digital currency exchange Mt. Gox in 2014 and the subsequent arrest of its CEO, Mark Karpeles, on allegations of tinkering with the company’s data to inflate the balance of his personal account, which he allegedly used to pay for his personal expenses and on a good bang with “several women whom he met at venues that offer sexual services.”
The Mt. Gox incident has prompted lawmakers in Japan to pass a bill that will regulate virtual currency exchanges and their operators. The new law defines virtual currencies like bitcoin as “asset-like values,” allowing digital money to be used not only to buy goods and services but also as an alternative for legal tender. However, operators dealing in digital currency are required to register with the Financial Services Agency.
Current bitcoin price and trade volume
The price of bitcoin dropped to $596 on Friday morning, with a trade volume of $23.65 million.
