Title: Exploring UBICoin: Pioneering a Digital Universal Basic Income

Author: Olivia Winslow

Contact: oliviawinslowmn@gmail.com

Introduction:

In a groundbreaking stride towards economic equality and social well-being, a new digital currency has emerged from an unexpected place. UBICoin, which can be found at https://www.myubicoin.com, has been quickly gaining attention in Universal Basic Income circles. I had the privilege to sit down with Darrel Cusey, UBICoin’s creator, in Duluth Minnesota. Let's delve into the details of UBICoin and the principles that underpin this novel approach.

Interview:

Q: Can you introduce us to the concept of UBICoin and how it aligns with the idea of Universal Basic Income?

A: Certainly. UBICoin is essentially a digital currency designed to provide a form of Universal Basic Income. It's a decentralized system that ensures financial support reaches every individual without intermediaries, a central authority, or means-testing. The concept of UBI itself revolves around the idea of providing a regular, unconditional sum of currency to every citizen, regardless of their socioeconomic status or any other factors. UBICoin takes this concept into the digital realm, leveraging technology to make this economic safety net even more accessible and inclusive than existing attempts at digital currency.

Q: How does UBICoin work on a technical level? Can you shed some light on the underlying technology?

A: Absolutely. UBICoin operates in a way that is similar to existing blockchain technologies, with some important differences that make it far more accessible and far more friendly to the environment. First, it uses time as its proof-of-stake instead of CPU cycles. This allows it to generate UBICoin on your smartphone without draining your battery, or overheating your phone. No more starting your phone on fire!

Q: Not being on fire is a great benefit! I’m surprised more people haven’t thought of it.

A: Right?! And, because time passes the same for everyone, everyone receives exactly the same amount of UBICoin at exactly the same rate, and no consensus mechanism is required. That also means UBICoin doesn’t need a shared ledger. No more 500 Gig downloads!

Q: You know, even if I had 500 GB of space on my phone, I think I would still run out of room!

A: I know the feeling! I love taking pictures when I’m out on hikes, but I’m always running out of storage space on my phone and moving to Duluth has not helped that!  But, it’s a good problem to have.

Q: I bet you have some great sunset photos! So, are you saying the UBICoin wallet just generates UBICoin on its own?

A: Yes, this technology ensures transparency and eliminates the need for a central authority. Each UBICoin wallet, at regular intervals, creates a predetermined amount of UBICoins. The use of strong encryption, and the use of a one-time-pad for every transaction guarantees the security of transactions.

Q: If there is no central ledger, then how do you prevent the double-spend issue?

A: I see you have done your homework for this interview!

Q: Guilty as charged! I’m actually a bit of a closet cryptocurrency fan. If there is such a thing!

A: I’m sure you’re not alone! Yes, that’s a great question! Of course, not having a shared ledger, you would think that anyone could just tamper with their local wallet files and do whatever they want. But the way we make this impossible is actually quite simple. We use three layers of protection that work together. We use multiple rounds of strong encryption on the UBICoin wallet. Encryption using 128 bits has never been cracked, and we are using significantly stronger encryption than that. Second, even if you could break the encryption, the encryption algorithm, itself, is procedurally generated using a wide variety of hardware identifiers that are readily available on smartphones. The identifiers, like your network ID, are unique to your phone and never change. So, your wallet is uniquely-tied to your phone. Only your phone can read and write to your wallet. And, third, every transaction against your wallet will trigger a complete regeneration of the entire wallet. Attempts to copy the wallet, modify it, or even use an earlier version of your own wallet… will simply fail. So, for example, if someone were to try making a copy of their wallet, spend coins, and then try to restore the older version, it would just fail. 

Q: If the UBICoin balance is based on time, couldn’t someone just change their local clock setting on their phone?

A: When the UBICoin wallet starts a transaction, the current time for both phones is compared as part of the One-Time-Pad generation. If those times don’t match then the transaction will fail.

Q: What if both the sender and receiver put their clocks ahead - the times would match then, right?

A: More homework I see - these are great questions! Let’s say that Bob has set his phone time ahead, making it look like he has more UBICoin than he should have. Now he tries to send some of this fake UBICoin to his friend Carl. The transaction will fail because the phone times do not match. Let’s say that Bob then tries to convince Carl to set his phone forward as well so the transaction will go through. If Carl falls for this, then Carl will lose UBICoin when he sets his phone back to the right time. If Carl doesn’t set his phone back to the correct time, then Carl is now in the same situation as Bob. Effectively, that fake UBICoin generated by putting your phone time forward is unspendable because no one is going to change their phone time so that they can receive UBICoin from someone else. And, if they do, well, UBICoin strongly uses FAFO design principles and Carl will have learned a valuable lesson. But, Carl is smart, so he refuses to do this. UBICoin will also check the local time against internet time services, as a secondary form of validation.

