GoodDollar
GoodDollar is an open-source, blockchain-based universal basic income (UBI) protocol that lets anyone with a smartphone claim free G$ tokens after verifying their unique identity. It is developed and promoted by Good Labs, a Cayman Islands-registered foundation company, and governed on-chain by the GoodDAO community. Funding comes from DeFi yield generated on crypto reserves staked by corporate and community supporters (founding sponsor eToro since 2019, and XDC Network via a $900K partnership in October 2025) rather than direct cash donations to recipients. As of October 2025, more than 910,000 people across 210 countries had signed up, claiming small daily amounts of G$ pooled and divided among all verified claimants. The protocol runs on Ethereum, Celo, Fuse and now XDC Network, with roughly two-thirds of users from emerging-market economies.
Blockchain, DeFi Yield, Crypto UBI, DAO Governance, Multi-chain (Ethereum/Celo/Fuse/XDC), Global, Emerging Markets, Financial Inclusion
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Good Labs Foundation (Good Labs Ltd.)
- City
- George Town
- State / Province
- Grand Cayman
- Country
- Cayman Islands
Contact
- Website
- https://www.gooddollar.org/
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Rolling
- Number of recipients
- 910,000
- Funding type
- Corporate, Philanthropic
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Crypto
- Payment frequency
- Variable
- Ongoing / unconditional
- Yes
- Distribution Type
- Digital/Crypto Wallet (GoodWallet, GoodDapp)
- Benefit details
G$ tokens are minted daily by the GoodDollar Reserve and distributed to all verified members who log in and claim within a rolling 24-hour window; the pool is divided among everyone who claims that day, so the per-person amount is small and variable. Funding for the distribution pool comes from DeFi yield on staked reserves (eToro, XDC Network), not direct donor payments to individuals. Claiming requires periodic re-verification via face/liveness scanning, which also functions as a 'Proof of Need' filter. There is no guaranteed value, redemption mechanism, or fixed total amount promised to any user.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Any individual 18 or older, anywhere in the world with internet/smartphone access, may sign up and claim G$ after completing identity/liveness verification. No income, employment, or demographic screening beyond age and identity uniqueness, though the platform is positioned to serve the world's unbanked/underbanked, and about 67% of users are from emerging-market economies (notably Nigeria, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Brazil). U.S. persons and residents/citizens of sanctioned countries are explicitly barred from using the service.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
Financial
- Banked status
- Unbanked, Underbanked
Application Process
- How to apply
Users create a free GoodWallet account (via wallet.gooddollar.org) using a Facebook/Google login or mobile number, then complete a face-verification and liveness test to establish a unique, non-duplicated identity. Once verified, the user can immediately begin claiming G$ once every 24 hours through GoodWallet or any GoodDapp-connected Web3 wallet. No application form, income documentation, or approval process beyond identity verification.
- Selection process
There is no discretionary selection or means-testing; every person who passes the biometric uniqueness/liveness verification is automatically eligible to claim daily G$ UBI. Continued eligibility depends on completing periodic re-verification cycles; failure to re-verify suspends claiming until the next cycle. Sybil-resistance is enforced by comparing each new face scan against an anonymized dataset of existing face-maps.
