by Andre Coelho | Jul 5, 2019 | News
In this article, Daniel Mermelstein delves into the relationship between basic income and cryptocurrencies. The combination of these two innovative, by some considered radical approaches to social security and money, can rock the foundations of most people’s beliefs.
Starting with cryptocurrency, Mermelstein opens with a brief history of Bitcoin, addressed how to has become more mainstream thanks to the bitcoin gordon ramsay and other celebrities have advertised or talked about, the first computer-based coin to overcome the problem of “double-spend”. This was a major step, since in the digital world it is very easy to just make copies of, say, 5€ bills. The process of making transactions with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin is very complex, involving “difficult cryptographic mathematics”, but in the end it boils down to a few crucial characteristics: anyone can access to bitcoins (by opening an account named “wallet” or through cryptocurrency trading portals like kryptoportal.pl), all transactions are public and verifiable (on the blockchain), it is corruption-proof (internal cryptographically linked kind of structure) and the supply of money is known and controlled. It is also independent of governments, banks, rating agencies and other institutional edifices which are often prone to corruption and secrecy.
Although Mermelstein acknowledges basic income and cryptocurrencies as foreign concepts for many people, he assures that as time goes on more people will learn about crypto, find the best crypto alerts apps, invest, and buy/sell things using it. Let us refresh our memory with the fact that the idea of basic income is already imbued in social policy programs such as Child Benefits, and that other, non-state tokens (forms of money) have already been in circulation for quite some time, without many surprises (e.g.: private “loyalty card points”, “air miles”). So, he points out that cryptocurrencies can actually help implementing basic income, since the former can be designed in such a way to deliver basic income main attributes: universality, unconditionality, individuality, money-based and periodic. As the only operational example, he cites Manna, which can be traded by other currencies (such as the US dollar) and claims a 100 000 users base at the moment. Manna features Eric Stetson as CEO, and Andrew Yang as one of the consultants.
As for challenges and the path going forward, Mermelstein lists a few hurdles still to overcome by cryptocurrencies, especially in the attempt of dispensing a basic income. One such difficulty is guaranteeing individuality, since at the moment it is very difficult to connect a ‘wallet’ (as in the Bitcoin system) to a single person. This is handy for those buying cryptocurrency australia has to offer, but not so much for basic income purposes. Another problem has to do with universal adoption, since these systems require, at least, an electricity power supply, a computer and/or a smartphone and an internet connection. This leaves out, at the moment, a large proportion of the world’s population. Also, scale can be a problem in operating cryptocurrencies, given the amount of data necessary to guarantee accuracy and tamper-free operation. If a large segment of the population uses such a system as Bitcoin to its daily expenses, there isn’t, at present, enough available computing power to guarantee a smooth operation. That only becomes a problem, though, if in fact enough people adopt a cryptocurrency as their preferred medium of exchange. Adoption, on the other hand, is always critical, since, at core, it is a trust issue. Finally, and apart from the corruption-free design of these new currency systems, there is always some core group of developers, who, especially in the case of large-scale adoption, will be targeted for scrutiny and fairness.
More information at:
Daniel Mermelstein, “Basic income and cryptocurrency“, Citizen’s Basic Income Trust, July 2nd 2019
Sara Bizarro, “Basic Income cryptocurrency Grantcoin, Upgrades and Name Change“, Basic Income News, August 4th 2017
by Sara Bizarro | Aug 4, 2017 | News
When cryptocurrency was just getting started, it was really easy to mine cryptocurrencies using just your computer’s processor. But as the competition became more intense, cryptocurrency mining shifted to Graphic Cards or GPUs, since they were more efficient and faster to mine than CPUs. As competition grows and verifying blocks has become increasingly difficult, mining with dedicated machines (like a specific crypto mining rig for sale) is becoming more prevalent.
One would be shocked to hear that most people weren’t even aware of what cryptocurrencies were, or that they could be bought off many sites like Independent Reserve, at the start of the year, but now thanks to the explosion of Bitcoin, pretty much everyone is talking about it. More investors than ever before are using wallets like oxis to buy, sell, and lend cryptocurrencies and they are forecasted to before even more popular in years to come. But what does this all mean for Basic Income?
