Make Your Own Money? Circles Wants To Return Crypto To Its Egalitarian Beginnings
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Will crypto ever return to its community-first ideals? As banks and institutions gobble up Bitcoin and whales consolidate control over ETH supply, true believers might be forgiven for reminiscing.
Circles (V1) began its life in 2020 as an experiment in decentralized, permissionless currency. The aim was to give the de-banked and financially marginalized universal basic access (UBA) to digital cash.
As an alternative to UBA leaders like centralized, biometrics-driven Worldcoin, it was laudable and intriguing. But the idea didn’t catch fire.
Now Circles is back with V2, which the project says delivers better value and a stronger economic model.
At a low-key launch event in April, co-founder Martin Köppelmann noted that bringing V2 to life has been a decade-long journey.
“Circles is a big and radical idea. It poses the question, ‘How does money really work, and can we make it better?”
Because Bitcoin is still held by a fraction of the world’s population, Köppelmann said its adoption curve means price rises mainly profit those who bought-in early. Circles V2, he said, aims to deliver crypto’s benefits to the masses.
“We are trying to take the best of Bitcoin, its decentralization, but try to be radically fair in its distribution.”
A Global Currency for a Globalized World
Circles V2 is part of Köppelmann’s Gnosis Chain project for an open and decentralized internet. At its core is a democratic money system that spreads financial gains widely.
Every Circles user can mint the same number of Circles (CRC) tokens for as long as they are active – one per hour.
That’s very different from Bitcoin, where current holders are poised to benefit most. It also sets it apart …
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