Virtual Currency Girls: A Japanese pop group singing about cryptocurrency

As bitcoin’s 1,500 per cent rally this year has left crypto-maniac Japanese investors likely sitting on hefty gains, there's a new element in town, a musical one, adding to the craze.

Kasotsuka Shojo, which translates to "the Virtual Currency Girls", is the new band singing about personal finance and wants to educate the world about bitcoin and the wonders of it.

The lead singer of the group 18-year-old Rara Naruse says the band wants to promote the idea of cryptocurrency through entertainment that virtual currencies are not just for speculation but a great technology that will shape the future.

Every member of the eight-person all-girl group represents a different virtual currency, including Ethereum and Ripple. The luchador-style masks adorned with the members’ representative virtual currency symbols are also a bizarre addition to their image.

According to management firm Cinderella Academy, the band is set to hold their debut concert in Tokyo on Friday where people will be able to purchase merchandise with cryptocurrency only, Inverse Culture reported.

Once sceptics, Japanese retail investors have been attracted by the digital currency's volatility and inefficiencies in pricing that create opportunities to make money on arbitrage between exchanges.

In April last year, the country recognised bitcoin as its legal tender. In January itself, business-focused coin, Ripple has been adopted by three Japanese credit card companies, and Japanese financial information provider Fisco announced the launch of a $2.6 million bitcoin investment fund.

Trading at Japanese major bitcoin exchanges grew to 4.51 million bitcoin in November last year from 1.19 million in April. In dollar terms, it has surged to $35.4 billion from $1.45 billion in April.

The Virtual Currency Girls appear to have tapped into a major trend, but they could find themselves changing direction as with a surge in interest around Tron, and the announcement of Kodak’s new cryptocurrency, it may not take long before the band finds itself adding new members.