A platform that lays the foundations for a universal basic income, which overturns the traditional concept of philanthropy based on donations. Is called GoodDollar and is an innovative platform sponsored by eToro, multi-asset investment platform, leader in social investing, which is opening new horizons in the field of philanthropy. Through this platform, to date, almost half a million people from over 180 countries have opened a GoodDollar digital wallet to apply for universal basic income, with over 50,000 applications made every day. “GoodDollar seeks to build a future where people have equal access to financial resources and an opportunity to improve their lives through a basic income,” comments the founder Yoni Asiawho adds: “We only think that the majority of requesting users are in countries such as Nigeria, Venezuela, Bangladesh, Argentina and that there are stories of young people who, thanks to GoodDollar, have managed to pay for their studies”.
How does it work
GoodDollar is based on an innovative circular economy involving two groups of participants. On the one hand, there are the claimants, i.e. those who wish to receive the universal basic income. On the other hand, there are advocates, who can be organizations or individuals who are eager to support basic income and help create a more inclusive global economy.
Backers can use their crypto capital to fund GoodDollars, a reserve-backed currency that is distributed daily as basic income. By supporting GoodDollar’s blockchain-based DeFi (Decentralized Finance) protocol, backers can pledge their crypto capital and earn interest. The funds generated are used to mint new GoodDollars, which are distributed as basic income every 24 hours to beneficiaries, as well as returned to supporters.
The breadth of the UBI (Universal Basic Income, i.e. universal income) issued and distributed depends on the number of supporters and the committed crypto capital. “It’s a matter of a few cents a day that the beneficiaries have to collect on the platform every day – says the founder – but which in some countries make a real difference. Furthermore, the system also aims to promote financial education and inclusion”.
The idea behind GoodDollar is to promote financial inclusion and reduce inequality through the use of blockchain technology. This platform provides a simple and transparent mechanism for people to access a basic income, providing them with greater financial security.
Cryptocurrencies, how taxation works now and what are the knots to solve by Mariano Mangia 02 July 2023
eToro and the Italian primacy
GoodDollar saw the light in 2008, shortly after the birth of the profit unicorn also conceived by Assia, eToro, which is continuing to revolutionize the financial sector through various initiatives. Founded in 2006 by Yoni Assia, eToro has established itself as the largest social finance platform in the world. With over 30 million users, it offers the ability to invest in a wide range of financial assets, including stocks, cryptocurrencies and more.
“Our intention is to transform the financial sector by opening the doors of investments to the new generations – continues the founder -. With the ability to buy fractional shares and a simplified user experience, eToro has made the financial markets accessible even to those with limited capital. The platform also offers social features that allow users to follow other investors, copy their strategies and learn from them. There are around 3,000 popular investors, 10% are in Italy”.
Crypto management
“eToro handles cryptocurrencies carefully and securely, taking into consideration several key factors. First of all, the company has solid knowledge and trust in cryptocurrencies: I have been a supporter of Bitcoin since the early days and bought them already in 2011 when they were only worth 5 euros – underlines Assia -. Furthermore, eToro is part of a group that contributed to the invention of tokenization, recognizing the potential of blockchain technology in making various assets digital”.
The company – with its founder – believes that in the future all assets will become digital, similar to what happened with the Internet: “This is why we promote investment in cryptocurrencies as an essential part of investors’ portfolios, always emphasizing the need to invest only a small part of their funds in crypto, as they are more risky than other financial instruments”.
Regarding the management of cryptocurrencies on eToro, Assia claims to have a rigorous due diligence process to select the digital assets offered on the platform: “We are a regulated broker with the necessary licenses to guarantee security and regulatory compliance – he concludes -. In addition to crypto assets, eToro also offers a variety of other financial instruments, such as gold, oil and stocks. Additionally, eToro is partnering with at least two other regulated partners offering cryptocurrencies, further strengthening the security and control of digital assets on the platform.” In times of “bans” of companies such as Coinbase and Binance from July 12 eToro will remove four assets from the market. The total of crypto assets for sale on eToro is now 79.
The founder
Yoni Assia is the co-founder and CEO, what the French would call a child prodigy. Born in 1982, Yoni Assia showed interest in the financial markets from a young age. In fact, starting from the age of 13, he became passionate about the capital market: “At school I noticed that few people were interested in finance – he says -, so I connected to online communities to deepen his knowledge of him. In 2007, with my brother, we founded eToro with the aim of simplifying the user experience in trading and investing on global markets”.