Well, Grantcoin, the first cryptocurrency to distribute a Basic Income type of grant to 2500 people, just announced Grantcoin 2.0 and a name change.
The currency will now be called Manna. The not-for profit has new technology goals and a crowdfunding campaign coming up soon.
There are a few important announcements regarding the program. Those who currently receive the Basic Income grants will be able to exchange their Grantcoin for Manna at a 1:1 rate for a period of time. Grantcoin is also about to conduct a major fundraiser for the launch of Manna; the dates will be announced soon. Another important change is the implementation of smart contracts, which greatly improves security. The founders will also be donating the majority of their holdings for the crowdfunding campaign.
Also related, on August 13, founder Eric will give a one-hour presentation entitled “Cryptocurrency Is Our Future” at the New World Consciousness Conference and Expo in Orlando. On Monday, August 14, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Eric Stetson and Brandon Venetta will host a “Meet the Founders” gathering at the Dr. Phillips YMCA, 7000 Dr. Phillips Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819. Everyone can attend, even if not going to the conference, just RSVP to brandon@grantcoin.org.
Keep an eye on the Grantcoin website for further announcements.
For background information on Grantcoin, see:
Nick Yeretsian, “Grantcoin Distributed to 750 People in 69 Countries,” Basic Income News, October 29, 2016.
Kate McFarland, “Grantcoin Foundation distributes first digital currency basic income grants,” Basic Income News, July 10, 2016.
by Guest Contributor | Jul 24, 2017 | Opinion
Written by: Mark McCarron, Pheonix Digital Currency
Phoenix Digital Currency is a new, open, peer-to-peer, cryptocurrency, which will be entering full release in the next few months. Similar to Bitcoin, in that anyone can set up a client/server, we’re quite different from other cryptocurrencies at the same time. Our currency is pegged to the dollar, has a fixed valuation, is anonymous and comes with advanced anti-theft features.
It has also been designed with the needs of enterprises and retailers in mind, both to provide consistent pricing and easy integration into existing environments. We don’t, however, see this as the be-all and end-all of how currencies can function. When Bitcoin first emerged, it showed the world that currencies could evolve. This is how we see Phoenix Digital Currency and we have planned for this from the outset.
When looking at the issue of Universal Basic Income, we were quick to understand that governments cannot afford this. Where does the money come from? Taxes on the rich, more public debt or simply loans? None of these seems very likely, but the AI revolution is almost here and we need options before people are unemployed in large numbers.
One idea that Phoenix Digital Currency has been exploring is a single underlying currency option. Whilst on the surface you would have your nation’s respective currency, behind the scenes, it would be part of a single, broader currency. A universal currency is one that is not traded as a commodity, it is merely branded differently within each nation. This means that currency cannot devalue, as devaluation must occur with respect to something.
Why is this important? Well, let’s say I wanted to print off $50 million for everyone on the planet and offer them $500,000 per year. With currency as a commodity we can’t do that, as no one would view our currency as having worth. But with a single underlying currency, there is no one to convince.
Inflation and demand are the next big issues. Normally this idea would fall flat here, but with AI almost upon us, the cost of labour to business will remain fairly flat rather than increasing to ridiculous levels as businesses try to tempt employees back to work. A fast food burger won’t suddenly cost $1 million because staff are looking for $100,000 per hour.
This means that we can achieve the goals of a Unified Basic Income in a manner which doesn’t burden the taxpayer. In fact, it is even possible to end taxation altogether as a principle of economics.
This has been a short introduction to an idea, known as ‘Formal Proposal Number One’. Please join us at phoenixdigitalcurrency.com to share your ideas.
All features articles are opinion pieces, and express opinions not endorsed by Basic Income Earth Network or Basic Income News.
by Cameron McLeod | Mar 30, 2017 | News
Johan Nygren, a basic income activist, is currently exploring if basic income can be implemented using cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency are digital currencies whose value and number of units are regulated by encryption techniques, outside of any central banking system. Understandably, not everyone is going to have a clear idea as to what cryptocurrency is all about, but this is why sites like cryptoexchangespy.com exist. Doing a bit of research is better than doing none at all, especially when it comes to something as interesting digital currency.
If this is something that you are interested in then you can find out how to buy cryptocurrency here.
