What if I told you there was a way to make money by doing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary? That's the promise behind a new digital cryptocurrency that aims to pay people simply for walking.
Bitwalking will reward users with a single unit of its currency - the Bitwalking dollar, or BW$ - for every 10,000 steps (roughly five miles) they take. Steps are tracked using a smartphone although the company behind the initiative is said to be working on a wearable wristband that'd do the same thing.
A smartphone's GPS and Wi-Fi will be used to track steps while a custom algorithm will verify the data to weed out cheaters. At launch, usage will be capped at around three BW$ per day and we're told that using multiple accounts won't be allowed.
Earned funds can be used to purchase items from an online store or converted to cash.
The duo behind Bitwalking, Nissan Bahar and Franky Imbesi, say the idea is to take advantage of the fitness tracker trend while simultaneously giving people further incentive to stay fit. For some, especially those in developing countries that have long commutes by foot to work, school or even to fetch fresh water, Bitwalking could be a real game-changer. This, of course, is assuming that it actually takes off and maintains some semblance of value.
On the subject of privacy, Bahar says the information won't be for sale. The executive said they may explore offering advertisers the opportunity to focus on different groups depending on how active they are, but they won't explicitly pass on any information relating to an individual's movements.
There's a lot of potential here, especially if the company can drum up interest from health insurance firms, employers or anyone else with a vested interest in helping people stay in shape.
Interested parties can request an invite by clicking here.
Image courtesy beeboys, Shutterstock