Beetle exporters in Colombia have released their own bug-themed cryptocurrency in a bid to cut commissions paid to Japanese salespeople.

Now, the company behind this beetle-based Bitcoin alternative says it wants to make the currency a nationally acceptable medium of exchange.

Tierra Viva chief programmer Carmelo Campos launched Kmushicoin (named after the Japanese word for rhinoceros beetle, ‘kabutomushi’) in 2019, initially trading at US$0.30 per token.

Speaking to Reuters this week, Mr Campos explained the coin was originally created to avoid paying sales commissions as high as 10% on beetles the company exports to Japan, where they are popular pets for children.

Some of the beetles can fetch as much as US$300 a pair, and can live for up to 17 months.

Two years on, Kmushicoin tokens are trading close to US$2 apiece and are already an acceptable means of payment at roughly 220 businesses through the northern Colombian town of Tunja, where the coins were first ‘minted’.

“Our objective is to be able to use it as a method of payment at the national level,” Mr Campos said.

Even local electricity companies are reportedly interested in the coin. Mr Campos told Reuters he had been contacted by an energy provider asking whether the coin could be used by its customers to pay their bills.

Tierra Viva also uses a portion of its sales to buy back the coins circulating in the market.

Sources:

• Reuters, Colombian beetles exported to Japan with help from cryptocurrency
• Coin Gecko, Kmushicoin