Japan is about to experience a cryptocurrency-themed TV show called BitGirls. This show, which will begin airing next month on 3rd October, 2016 will involve Blockchain voting and a crowd sale hosted by the currency exchange Zaif. The television show is an attempt to popularize crypto in an environment which has been marred by the Mt.Gox drama which unfolded in Japan in 2014.
Ritz-glitz, Bitcoin and glamour
The premise of the TV show is that participating viewers will receive tokens and they can use these tokens to vote on future shows for their favourite contestant.
We talked with Takao Asayama, the CEO of Tech Bureau Corp (Zaif Exchange), about how the whole process would work.
He says to Cointelegraph:
“As you know securitization is regulated everywhere and it has been very hard even to simulate it for entertainment. Even in Japan, there are a lot of projects which have tried to securitize from Anime movies to girl pop groups, but it didn't fly that much because those regulations would always affect the fun part of it. Now, tokenization and ICO has come instead of securitization. With the power of the Blockchain we can simulate each girl member as if they are a "corporation" by issuing tokens. I combined two Japanese words, "toreka - trading cards" and "kabu - stock shares" into one word "Torekabu." Torekabu-nushi, which means Torekabu holders, will receive voting tokens as dividends to make a scenario for each episode.”
It is expected that the girls will compete for the market cap and that the Blockchain will facilitate a transparent outcome.
Contestants are lining up to be BitGirls
The TV show is already auditioning ten girls to become contestants. Cointelegraph was told by Takao Asayama that three are ready to join. The first voting is to take place using Bitcoin instead of tokens when the TV show will pick 3-5 winners who are titled ‘idols.’
The participants are touted to be highly talented. Among the girls who will participate is a balloon artist, a ‘race-queen’ and a plastic model builder. The sponsors of the show are of the opinion that not only will cryptocurrency gain ground due to the TV show but this will also be a chance for the participants to gain some recognition as well.
The girls are all eager and set to debut
It is expected that the girls will gain some global recognition because the show will be subtitled in different languages. Naturally they are excited about being on TV.
Chika, one of the participants, says to Cointelegraph:
“Actually I had Bitcoins myself in my iPhone but I forgot to move them to my new phone so I lost them all. I even didn’t know that I could use them for my own vote and I now can’t recover them. Please help me win.”
An audition applicant says:
“I did not know much about Bitcoin, but now I know people from all over the world could support me or vote me in by using them. I think this will be an exciting show and that my performance will be judged by the world.”
Organizers hope people will watch live
Zaif has created all the tools that are required, including an ICO crowd sale, a market cap competition, a rich list and the voting.
Takeo Asayama tells Cointelegraph:
“We are making the first case of “Web2TV 2 Web” loop, where voting on the Internet decides the content of TV shows, then the result of these TV shows will affect the market cap and the voting system of the BitGirls members. Now people will have a reason to see the show in real-time instead of recording it because the episode might well affect the price of your favourite BitGirls’ Torekabu price!”