Popular online stock and cryptocurrency CFD trading platform eToro just became the latest trading giant to get in on the decentralized finance (DeFi) game, with the launch of its blockchain-based universal basic income (UBI) platform.
The new initiative capitalizes on the popular yield-farming trend to hand out a newly created stablecoin known as G$ to users on the platform as a type of passive income stream. For now, each GoodDollar (G$) is backed by the DAI stablecoin, but there are plans to eventually back G$ by a mixed basket of cryptocurrencies–similar to Facebook’s upcoming Libra cryptocurrency.
GoodDollar is funded by individuals that lock their funds in yield-farming platforms like Compound. A large chunk of the yield is returned to the depositor, while the rest is used as collateral for the G$ that is distributed to users each day. The project itself is a non-profit directly funded by donations from eToro.
As of writing, 382 unique users have used the app and claimed more than 180,000 G$ in the last two weeks. A large chunk of this has been distributed to users in South America, the United States, Ukraine, Italy, and Argentina.
To claim G$, users need to register for a wallet through the GoodDollar platform. This is currently available as a web app, but will be made available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store at a later date. In order to ensure that the app itself isn’t being farmed by bots or multi-accounters, users will be periodically asked to submit a short video of themselves to verify their uniqueness.
