Exactly Two Months, 161 Countries, 53,683 Wallets And 9.4 Million G$ Later, A New Digital, Circular Economy Is Getting Started – #GoodData Helps To Tell the story

GoodDollar’s basic income wallet and protocol launched in September on a mission to put money directly in the hands of people. Why? Because global wealth inequality is on the rise, and advances in automation and artificial intelligence will soon replace millions of jobs. This leaves the rest of us wondering: “How do I build towards a more prosperous financial future  – not just for me, but for all of us?”

By leveraging decentralized blockchain technology (specifically smart contracts), GoodDollar creates a sustainable money flow that enables any human alive to receive and support a digital  daily income in G$ coins. No gimmicks, no governments, and no more waiting.

These two months have allowed us to reflect on the core of our network effect. That tens of thousands of users from 161 countries are claiming G$ reveals much more than just “clicks” of a button and “cha-ching” in G$ wallets. The GoodDollar network is creating a rippling effect of community-led financial empowerment. And right now, more than ever, is the perfect time to build communities, scale-up access to financial resources, and truly build a system that enables us to do good for ourselves and simultaneously for others.

Our community is at the market

At GoodDollar, we absolutely feel like proud parents: we birthed a baby and now we get to watch it grow. “It” being the community of G$ users, which has surprised us in so many ways with its creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. The launch of the GoodDollar Marketplace by community #GoodPerson Travis  has ushered in nearly 12,000 G$ users to the Facebook group, with dozens of new postings each day.

Even more impressive is that we’ve now surpassed 15,000 total G$ transactions. In the first week since the G$ launch, the average of 100 transactions per day has now grown by nearly 500 per cent. This means that real people like you, are buying and selling real “things” to increase personal utility and the utility of others.

Using G$ to support creative entrepreneurship

What are G$ users buying and selling? Lots of things. From online language classes to personalized (non-digital) art to yoga classes to digital marketing services, the options are truly endless. (See more on where you can spend your G$ here.) What has surprised us most is the push made by G$ users to advertise and promote their own personal brands and businesses. A “follow” on Instagram or Youtube channel will cost a couple of G$ and a new logo will cost some more. Users are even offering to build entire websites for clients and animate and edit videos and graphics.

What’s pretty amazing here is that people are building their online brands with real, genuine followers and increasing their productivity. Last week we featured an Italian charcoal artist from the marketplace, and we’re thrilled to report he is now working on over 100 commissioned pieces for G$ folks.

Empowered community

Since the community launch of the first G$ marketplace on Facebook, there are now over 21 community-led local marketplaces on Facebook around the world. Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Colombia, Cuba, Nigeria, and Taiwan are just a few to name. These growing communities are expanding across the globe, and locally. In the Philippines, a G$ user created branded GoodDollar mugs and sold them to four local buyers, who plan to meet up and trade in Manila. In the United States, a freelance software developer is building a “G$ Coding Jobs” mailing list to notify other G$ community developers with outsourced coding tasks, paid in G$ of course.

Economists and thought leaders have argued the case for basic income to increase – not decrease – productivity, and we’re seeing it now live and thrive on these marketplaces, all around the world. The notion that an alternative currency like G$ can spew more opportunities and more global connections is a step in the right direction. We have heard anecdotes about Argentinians selling logo designs to Burkian Faoisians, about Cubans buying web design from Colombians, and of content creators using their G$’s to build their following as widely as Taiwan to Mexico. It is the global crypto payment dream in real-time!

GoodDollar is indeed doing good

We are seeing more and more examples of GoodDollar users utilising the ecosystem to do “good” in the world. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as was the case for Salvador Perez in Valencia, Spain, who sold a forgotten and unused bicycle to his neighbor for 5 G$. In Portugal, #GoodPerson Hugo Lisbona is planting trees for 15 G$. These are just two examples of the digital, circular economy we’re noticing in the marketplace: designing waste out of the system to build economic, natural and social capital.

What’s next?

The latest data, which can be viewed from the GoodDollar wallet and the live dashboard, shows that claims and sign-ups are exponentially rising around the globe. To be exact, GoodDollar users are claiming from 161 countries – 83 per cent of the world’s nations. Together we’re putting the “universal” in universal basic income.

Also, we hear you. Facebook isn’t the most ideal platform for a community-led marketplace and we want everyone to be a part of this. Please just be a little patient with us. Before moving off of Facebook, we want to continue learning about our consumer preferences and behaviors by studying what’s actually going on. Like any product, we are in marketplace beta mode as we learn how you guys want to use it. Many of you have been offering your recommendations, development expertise and assistance to build an alternative (we love it), and we will continue to update you as we build along.

We are continuing hard towards our goal of G$ enabling global digital payments, and are so thrilled to already see it happening. People just like you are using G$ to attract new customers, build brands and community engagement, and expand your own entrepreneurial universe. Simply put, we just couldn’t be more thrilled. We’ve come a long way and we have so much more ahead of us. Check out our recently published roadmap for the full details of what we’re working on behind the scenes and the questions we’re solving. Buckle up, sit tight, keep claiming, because we are just getting started.