Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

This Is BitCoen, The First ‘Kosher’ Crypto-Currency

A Russian entrepreneur has unveiled a “kosher” cryptocurrency called BitCoen.

In two months, when BitCoen has its “initial coin offering,” the cryptocurrency will join the ranks of Bitcoin, Ethereum and more than 900 other digital currencies that are traded directly between investors over the internet. The project is the brainchild of Viacheslav Semenchuk, a self-described “serial entrepreneur.”

The Russian news site CNews reported that the currency is being called “kosher” because 10% of its profits will be set aside to be used as interest-free loans for Jews. The currency will be accessible on Shabbat, but Semenchuk said that BitCoen was still kosher because its system is automated.

The currency will also be overseen by a “Council of Six,” a group of prominent Jewish leaders, according to Semenchuk. Any change to the currency would have to be ratified by the council. Semenchuk declined to identify the people on the council or any other investors.

BitCoen is an usual cryptocurrency because it will be centrally controlled. Bitcoin, created in 2009, is a peer-to-peer currency, with no central bank. New bitcoins can be created by anyone with sufficient computing power, in a process known as “mining.” BitCoen transactions will also be peer to peer, but only the currency’s council will have the power to issue new BitCoens.

Semenchuk told CNews that he has invested $500,000 of his own money into the project. He expects the currency to reach a capitalization of $1.5 billion in two years. According to the website, BitCoens will be available for $1 each starting October 9.

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aefeldman.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.