eToro commits $1M to GoodDollar universal basic income project

Cryptocurrency investment platform eToro has committed $1 million to the GoodDollar universal basic income protocol, supporting the nonprofit’s effort to bridge the global wealth gap through DeFi and smart contract technology. 

The additional capital will aid GoodDollar in expanding its protocol and introducing more recipients to cryptocurrency, eToro announced Wednesday. The GoodDollar system works by capturing the interest generated by staking donors’ contributions in leading DeFi protocols such as Aave and Compound. That interest is then distributed to a global community via GoodDollar tokens.

GoodDollar token, which is marked under the ticker symbol $G, is described as a reserve-backed cryptocurrency that is distributed daily to registered users as a form of UBI. The UBI model is supported by donors who deposit assets on the platform. A portion of the accrued interest via staking is returned to the donors, with the rest collateralized in the form of new G tokens.

GoodDollar was founded by eToro in 2020 to help solve systemic inequality and create more transparency around how money is created. Originally, eToro had committed $58,000 to the protocol before upping its stake to $1 million after GoodDollar published promising results for its proof-of-concept. During the initial trial run, the protocol distributed $16,000 worth of UBI in the form of GoodDollar tokens to more than 225,000 people.

The cryptocurrency industry has generated significant wealth for early adopters, and many of those pioneers are giving back through charitable contributions. As Cointelegraph reported, four industry veterans — Ryan Selkis, Dan Matuszewski, Qiao Wang and Haseeb Qureshi — pledged to donate at least 1% of their wealth to charities each year through a new initiative created by The Giving Block.

Meanwhile, at least two NFT-focused cryptocurrency projects have recently announced generous donation plans. American business magazine Fortune recently launched a philanthropic fund for journalism on Ethereum alongside NFT artist Pplpleasr. Separately, the Trippy Bunny NFT project has donated 100% of its mint proceeds to a suicide prevention foundation.

Related: Cryptocurrency can actually make a difference by helping people

The crypto donations industry is growing rapidly as more nonprofits begin accepting contributions through Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other digital assets. In January, the American Cancer Society launched a Crypto Cancer Fund that accepts digital donations. More recently, the New York-based Hearts & Homes for Refugees announced it would accept donations in nearly a dozen cryptos to support those displaced by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.