More than 50 Bitcoin merchants are banding together for their own version of Black Friday in a bid to stimulate the virtual currency economy.

Black Friday has become an annual event in the US, taking place the day after Thanksgiving, with stores opening early and holding sales to mark the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

As many as 75 merchants are expected to participate in the copycat Bitcoin Friday, to be held this week, slashing their prices, holding 'Bitcoin parties' and offering customers new to the currency instruction, assistance and tools to make transactions.

The event is the brainchild of precious metals trader Coinabul.com, Bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox and merchant services provider BitPay.

Coinabul says that the although Bitcoin has grown a lot, with nearly a million clients online, less than a quarter of all coins are actually being spent, with 78% left sitting stagnant. The firm hopes that Bitcoin Friday will serve as a stimulus and get some of those stale coins circulating.