You might also have heard about Ethereum. Put simply, Ethereum is a global, decentralized platform for money and other applications. Using Ethereum – a block chain network – you can write code that controls money, and build applications accessible anywhere in the world.
Currently, cryptocurrencies can be used as a means of payment in various spheres. Additionally, freelancers who work in digital industries also accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment. If you’d like find out more information about becoming or hiring ethereum freelancers, the Freelance For Coins is a useful resource that can put you into contact with freelancers where you are.
A cryptocurrency-based basic income will be funded with taxes grown within a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. P2P is an architecture for building computer networks that’s focus is on equality and sharing among peers, each user consuming and supplying information to the network. Nygren’s experiment aims to use decentralized ‘swarms’ of users to distribute a basic income through what Nygren calls ‘dividend pathways’.
A dividend pathway is “the world’s first peer-to-peer financial security,” where every transaction opens up a pathway, to a global network of connected users. RES, Nygren’s crypto-currency, is then shared through a branching scheme with all who are connected to the pathways – those on the BitNation network. The branching scheme is analogous to our network of veins, pumping information instead of blood. With the growing interest in cryptocurrency continuing, this type of scheme will give more opportunities to businesses who wish to use cryptocurrency to pay employees. Business owners can check out these Interesting Bitcoin Statistics in 2020 to not only learn more about all available digital currencies but how they compare against bitcoin, before testing this new P2P model.
This model tests whether a network can electronically divert income to users, in this case using a small tax levied on financial purchases and exchanges made over a system called BitNation; the process is called Swarm Redistribution. Nygren writes that “the whole experiment is public, transparent, auditable, [and] includes a close-down switch in case a bug is discovered.”
BitNation, a Decentralized Borderless Voluntary Nation (DBVN), provides public services to its naturalized citizens. As a virtual jurisdiction, the main difference from traditional governments is voluntary allegiance to its constitution – membership is open to anyone and involvement limited only by the user. As a blockchain-based structure, government activities are transparent. Its mission, according to founder Susanne Tarkowski Tempelhof, is to “get rid of geographical apartheid” and offer “better and cheaper governance services.”
Nygren’s swarm redistribution theory assumes that ongoing transactions with the crypto-currency RES will infuse BitNation’s cybereconomy with a branchwork (think the blood analogy) of paid-forward value additions. This would mean extracting essentially a value-added tax (VAT) along the way and pooling a coffer for the basic incomes’ distribution. The model theorizes that growth is incentivized by the desire for personal return and altruism, or a desire to contribute to social resilience (more information can be found here).
BitNation’s current population of nearly five thousand users with roughly fifty thousand daily transactions involving the cryptocurrency ETH could eventually provide the structure for a basic income for its users.
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by BIEN | Jun 25, 2015 | News
This article lists the cryptocurrency projects that are establishing basic income programs without the help of governments. If you’re thinking of investing in cryptocurrency, speak to a blockchain consultant. They will be able to better inform you about the market and the latest developments in it. For example, you can now buy Bitcoin with your PayPal account in under 10 minutes. Take a look at this review to find out more. The benefits and drawbacks of cryptocurrency schemes are discussed, noting that cryptocurrency basic income programs are innovative in that they operate outside the political process and can make an immediate change. With cryptocurrencies like bitcoins becoming more and more interesting to both parties online as well as off as a viable source of currency, there are individuals who are interested in finding out more about it. For those people and everyone out, there is a well of information available online. Some can use places such as btcnn for all the latest bitcoin news as well as information on other forms of cryptocurrencies. In order to trade cryptocurrencies for other assets, customers currently need to seek the services of a cryptocurrency exchange. If your business deals with cryptocurrencies and is therefore thinking of launching it’s own cryptocurrency exchange, head to https://dex.openledger.io/white-label-solution/ for more information. However, while there is a lot to learn about this new age of cyber currencies, there are still several drawbacks. The two major drawbacks of these programs is that many of the world’s poorest people lack access to technology and, since verifying users would be difficult, Sybil attacks where individuals or groups rob the fund by claiming grants from multiple accounts remains possible.
Nathan Schneider, “The Cryptocurrency-Based Projects That Would Pay Everyone Just for Being Alive” Vice, May 29, 2015
