Habanero Chili Cryptocurrency a Hot Commodity in Mexico

Innovative Latin American cryptocurrencies are now taking off not just in Venezuela, but also in Mexico with the launch of the Agrocoin.

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Mexican firm Amar Hidroponia introduced the cryptocurrency to make it easier for people to invest in their next batch of habanero chilis.

Habanero chilis are a hot item in Mexican cuisine, especially where Amar Hidroponia is located: the Yucatan Peninsula.

Last September, Amar Hidroponia began selling digital tokens to small-scale investors at the price of 500 Mexican pesos (about US$27) in exchange for a square meter of the firm's hydroponically-grown habaneros.

The company says it can produce about 6kg within that amount of space and sell the spicey capsicums for about US$3.75 per kilogram both domestically and for export.

"We had a lot of people who wanted to invest, but with less money," Amar Hidroponia President Rodrigo Domenzain told local media. "Agrocoin allows us to have a new investment product backed by agricultural goods."

The company expects to pay a yearly dividend equal to 30 percent of its cost of production.

Agrocoins can be bought on the company's website and after a year exchanged on a cryptocurrency trading market. So far, the company has sold 50,000 of the 1 million it's planning to issue.

Cryptocurrency is a digital asset that uses blockchain technology to ensure virtual transactions.