Q: So, UBICoin requires internet connectivity whenever it does a transaction, to check those time servers?

A: UBICoin is designed from the ground-up to be functional without internet connectivity. This is a core design principle. There are situations where internet connectivity to network time servers is unavailable or maybe a person just doesn’t want to connect to the internet at that time. There may not even be any time tampering happening at all - the phone’s internet connectivity is just off, or connectivity is unavailable. In these scenarios, the local time between sender and receiver will still be compared, so if the times match then the transaction can still go through and the participants in the transaction can be confident that the transaction is valid. 

Q: If I am running a busy store with a lot of cashiers, would I have to train them not to change their clock time?

A: Well, you should definitely do that anyway, but to make it easier for merchants we provide badges on the payment screen that make it obvious that something might not be right (not necessarily fraud, but just maybe something unusual). For example, in the scenario where a customer is not setting their time via a network time server, a “Broken Time” badge is displayed prominently on the payment screen. This allows UBICoin to still function without internet connectivity, while making it very clear to merchants (or anyone really) that the phone time is not guaranteed to be correct. These payment screen badges work as a “Buyer Beware” sign. Merchants can choose whether they want to accept payments when they see badges, even if local times match. There are many other checks as well, and many other badges. A clean phone has a clean payment screen - that’s all that merchants have to look for, so training is easy.

Q: Just that simple?

A: Well, it gets a little bit more complicated when you get into the weeds, but the underlying technologies have been with us for a long time. They just needed to be used together to cross-check each other. And there’s actually a lot more going on than those systems, but I think that gives you an idea about how serious we are about preventing fraud.

Q: That sounds fascinating. How do you determine who is eligible to receive UBICoins?

A: Great question!. Modern digital currencies have begun to understand the problems that are inherent in blockchain and proof-of-work technologies. Namely, these technologies suffer from End-of-Life issues, Onramp issues, Collapsing ROI issues, and “Tragedy of the Commons” issues. Large miners can effectively make it impossible for new miners to get started. Most people don’t have $7000 to buy even a single ASIC miner.

Q: I know I don’t! And then there’s the electricity costs.

A: Yes, the cost not just in terms of how much you pay to your electric company, but also the cost in terms of the destruction of the environment. Even with top-of-the-line mining technology, if you aren’t getting your electricity dirt cheap, you’ll be operating at a loss. So, in the case of existing digital currencies, eligibility to participate in the currency is extremely strict and limited. That makes proof-of-work technology an extremely poor choice for a universal basic income.

Q: So, what does eligibility look like for UBICoin?

A: In the case of UBICoin, the system uses verifiable digital identities to confirm the eligibility of recipients. Currently, UBICoin only requires a fingerprint to verify your digital identity because the technology is already widely available on existing smartphones.This greatly reduces the potential for fraud or misuse, ensuring that UBICoins are distributed to the intended recipients. It is estimated that 85% of people in the US currently have smartphones, so that’s been our goal all along for eligibility. People just need a fingerprint and a smartphone, that’s it.

Q: And you don’t have to travel to another state to get your eyes scanned!

A: Yes, that’s certainly one way of establishing a digital identity! But, again, you are effectively reducing your eligibility by excluding the people who probably need it the most. Most people can’t afford to buy $7000 ASIC miners, and most people also can’t afford to travel to another state to get their eyes scanned. With UBICoin, we wanted to keep our unconditionality, eligibility and universality as high as possible. The obvious solution was to make sure it could run on any smartphone with just a fingerprint for authentication.

Q: One concern with UBI is its potential impact on work incentives. How does UBICoin address this concern?

A: You're touching on an important topic. UBICoin aims to supplement income rather than replace it. It's designed to provide a basic level of financial stability, which can free individuals to pursue education, training, or entrepreneurial endeavors without the constant fear of survival. The hope is that UBICoin can foster innovation and personal development, ultimately benefiting society as a whole. As of version 1.5, the UBICoin wallet generates 2000 UBICoin per month, and most merchants are currently valuing UBICoin at around $0.50/coin, so it is never regressive. 

