What’s up with Burger King’s new cryptocurrency?

You might have heard this week that Burger King has launched its own cryptocurrency.

Like me, you may have been disappointed to discover that it isn’t part of a plan to establish an independent fast-food state, ruled by that terrifying plastic-headed King from the adverts.

WhopperCoin, as it’s known, is currently only available in Russia. It’s a loyalty scheme allowing customers to claim one coin per rouble (1.3p) spent on a Whopper burger by scanning receipts with a smartphone.

Once customers have amassed a digital purse of 1,700 WhopperCoins, they can then use the virtual cash to buy another Whopper. For the current cost of the burger and the value of the WhopperCoin, you’d have to buy five or six before reaping the succulent reward of your investment.

To introduce the new dosh Burger King teamed up with tech startup Waves, which will run the scheme by keeping a tabs on the coins and their usage.

According to the BBC, Waves said it has already generated 1bn WhopperCoins in the loyalty scheme.

If it’s successful, could we expect to see other fast-food outlets introduce cryptocurrencies as loyalty schemes? Will we soon be counting our McDollars? Our ColonelCoins?