Glo Dollar

The Glo Dollar project aims to create a stablecoin that funds public goods through a model called Automatic Public Goods Funding (AutoPGF). It is developed by the Glo Foundation, a Public Benefit Corporation based in Delaware and fiscally sponsored by Global Impact. The project is designed to redirect revenue generated from stablecoin reserves—usually retained by issuers—toward charitable causes chosen by users.

The Glo Dollar is fully backed by US dollars or US government debt held by Brale Inc., a regulated US entity responsible for issuance and reserve management. Profits generated from the interest on these reserves are sent to the Glo Foundation, which donates them on-chain to user-selected charitable and public goods initiatives. These include poverty alleviation, climate programmes and support for Web3 infrastructure.

Initially conceived as a free-floating cryptocurrency for basic income (Global Income Coin), the project shifted to a fiat-backed stablecoin model in mid-2022. The change followed the collapse of Terra/Luna and rising interest rates, which made stablecoin revenue generation more viable.

Glo Dollar (USDGLO) is a fiat-backed stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and issued on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Polygon, Celo, Arbitrum, Base, Stellar, VeChain and Optimism. It maintains a 1:1 peg with the US dollar and is backed by a reserve of cash and short-term US Treasuries managed by Brale Inc.

The stablecoin is compliant with audited smart contracts and has undergone multiple versions (V1 to V3), with upgrades improving security and transparency. The current version (V3) has been audited by 0xmacro and AfterDark Labs. USDGLO operates on both EVM-compatible networks and VeChain, with dedicated contract addresses.

Glo Dollar is used as a standard stablecoin for on-chain transactions, payments and treasury operations, but with an added philanthropic layer. When individuals or organisations hold USDGLO, the fiat reserves behind it are invested by Brale to generate revenue. All profits (beyond Brale’s $2 million threshold) are transferred on-chain to the Glo Foundation, which donates the funds in Glo Dollars to selected charitable organisations.

Users can connect a wallet to the Glo app and select which public goods causes they want to support. Options include areas such as Web3 development, poverty reduction, humanitarian aid and climate action. Each USDGLO held represents a vote in this donation system. Revenue generated by each user’s holdings is distributed monthly to the selected causes.

Glo Dollar is also used by some DAOs, Web3 organisations and businesses for payments and treasury management. Institutional custody and OTC services are available, and support for exchanges and platforms is expanding.

Glo Dollar was developed by the Glo Foundation, co-founded by Garm (CEO) and Jasper (CMO). Garm previously worked as a product manager at a San Francisco fintech firm and has a PhD in Product Management from the University of Utrecht. Jasper has a background in computer science and AI and has held marketing roles in fintech and investment.

The broader Glo team includes leads for business development, growth and ecosystem support across various blockchains. The issuer of USDGLO is Brale Inc., a regulated US company that manages reserves and ensures compliance. Brale also facilitates the off-chain investments that generate donation revenue.

Glo Dollar is funded by donors, including GitLab CEO Sid Sijbrandij, and is actively supported by contributors and partners across the Web3 ecosystem.