Brazilian coffee cooperative to launch a coffee-backed cryptocurrency

One of the largest Brazilian arabica bean cooperatives is brewing up a cryptocurrency of its own.

Minasul is planning to issue a coffee supplies-backed cryptocurrency, Bloomberg writes. Farmers will be able to use the token in Minasul’s online store to purchase farming products like fertilizer and machinery as well as other products like cars and food, Minasul’s president Jose Marcos Magalhaes explained in an interview during the Global Coffee Forum.

Farmers will be able to exchange their current and future harvests for the cryptocurrency. They will be able to exchange up to 30 per cent of the current crop, 20 per cent of the next harvest and 10 per cent of the one after. According to Magalhaes, the introduction of a cryptocurrency will reduce costs for the cooperative and farmers since they won’t need to register the exchange through a notary’s office.

The cooperative is looking at other digitalisation ventures. It is also planning to enable farmers to sell their coffee beans in mobile phone transactions.