Universal basic crypto

“Nothing like this has ever been done before and the outcome is uncertain,” wrote Sam Altman and Alex Blania, explaining a new startup they cofounded called Worldcoin. Lots of founders could say something similar about their own startups, but the premise behind Worldcoin is definitely a bold one.

The idea, in short: Give every person on earth free cryptocurrency, with fair & equal distribution.

That idea and the launch of Worldcoin elicited scoffs across the internet yesterday, including within our own community. To be fair, Altman clearly understands the scope of the mission. Let's unpack it.

Universal basic income
UBI is an ancient concept, but it's gained renewed interest in the last decade. Modern politicians like Andrew Yang have stirred up a lot of support for the concept to no avail, and now some tech leaders (not just Altman) have taken it upon themselves to try. Enter Worldcoin.

Proof of Person
Worldcoin has been conducting field tests where they take a five-pound orb device into the field, and use it to distribute cryptocurrency. The Orb works by taking a picture of someone’s iris, creating/saving a hashcode, and verifying each entry as unique. Users then gain access to a wallet in the app and a cryptocurrency called Worldcoin. The iris images are encrypted, original data is deleted, and there’s no big database of biometric data, Blania explains.

Why the Orb? The trick to universal basic income by way of crypto is to distribute it fairly, which is frankly difficult in a world full of bots and scammers. “The only solution for that problem, we found, was to build an orb,” Altman told CNBC. He calls the model “proof of person.”

So far over 100,000 users have collected Worldcoin across 12 countries — 700 per week.

Power in distribution
We write about innovative blockchain applications all the time, from coins that generate funds for cities to decentralized social networks. However, today only 3% of the global population uses crypto. Small networks are not just a barrier to UBI, but to crypto startups getting their ideas off the ground.

In this case, the makers of Worldcoin have chosen to build on Ethereum because of its developer network. Like other startups, they’re hoping to attract developers who can build atop their system to execute innovative applications of the coin. Unlike other startups, Worldcoin takes a pretty bottoms-up approach to building that network by acquiring users with literal feet on the ground.

Equalization
Worldcoin offers a unique, albeit arduous, approach to equalization, not only for crypto (which has been criticized for marking the rich richer) but for income globally.

What do you think about the approach — Unrealistic? Creepy? The future?

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