Crypto as a tool for social programs?

? Coinbase, together with the charitable foundation GiveDirectly, has launched an experimental project in low-income areas of New York — the South Bronx and East Harlem — aimed at exploring the possibilities of using cryptocurrency for social programs. The initiative has become one of the first large-scale tests of a basic income model with payments made directly in digital currency.

The project involves 160 residents who receive a basic income in cryptocurrency to examine how blockchain technologies can be integrated into social benefits and assistance programs.

Payment format:

• $800 per month in the stable cryptocurrency USDC starting from September;
• $8,000 as a one-time payment in November;
• a total of about $12,000 per participant over five months.

Goals and objectives of the project:

• Study the behavior of people receiving payments in cryptocurrency, their habits, spending methods and asset-saving approaches;
• Assess the practical applicability of blockchain for distributing social benefits and subsidies;
• Understand whether the digital basic income model can become the foundation for future public and private initiatives to support socially vulnerable groups.

The experiment will also allow collecting data on how people interact with digital wallets, mobile applications and financial platforms, which will help improve infrastructure and the accessibility of cryptocurrency tools for the general public.

According to the organizers, the project will become an important case for studying innovative forms of social support, combining traditional methods of assistance with modern blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. If the experiment proves successful, such a scheme may become part of scalable basic income programs both in the United States and in other countries where social support faces bureaucratic barriers and distribution challenges.

? Thus, the Coinbase and GiveDirectly project is not just a social initiative, but also a test of the future of financial and social systems, where cryptocurrency serves as a tool for direct and transparent distribution of resources.

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