Q: Now, let's address the practical aspect. How can individuals use UBICoin in their daily lives?

A: UBICoin is designed to be versatile. Recipients can use it for basic necessities such as food, housing, and healthcare. This flexibility empowers individuals to make choices that align with their needs and aspirations.UBICoin has value because you can exchange it for the products and services you want and need. In the United States, federal government support programs use means-testing, which greatly reduces the number of qualified recipients. These programs, while essential, have a limited scope of usability, strongly defining exactly what can be purchased and who it can be purchased from. UBICoin removes those barriers.

Q: Since UBICoin is just being generated automatically, how does it maintain value?

A: Those are great questions! UBICoin’s value comes from its unconditionality and universality - namely, that anyone with a smartphone and a fingerprint can receive it, and everyone receives exactly the same amount at exactly the same rate. Unlike all other proof-of-work digital currencies, technological advantage can’t be used to hoard the currency and push other people out. Those other digital currencies go through a lot of work (for example adjusting their difficulty) all just to ensure that their tokens are generated at a consistent rate. UBICoin took a different approach, we started with a guaranteed rate using time as the proof-of-stake because time passes at the same rate for everyone. In fact, time is the only rating mechanism that is universally fair. So, we are accomplishing the same thing (token generation occuring at a guaranteed rate) with a lot less work. UBICoin accomplishes this without the need to calculate 110 petahashes per second, and without emitting 65 megatons of carbon dioxide every year. I think people will see the value in that.

Q: You must get this question all the time from people who are new to UBICoin, but who is accepting it?

A: That’s a valid question. My first response to that is “you are!” People are usually a little surprised by that answer, but that’s really the best answer. UBICoin is designed to remove as many barriers as possible - including barriers to starting a small business. If you want to accept UBICoin in a small business, you have everything you need with just the UBICoin wallet. Just click the “Store Mode” button. Done and done!

Q: There must be more than that - that sounds almost too good to be true!

A: There is no setting up digital shopping carts, no card scanners, no merchant gateways, no terminals, no special business bank accounts. Nothing is needed, just a phone and a fingerprint. If you have a backyard, set up a chicken coup, buy some chickens and start selling eggs. If you don’t have a backyard, grow herbs and peppers in planters on your balcony. If you don’t have a balcony, bake bread, tailor clothes…  the possibilities are endless and the means to production aren’t as inaccessible as the corporations would like you to believe. Use the internet! It’s full of recipes, clothing patterns, tutorials on canning and baking, livestock management… the list goes on and on. I tell people to stop thinking like they are only a consumer.

Q: So life is more than just consumption?

A: Exactly! 

Q: But, that can take time to set up.

A: Yes, and it’s more than just buying a sewing machine or planting some herbs. People also have to heal from the consumer mindset and the learned corporate dependence that has been encoded into them their entire life. 

In the interim, I encourage people to go down to their local farmer’s market. They may already be accepting UBICoin - you’d be surprised how fast this movement is growing! If they’re not, set up a meeting with the local growers and crafters, maybe at your local community center or a coffee shop, or in a room at your local technical college. The myUBICoin.com website has a whole section of professional and easy-to-understand videos to explain how UBICoin works, and how you can begin accepting payments in UBICoin, and how it can be a HUGE benefit to them to do so. Just play the videos for them, that’s usually all it takes. Once people can buy food with UBICoin in your local community, it doesn’t take much to bring in other local businesses.

Q: So, since every UBICoin wallet is generating UBICoin, how do you prevent inflation?

A: It seems like that would be extremely difficult, but actually that’s the easiest part. Every UBICoin that is generated is eventually destroyed. It would be a huge problem if UBICoin didn’t have any currency sinks. UBICoin, though, has a built-in currency sink that cannot be circumvented. A tiny percent of UBICoin is destroyed with every transaction. This is called the UBICoin Burn Rate.  The Burn Rate removes UBICoin from the economy as it is used, preventing inflation.  This Burn Rate is calculated differently for every wallet based on the number of transactions a wallet makes, the size of the transactions, the inflow/outflow ratio, age of the wallet, and many other factors. All of these measurements are collected automatically.  Traditional currency sinks require exorbitant amounts of personal information from the individual, and then make guesses about income and expense patterns based on all of this information (like the US tax system, for example). UBICoin can see the transactions directly in an aggregate way, so it does not need to collect any personal information or make any guesses. Everything is calculated automatically by the UBICoin wallet.

Q: If the Burn Rate is so small, then won’t it be overshadowed by the amount generated?

