The Grantcoin Foundation, a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, distributed Basic Income grants of Grantcoin digital currency to 1,132 self-selected applicants in at least 79 countries around the world on January 31. This is almost 400 more people and 10 more countries than the previous distribution of Grantcoin Basic Income on October 1, 2016.

Grantcoin is the first currency in world history that’s backed by a nonprofit NGO and designed to help create a more fair global distribution of wealth. Grantcoin is also the first Blockchain-based currency to be distributed by a tax-exempt nonprofit organization and the first currency to be distributed globally according to the principle of Universal Basic Income (UBI).

So far, over 20 million Grantcoin (GRT) has been distributed to recipients of Grantcoin Basic Income (GBI) around the world – worth over $13,000 U.S. dollars.

“Grantcoin is already making a big impact in people’s lives — especially people who live in impoverished countries and need this financial support to save for a better future,” said Eric Stetson, founder and Executive Director of the Grantcoin Foundation. “Imagine the tremendous, world-changing impact that Grantcoin could have if this project really gets funded,” he said, referencing the Grantcoin Foundation’s current status as a small nonprofit startup and its hope to attract larger benefactors.

Economic Value Distributed This Quarter

A total of 6,697,957.301225 GRT was distributed this quarter — the third quarterly distribution of Grantcoin — through Basic Income grants and referral bonuses. At the January 31 price of Grantcoin on Bittrex, the largest exchange where the currency is traded, that is worth approximately $4,196.90 U.S. dollars.

The average recipient received 5,916.923411 GRT. At the January 31 price of Grantcoin, that is worth approximately $3.71 in U.S. dollars.

Accounting, Evidence, and Geographical Breakdown of Basic Income Grants

In accordance with the Grantcoin Foundation’s plan to add 3.5 per cent per year to the Grantcoin money supply through Basic Income grants, 0.875 per cent was added in this way in the third quarterly distribution of Grantcoin. 463,010,582.175444 GRT was in circulation (i.e. not held in reserve by the Grantcoin Foundation) on January 31 before the distribution occurred, so 4,051,342.594035 GRT was distributed from a Grantcoin Reserve wallet designated for Basic Income Grants (wallet address: GV9ns15UAPwnxs4Bo4mNZ2SwN2RTaSNayR).

Each recipient received 3,578.924553 GRT in Basic Income this quarter.

Evidence of this distribution can be found in these transactions in the Grantcoin Blockchain, broken down into geographical groupings as follows:

Accounting, Evidence, and Leaderboard for Referral Bonuses

2,646,614.707190 GRT in referral bonuses were distributed this quarter from a Grantcoin Reserve wallet designated for Growth Incentives (wallet address: GSopxVrRWDM3hnBtoJFKTf7qamz7H3S5R4). These transactions were sent on February 1.

572 people received a referral bonus this quarter. 111 people referred at least one person to the program (worth 3,578.924553 GRT per referral), and the others received a bonus (1,789.462277 GRT) for signing up with somebody’s referral code. Note: If you referred somebody who signed up but has not yet been verified for the program, you will not receive the corresponding referral bonus until their application is approved.

Evidence of the distribution of referral bonuses can be found in these transactions in the Grantcoin Blockchain, broken down into groupings as follows:

The top referrer this quarter earned the Grantcoin equivalent of $141 U.S. dollars — great job! Congratulations also to all the new referrers who are earning big bonuses for spreading the word about Grantcoin in Ghana, where more people have now signed up for Grantcoin than any other country except the United States.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our referral program. Let’s keep the growth and momentum going!

Wallets To Be Distributed This Weekend

When people verified their signup for Grantcoin Basic Income, they were given the option of either creating their own Grantcoin wallet and sending us the address, or having the Grantcoin Foundation create a wallet for them. Many people chose the latter option.

We distributed Grantcoin into all of these wallets, but people who didn’t create their own wallet don’t have access to the funds yet. We will provide the address and private key to each person for whom we created a wallet — this information will be sent by encrypted email (via Lockbin) within the next few days.

Automation, Web-Based Distribution, and the Future of Grantcoin Basic Income

The Grantcoin Foundation recently partnered with Ekata Social to develop an automated system for verifying and approving signups for Grantcoin. This new system has significantly reduced the amount of human labor required for our organization to enroll applicants for Grantcoin Basic Income and filter out fraudulent registrations. We’re still working to improve the system and increase the percentage of people that can be approved automatically, without the need for manual review.

The next aspects of Grantcoin that will be automated are the creation of wallets and distribution of Basic Income and referral bonuses. Working with Ekata, we hope to get these important developments done before the next quarterly distribution in April.

A longer-term goal is to develop web-based wallets and distribute Grantcoin directly within the Ekata platform, so that people can spend it there, in Ekata’s user-friendly social media interface. This will only be possible with a much greater level of funding than the resources the Grantcoin Foundation currently has available.

We Need Your Help

If you like what we’re doing and you want to see the Grantcoin project continue to grow and achieve greater milestones of success, please help us. We invite you to read our recently published Case for Support, an 18-page document detailing our achievements, plans, and specific financial needs; and donate to the Grantcoin Foundation, buy Grantcoin, or volunteer your time and talent.

Together, we can create a world in which money:

“…shall be issued to all people as a human right, as a universal basic income to be enjoyed by all — to compensate, at least partially, for the accidents of birth and circumstances of fortune that have blessed or condemned different people and regions of the world to wealth or poverty.”

That’s the Grantcoin Mission, and we’re doing our best to bring it to fruition.

Thank you for your support and participation — together we can change the world! Click here to join today!