The Face of Adoption
Despite the mass attention crypto has received in the later half of this year, the actual percentage of acquirement (“adoption” is too strong a word at this point of speculation) is still quite low and hampered by FUD and misinformation around the world. Even in Korea, where markets rage at 10-30% premiums, a broader level of doubt and government intervention is preventing it from being fully integrated both technologically and socially.
But that’s not the case for Japan. In this country, crypto already accounts for a significant increase in the national economy and individual spending. The government actively encourages the use and integration of the economy. The country has experienced a major uptick in economic growth since the devastating nuclear power plant crisis in 2011.
Source: The Merkle
Japan isn’t the type of country/culture to key things in numbers however. In the nation of giant robots, world-consuming anime, and a pop-culture that has injected itself into all neighboring countries, Japan has taken the growing trend of digital currency to a whole new level.
Here comes the Virtual Currency Girls!
Source: Coin Telegraph
It’s only fitting that the progenitor nation of Asian pop-music is the first to foray into this strange convergence of in-sync musical ladies and distributed ledgers.
The group, comprised of 8 girls (each of whom will take on the persona of a mainstream cryptocurrency), is known as Kasotsuka Shojo in Japan, has already put out major hits such as "The Moon and Virtual Currencies and Me.”
Crypto isn’t just for stage purposes either. For a fraction of a BTC, you can meet and have a picture taken with the gals as well. Each girl is expected to have a significant amount of knowledge on the currency they represent as well as they integrate facts of each into their songs and public personas.
Check out one of their big hits LIVE below -
This is a brilliant move on the agency’s part as they feed off the growing mainstream trend of the technology and move towards more family-friendly and optimistic representations of the market. This is a very very refreshing interpretation compared to the significant FUD that is being distributed in the US and Korea these days.
The Impact of CryptoCulture
Japan’s social influence of cryptocurrency isn’t just limited to music and performance either. More and more figures and talents like Miss Bitcoin are coming out onto the mainstream to help transition the international market of crypto onto home turf.
I expect much more out of Japan in the coming months/years - crypto action figures, crypto animations, crypto comic books, crypto cafes and crypto theme-parks. Make sure to keep an eye on the land of the rising sun! It might just be the first country on the moon.