A: You have to remember, though, that any currency (including UBICoin) is circulated - meaning it is spent multiple times. And each time it is spent, some small amount of UBICoin is burned. A single transaction (for example, buying a steak from a butcher) is supported by dozens or even hundreds of downstream transactions that are required just to get that steak to that store. The cattle need feed, water, and veterinary care. Drivers have to be paid to transport the product. Farmers need to be paid to raise the cattle. And, all those people have to buy groceries, pay employees, and pay expenses for their businesses. The more a community is using UBICoin, the more it is circulated, and the more UBICoin is being burned. A natural economic equilibrium occurs. It’s as reliable as the laws of supply and demand.

The goal of the UBICoin Burn Rate is to provide enough income for each wallet to pay for basic monthly expenses (like food, clothing, and shelter) while still allowing each person to save for milestone expenses like purchasing a car, paying for college, buying a home, and saving for retirement. Over the entire lifetime of the UBICoin wallet, the amount of UBICoin burned is always equal to the amount of UBICoin generated. However, because the Burn Rate operates on a bell-shaped curve over the span of a person's entire lifetime, this system of achieving eventual equilibrium is nascent and imperceivable. You'll probably never even notice it.

Q: Your journey is inspiring, but reaching people with innovative ideas can be challenging. How have you approached the marketing and promotion of UBICoin?

A: That's a valid concern. We utilize online communities, forums, and social media platforms to spread the word about UBICoin's benefits. Additionally, partnerships with like-minded organizations and leveraging word-of-mouth recommendations can amplify our reach.Its honestly an uphill battle, but not because of any technological issues or anything like that. Our biggest challenge is, honestly, helping people drop their axiomatic thinking about currency. UBICoin, due to its very nature, allows retailers to participate in arbitrage - which is something they are not used to. Trying to explain that you can pay your employees with UBICoin and accept UBICoin in exchange for their products and services at DIFFERENT rates is… well, it can be a challenge. People believe it’s “too good to be true” until you “show them the math.”

Q: So the math, does math?

A: Right, yes, “the math does math.” I just always bring a whiteboard with me to merchant meetings at this point. Usually I go through a round of the Store Planner spreadsheet with them as well. It’s very face-to-face at this point, but that’s just fine with me. That’s the whole point of UBICoin - supporting your local community, so I actually love it.

Q: I think face-to-face conversations are a lost art form! So, bravo for supporting that! But, who currently accepts UBICoin?

A: The merchants who are currently onboard can “see the writing on the wall.” They have been watching their businesses slow down, some since the 1970’s, due to the effects of manufactured poverty, income inequality, wealth hoarding, and most-importantly, the growing gap between inflation and wages. When people don’t have disposable income, the only businesses that can survive are the ones providing the basic necessities (like grocery stores). And even the grocery stores are suffering because they already operate on such tight margins. “Main Street, USA” is mostly boarded up because people can barely afford to just get by. It’s not sustainable, and it doesn’t support the kind of world we all want to live in. If our government isn’t going to do something about it, then we have to do it ourselves. That’s why I made UBICoin, and that’s why merchants are joining me.

Q: So, you have a list of merchants?

A: Yes, absolutely. To prevent Swamp/Starve conditions, we are going to announce all the merchants who are ready to accept UBICoin all at once. They are all set-up and ready to go, but have agreed to wait until we have a critical mass of merchants onboard. When that happens, it will be announced inside the UBICoin app itself and, of course, social media announcements too. We have a whole section dedicated to merchants to help them understand UBICoin and a step-by-step process for how to begin accepting it in their store. Merchants can find those resources at https://www.myubicoin.com/for-your-store 

Q: So, really headline news?

A: Well, a lot of people don’t fully understand digital currencies yet, so I’ll be happy with even something on the back page!

Q: I’m sure it won’t be back page news! Well, I think our time is about up, so thank you for meeting with me and discussing UBICoin, this has been a fascinating discussion! I wish you good luck in your rollout. What you’re doing is truly inspiring.

A: Thank you so much! I really appreciate the opportunity to chat with you today.

As we wrap up this insightful conversation, it's clear that UBICoin represents a significant stride towards economic inclusivity. In a world where technological advancements continue to reshape our lives, UBICoin stands out as a unique testament to the power of innovation in addressing societal challenges. UBICoin's impact on individual lives and the broader economy remains a promising journey yet to fully unfold. You can join this journey at https://www.myubicoin.com.