The cryptocurrency-themed Japanese pop (J-pop) group Virtual Currency Girls just performed live for the first time in Tokyo.
Each member of the group represents a different cryptocurrency, and tickets to future shows will only be sold in exchange for virtual currencies.
The group and its anonymous producer want to spread the word about bitcoin, ethereum, and other cybercurrencies.
To the delight of many — and the chagrin of untold others — the J-pop embodiment of cryptocurrency has finally arrived.
The Virtual Currency Girls, or Kasotsuka Shojo as they're known in Japan, is an eight-girl Japanese pop group bedecked in masks and maid's outfits that's been formed specifically to spread the word about cryptocurrencies. Each member of the group, which had its public debut in Tokyo on Friday, represents a different cryptocurrency or blockchain, and the group's first song has "virtual currencies" in its title.
In an email, the group's producer, who works for Japanese entertainment company Cinderella Academy, said the Virtual Currency Girls was formed because a similar group did not previously "exist in this world" and because it would be "fun."
"[V]irtual currency is not a tool of speculation but a technology that creates a wonderful future," the producer said on the group's official website. "The age of the virtual currency is already in front of us."
The producer declined to disclose his or her identity, saying it is "a secret." (Could the person be Satoshi Nakamoto, perhaps?)
The band is serious about the cryptocurrency theme. Fans will only be able to pay for tickets for future performances with virtual currencies, and the girls are paid exclusively in bitcoin, which is considered legal tender in Japan.
The Virtual Currency Girls first song, "The Moon and Virtual Currencies and Me," is a punchy pop ballad that warns against fraudulent online operators. The group performed the song at its Tokyo debut. For the price of 0.001 bitcoin (about $14), fans could meet and have their picture taken with their favorite performer.
The group represents different currencies with masks, symbols, and maid's uniforms.
The group's leader, 18-year-old Naruse Lara, represents bitcoin cash; 15-year-old Hinata Kodomi stands in for ripple; and Ami Ami plays the role of Ethereum. The rest of the band is a mixture of lesser known cryptocurrencies including neo, mona, and cardona.
The Virtual Currency Girls' outfits are an oddly incoherent mashup of school girl, sexy maid, and Mexican wrestler. Each member is dressed in a French maid uniform and garter-capped knee-high socks and wears a shimmery lucha libre mask. Each mask has an emblem on it to indicate the cryptocurrency represented by its wearer.
This being Japan, the masks have undergone a kawaii — Japanese for "cuteness" — makeover as well. They're decked out in twin sideburns of white fur with a set of pom-pom ball ears up top.
