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DeFi Meets Universal Basic Income With Just-Launched Project From eToro

eToro's GoodDollar initiative will provide a universal basic income for some of the world's poorest by incentivizing people to yield farm on its platform.

Updated May 9, 2023, 3:11 a.m. Published Sep 8, 2020, 3:15 p.m.
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Multi-asset brokerage platform eToro has begun a new initiative that uses yield farming to hand out free crypto-backed stablecoins, apparently in a bid to promote financial inclusion.

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  • Called GoodDollar, the project will create and issue a stablecoin ($G) that can be distributed daily to registered users as a form of universal basic income (UBI).
  • At launch, each $G token will be backed by dai (DAI) stablecoins, although the plan is to diversify collateral so that each stablecoin is backed by a basket of cryptocurrencies.
  • The UBI model is sustained by supporters who deposit underlying assets onto the platform and then yield farm on supported decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, like Compound or Aave.
  • Some of the accrued interest is then handed back to supporters, with the rest used as collateral for new $G tokens that are distributed each day.
  • GoodDollar is a non-profit funded by donations from eToro. An app and wallet have been released alongside the announcement on Tuesday.
  • Per the announcement, GoodDollar says hundreds of new wallets have been created in countries like South Africa and Nigeria, as well as Venezuela.
  • An eToro spokesperson told CoinDesk that “over 100,000 G$ have been distributed to over 250 users” during the course of a two-week trial.

Read more: Retail Investors Aren’t Interested in Crypto Derivatives, Says eToro Executive

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Stablecoins seen as ‘the default’ for payments as OKX brings crypto card to Europe

With EU banks exploring stablecoin issuance and regulators laying ground rules, OKX says its card marks a turning point in crypto’s integration into everyday finance.

What to know:

  • OKX has launched a new Mastercard-linked crypto debit card in Europe that lets users spend stablecoins directly from self-custody wallets at more than 150 million locations.
  • The card converts stablecoins only at the time of purchase with a 0.4% market spread and no additional fees, offers limited-time crypto rewards of up to 20 percent, and supports tap-to-pay via Apple Pay and Google Pay.
  • OKX and Mastercard executives say the rollout reflects how stablecoins, now regulated in the European Union under the MiCA framework, are moving into the financial mainstream for everyday payments and settlements.