World’s First Coffee Backed Crypto Launched By Brazilian Firm

According to recently published reports, it has been revealed that coffee farmers in Brazil will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of crypto as Brazilian coffee farming cooperative Minasul plans on issuing a blockchain-based digital currency later this month.

The president of the company, Jose Marcos Magalhaes, recently revealed the company’s plan. In an interview during the Global Coffee Forum in Sao Paulo, Magalhaes mentioned that the token would be backed by coffee supplies, which will enable the farmers to purchase farm supplies including fertiliser and farm machinery using the token. The farmers will also be able to use the token to buy non-farm goods like food and cars. Coins will be exchangeable in a digital marketplace, that is to be backed by Minasul’s store of crop nutrients and machinery.

What is more exciting is that the farmers will be able to acquire tokens based on current and projected coffee production. According to what the current harvest has been, the farmers will be able to exchange as much as 30% for the token. For the next season’s crop, they can collect 20% and for the season after that, 10%. This will enable the farmers a flexible, affordable and straightforward line of credit.

Minasul believes that using a cryptocurrency for digital financing will significantly reduce the costs for the farmers as “it won’t require registration through a notary’s office.”

Minasul, which happens to be one of the largest Arabica-coffee cooperatives in Brazil, has been on a digitalisation drive in the recent past, but this project involving the issue of cryptocurrencies is its most ambitious yet.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology have repeatedly made efforts to penetrate the coffee industry. Blockchain technology is being used in many coffee supply chains, tracking the coffee from the farm to the cup. One of the most well-known initiatives is the bean-to-cup initiative between Starbucks and Microsoft. There have also been strong signs that Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain, could at some point in the future accept crypto payments. Starbucks happens to be one of the investors in Bakkt, an institutional crypto trading and storage platform.

Rishma Banerjee

Rishma is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and has a special place in her life for sifting through all sorts of random trivia, thank you very much.