[nradov]

This looks like yet another cryptocurrency scam. If you want to lift people out of poverty you can just donate directly to many charities that have been doing great work for decades. You don't need to go through this extra step where a bunch of crypto grifters are taking a cut.

[glocoin]

We actually donate all the money we generate to one such a charity (GiveDirectly). If you want to donate money to GiveDirectly, that's amazing and we encourage it—donating $35/month lifts one person out of extreme poverty [1]

Glo is an additional way to contribute to GiveDirectly. Instead of (or in addition to) donating convert your USD to Glo and it will passively generate money for GiveDirectly.

Our goal is to scale up the available money for GiveDirectly to give away. We're an actual non-profit, not a scam, and no one is taking a cut. Our operations are paid from philanthropic donations; donors receive nothing; employees receive a salary.

1: https://www.givedirectly.org/beta/

[hither_shores]

> Instead of (or in addition to) donating convert your USD to Glo and it will passively generate money for GiveDirectly. Our goal is to scale up the available money for GiveDirectly to give away.

That GiveDirectly isn't already doing something similar indicates to me that they believe it's not an effective use of money. You, I assume, disagree. Why should I trust your judgement over theirs?

[glocoin]

We're not endorsed by GiveDirectly, but in our informal chats they expressed excitement about our plans. I can't speak for them but I can imagine they want to focus on their core model. Building and issuing a stablecoin is quite a separate enterprise.

As for whether Glo is an effective use of money, if we'd capture 5% of the stablecoin market we'd generate the total amount of money GiveDirectly distributed in 2021 [1]

1. https://www.globalincomecoin.com/articles/vision-and-growth-...

[csw-001]

I appreciate that you address head on the notion that people can “just give money directly” and you provide a link.

What I think I’m missing is the Why? Why would I want Glo? What’s better about owning this crypto currency than just parking my $1000 in an FDIC insured bank account and donating $25?

(Honest question - not trying to troll here at all - I’m just not seeing a reason to turn money into Glo Coin)

[setgree]

It's a good question! I work at Glo and I'll take a stab at it.

First, if you're already someone who uses stablecoins, Glo will do the same stuff that your stablecoin of choice does, and also provide some social good on top. We think that's going to be compelling to some folks.

Otherwise, we're aiming to reach folks who might be inspired by the long-term vision and thus be willing to put up with some friction relative to "parking my $1000 in an FDIC insured bank account and donating $25." No worries if that isn't you.

The next stage for us is to make Glo increasingly viable as a currency, meaning that you can actually use it to buy and sell stuff. That's probably the phase where Glo becomes more attractive to many than a traditional savings account.

We described these stages in more detail in a recent post to the effective altruism forum [0].

Hope that clarifies, happy to discuss this at length here or via email (seth at global income coin dot com), etc.

[0] https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/EAiwxZN4Jiyup8d9G/...