A group of young New Yorkers receives $ 12,000 in cryptocurrency as part of a new guaranteed income experience, supported by Coinbase.
The program, called Future First, has selected 160 residents between 18 and 30 years old by lottery to receive payments in USDC, a stablecoin set to the US dollar. The distribution started last week through Coinbase wallets, according to a Bloomberg report.
Test the crypto as direct help
The non -profit givedirect, which organized cash transfer programs in dozens of countries, administers the pilot.
Unlike traditional guaranteed income tests that send recurring payments over long periods, future future First First ULs of $ 8,000 and five smaller deposits of $ 800. The approach, known as GiveDirectly, is designed to help participants take larger financial movements, such as payment of a security deposit or covering tuition fees.
The funding comes from Coinbase, which previously abandoned its own direct donation initiative but reoriented $ 2.6 million in the remaining funds in GiveDirect. Darin Carter, who directs American policy and basic plea in Coinbase, told Bloomberg that the program is supposed to provide “financial support and cryptographic education to young New Yorkers”.
Promises and traps
The use of crypto instead of money adds both efficiency and risks. GiveDirectly says that the sending of cents costs cents per transfer, much cheaper than prepaid cards or banking wires. But criticism warns that stablecoins can lose their ankle in market stress, and young participants could be tempted to speculate with their manna.
The recipients can withdraw banks, use Coinbase flow cards, retire from automatic ticket distributors or leave funds in their cryptographic wallets to gain 4.1% of interest or buy other digital assets. US University’s law professor Hilary Allen told Bloomberg that this configuration could push some to risky bets.
The program leaders plan to invest participants thereafter to assess whether the distribution of cryptography has created new opportunities or new obstacles. For the moment, some beneficiaries like Luis Acero, 25, say they welcome help. “It will give me a lot of emotional and psychological tranquility,” he said.
