A new J-pop girl band is capitalising on the cryptocurrency craze by singing about the digital currency market while wearing metallic wrestling-style masks and French maid dresses.

Each girl in the eight-strong group, who go by the name of Virtual Currency Girls – or Kasotsuka Shojo in Japanese – wears a furry mask to represent a different currency, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.

The band held their first concert in Tokyo earlier this month, where they sang their debut song The Moon, Cryptocurrencies and Me. Lyrics include: "Be careful about your password! Don't use the same one!", to warn against the dangers of trading cryptocurrency, and “Don’t underestimate the market!”

Japan's new pop group Kasotsuka Shojo performed live in Tokyo earlier this month credit: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP

The group was launched by Japanese entertainment company Cinderella Academy to educate the public about the cryptocurrency world and the benefits of decentralised digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

Rara Naruse, 18, the group's leader said: "They're so convenient, you kind of have to wonder why we didn't have them before. We want everyone to learn more about them."

She said the group's intention was not to promote investment, but rather to teach people about cryptocurrencies in an entertaining way.

The Virtual Currency Girls wear cryptocurrency-themed masks while they perform credit: KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS

The group, who are paid in cryptocurrency for tickets and merchandise at their concerts, said on Monday that they had refused an offer to be paid in yen despite a £300m cyber heist on a leading Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, which could jeopardise the band's chances of getting paid.

The group's cryptocurrency account, which pays some of the band’s salary, was among the 260,000 frozen as a result of the suspension of trading at Coincheck on Friday following the theft of NEM, a digital currency similar to Bitcoin.

Hinano Shirahama, who represents the Bitcoin member of the band, said: “Our manager offered to pay us in yen, but we declined."

The Virtual Currency Girls credit: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP

Japan is home to a large number of digital currencies, and is the second biggest market for Bitcoin trading after the US. According to specialist website jpbitcoin.com, nearly one third of global Bitcoin transactions in December were denominated in yen.

Cryptocurrencies are particularly popular among young investors in Japan, lured by the prospect of strong profits in an economy that has seen ultra-low interest rates for many years and low returns from traditional assets.

Last year, Japan's financial authorities passed a law recognising Bitcoin as legal tender, and granted licences to 11 cryptocurrency exchange sites, in a move that set itself apart from countries such as China, which are clamping down on virtual currencies.

Bitcoin was invented in 2008 by a person or group going by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto – a male Japanese name that loosely translates as “wise”.