What Happens If You Just Give People Cash – in Crypto
A new basic income pilot will pay low-income New Yorkers $12,000 in cryptocurrency to help them invest in big expenses like education and housing.
The nonprofit GiveDirectly did outreach in the Bronx to recruit participants for its new basic income program.
Photographer: Barry Winiker/Photodisc via Getty Images
When Luis Acero was in his early 20s, he lost a few thousand dollars on cryptocurrency bets gone wrong. “I didn’t know what the hell I was doing,” he recalled.
Acero, now 25, is more focused on investing in his future as he finishes college. So when a friend told Acero about a new initiative to give young, low-income New Yorkers $12,000 over the next five months, he had his reservations. That’s because the money would be distributed in a cryptocurrency called USDC.