Israeli founded E-trading brokerage platform, eToro, announced the launch of its non-profit initiative GoodDollar, to deliver a global basic income through cryptocurrency. The idea originally started at Web Summit 2018, which was enough to ignite a working model for universal basic income (UBI).
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has launched the global economy into an unseen before frenzy, many governments have began to push for further exploration of a UBI system. By utilizing the tools of blockchain and decentralized finance, GoodDollar turns the UBI concept into reality, launching a ‘trickle-up’ value structure that delivers purchasing power directly to the hands of people, and is transparent and fair.
All one really needs is a phone number and internet connection to receive the G$ crypto asset. Backed by a monetary reserve of cryptoassetss, G$ can be bought and sold directly via the GoodDollar reserve. Its value is derived from the interest generated by individual and corporate supporters who stake cryptoassets in third-party permissionless protocols, which generate yield. Through the amassed reserve interest, G$ coins are minted and a daily amount is set aside to be distributed as basic income. The model, which works similar to a social impact bond or endowment model, allows for holders of capital to sustainably support social impact initiatives, the next evolution of social impact investment model.
“We want to connect the 1.7 billion people that remain unbanked to the financial world and offer every person access to basic financial assets,” says GoodDollar eToro co-founder, Yoni Assia. “Thanks to blockchain technology, now anyone with an internet connection can have their own digital wallet to hold digital assets. We hope GoodDollar will serve the next 100 million crypto-users, through freely distributing a new form of internet money that can be used to generate more local and global economic activity. And just as importantly, we are offering a framework for wealth creation and distribution that is sustainable and unites the interests of capital holders and basic income recipients.”