The document introduces Circles, a proposed cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain that aims to implement a basic universal income. Circles would provide a basic income by issuing new coins on a weekly basis to anyone who creates an account. The rules preventing fraud are implemented in a smart contract to ensure transparency and tamper-proof execution without a central authority. Circles combines aspects of decentralized currencies like Ripple with the concept of a basic income in the form of a standard weekly credit for all users. The proposal suggests Circles could be used alongside traditional currencies and help grow the idea of basic income from the bottom up in society.

1. BASIC INCOME ON
THE BLOCKCHAIN
Brussels - May 2016
Basic Income Meetup

2. About me
Martin Köppelmann
@koeppelmann
• Co-Founder of Gnosis (Ethereum based
prediction market - with ConsenSys
• Working full time and doing research on
blockchain topics since >3 years
• Long time basic income proponent
• Trying to understand “money” since 2008
REPLACE

3. What is money
„Money can be defined as an
agreement, within a community, to use
something as a medium of exchange.
As an agreement, money lives in the
same space as other social constructs
like marriage or lease agreements.
These constructs are real, even if they
only exist in people’s minds. The
money agreement can be made
formally or informally, freely or by
coercion, consciously or
unconsciously.“
„Our money and monetary system are,
therefore, not de facto realities like air or
water, but are choices, like social
contracts or business agreements.“
Prof. Bernard Lietaer

4. What is money
“Money can’t buy you an apple -
money can only make a human
surrender on an apple”
Randy Steve Waldman
4

5. What is Circles
Instead of building something
on top of our monetary
system we put the UBI into it
Implement the UBI
Circles run on the Ethereum
blockchain. This guarantees
transparency and tamper
proof operation while being
fully decentralized,
Blockchain technology
Circles is a path towards the basic
income we can start going today!
Ready to go
Circles combines the
resilience of small local
currencies with the efficiency
of single global currency.
The global local currency
5
Circles is a complementary currency that provides a path towards a basic income. It can be used
today in parallel to current money within groups that decide so. As it gets more widespread it will
grow the basic income bottom up into society.

6. The rules
…any time -create a
blockchain account -and will
get constantly new (personal)
Cirlces - 1000 per week.
Anyone can join..
The issuance rate will increase
by 5% per year to stabilise the
ratio between existing and
new money,
Inflation as demurrage fee
To prevent fraud people only
accept Circles from people they
trust or with a trust path (an
algorithm will find)
Web of Trust
In addition to the web of trust
groups can form to certify
identities
Groups
The rules are implemented in a Ethereum smart contract and can therefore are guaranteed to be
executed without a central entity.

7. INTERNALS - TRANSITIVE TRANSACTIONS

8. INTERNALS - TRANSITIVE TRANSACTIONS

9. Money of A is the bottle neck for the Sybils - A does not get an advantage
THE SYBIL ATTACK

10. SIMILAR PROJECT: “BASICINCOMEPROJECT.ORG”

11. View it as a peer to peer credit system
We could call the average
amount “zero” and your basic
income is just your credit
line.
What to call “zero”?
Instead of giving relaying on
banks whom to grant credit
this system is purely p2p and
simplified with the BI rules.
Credit approval p2p
And in addition no mechanism to
enforce pay back of debt. On the
other hand debt can’t default.
No interest on debt
More resilience of the system
since it is not a forced “debt
union” the Euro.
No forced debt union
Circles can be seen as a combination of Ripple and a basic income. Ripple describes the web of
trust but instead of setting individual credit lines the basic income is you credit line.

12. In practice users will use a
mobile wallet to manage Circles.
The functionality will include
sending Circles, adding new
trusted people and joining
groups.
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Mobile Wallet
Circles in practice

13. “The café”
“CAFÉ GRUNDEINKOMMEN”
We will open a café in Berlin as a place to live the idea of a
basic income. This café will accept Circles and should be a
center around the discussion about basic income in general.

14. Would you give 10% of your economic value to an basic income?
THE PLEDGE
Pledge to hold at least 10% of money in Circles, do 10% of
your work for Cirlces, sell 10% of your products for Cirlces.

15. Lets to a crowdfunding campaign to buy one good for
Euros and enable selling one more for Circles.
ONE FOR ONE

16. www.aboutcircles.com
@aboutcircles