I’m sure that all of you have heard the hype around cryptocurrencies in recent years and I know some of you have been on sites like https://coinbox.dk/ to learn how to invest in Bitcoin. But, cryptocurrencies aren’t only being developed to help create a decentralized form of currency but to also help boost the support of basic income. Launched in May 2015, Grantcoin is the first blockchain-based currency managed and distributed by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Like Bitcoin, Grantcoin can be stored in electronic “wallets” on phones, computers, or the web, and traded electronically. If this is the first time people are getting into cryptocurrencies, then they may have a few questions on their mind before choosing which ‘coin’ is best, this may be “how can I buy bitcoin uk/us/aus?” “Which crypto is best for my circumstances?” and so on. This is not something that should be entered into lightly though, so research is a key factor.
The Grantcoin Foundation originally planned to distribute its currency to “socially responsible businesses”, adding charities later in the year. In 2016, however, the organization decided to change its tactics — devising a plan to distribute the currency in the form of unconditional basic income grants to individuals.
The first distribution took place on July 1, 2016, when 255 applicants, representing at least 17 countries, each received grants deposited into their personal Grantcoin wallets.
According to the organization’s news report, the average recipient received approximately 5.19 USD worth of Grantcoin. To be sure, this might not be a livable basic income, but, as founder and director Eric Stetson says in the report, the aim of the Grantcoin Foundation is to “show a way for the people of the world to create an equitable, sustainable monetary system based on fair global issuance of the money supply” — and, by demonstrating the functionality of the new digital currency, even these small initial grants can help to “show the way”.
This goal of the project is elaborated in Grantcoin’s mission statement:
We insist that a new currency be equitable: that it shall be issued to all people as a human right, as a universal basic income to be enjoyed by all – to compensate, at least partially, for the accidents of birth and circumstances of fortune that have blessed or condemned different people and regions of the world to wealth or poverty.
The foundation states that it uses 80% of the value of charitable donations it receives to support the price of Grantcoin on markets where it trades, so that Grantcoin basic income will hold value for needy recipients.
The Grantcoin Foundation plans to distribute its currency quarterly, each year adding 3.5% of the amount in circulation. The next distribution will take place on September 30, 2016 — with registration available on the organization’s website. (Yes, you can sign up to receive your own Grantcoin this autumn; I just did so myself!)
Meanwhile, the foundation has been building connections with the basic income movement in the United States. For instance, Eric Stetson spoke at a meeting of Basic Income Guarantee Minnesota on June 23, eliciting considerable interest from the group.
For more information about the initial distribution, and to keep up with additional news, visit: “Grantcoin Foundation Distributes First Basic Income Grants to Over 250 Recipients in 17 Countries,” Grantcoin: Currency with a Conscience, July 1, 2016.
Grantcoin logo used by permission of Eric Stetson.
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