A digital crypto-currency has launched that is generated by human movement.
Bitwalking dollars will be earned by walking, unlike other digital currencies such as Bitcoins that are “mined” by computers. A phone application counts and verifies users’ steps, with walkers earning approximately 1 BW$ for about 10,000 steps (about five miles). Initially, users will be given the chance to spend what they earn in an online store, or trade them for cash. The founders of the project, Nissan Bahar and Franky Imbesi have attracted more than $10m (£6.6m) of initial funding from mainly Japanese investors to help launch the currency and create the bank that verifies steps and any transfers.
Japanese electronics giant Murata is working on a wearable wristband that will provide an alternative to carrying a smartphone and show how many BW$ the wearer has earned. Shoe manufacturers are poised to accept the currency, and a UK high street bank is in talks to partner with the project at one of the UK’s biggest music festivals next year. The founders have a track record in disruptive technology that could help developing nations as much as richer ones.
Last year they launched Keepod, a $7 USB stick that acts like a computer in Nairobi, Kenya. (bbc)
