IrishCoin - a new Irish crypto-currency targeting the tourism industry and based loosely on Bitcoin, was launched today. It is described as a new peer to peer digital currency for the Irish community at home and abroad. Irish tourism is worth over E3bn per year to the Irish economy and IrishCoin intends to use the promotional aspects of tourism, providing the coin as a discount token mechanism and a tourist organisation branding opportunity. IrishCoin is focused on promoting the Irish tourism industry locally, among the Irish diaspora in the US, and globally. It is a similar to the Bitcoin de-centralised digital currency but with a focus predominantly on the Irish tourism sector. The ethos is not one of striving to replace the Euro or creating a new currency, but instead using the same peer-to-peer crypto currency system as a vehicle to aid and promote the Irish tourism industry, locally and worldwide, the promoters say. This uniquely distinguishes IrishCoin from the plethora of crypto currencies developing as alternatives to the monetary system you are used to. IrishCoin will be distributed directly through global organisations, companies and ventures connected to the Irish tourism industry. Its distribution will begin with uptake from online Irish social networks like Liveireland.com which has over 12,000 US and Irish members who are eligible to download digital wallets. Negotiations are already in place with numerous other global Irish networks and more information will be published about this in the coming days. IrishCoin will also be distributed to businesses as a discount token on purchases where IrishCoin is accepted. "Unlike, say, Auroracoin, which aims to set itself up as a national digital currency for Iceland, Irishcoin has a more tangible goal: to become a currency to promote Irish tourism." Paul Vigna of the Wall Street Journal said.