The digital currency dogecoin has become popular for its use in tipping on reddit and its community’s willingness to contribute to worthy causes.
Now, however, an anonymous character known only as ‘Hood’ is highlighting the altruistic side of the dogecoin community even further by giving away thousands of dollars-worth of the altcoin to address social injustice.
In one tweet, he (if indeed Hood is a he) said:
An upcoming project to help those that can no longer afford rent in a city they call home. http://t.co/xTlPFc0hVv
— Hood (@savethemhood) March 25, 2014
Hood, whose Twitter slogan is “I dabble in street art and cryptocurrency. Question everything”, has been posting Banksy-style flyers around San Francisco, California, complete with pull-off tabs printed with a QR code that links to a dogecoin tip. Anyone can take one and, using a digital wallet on a cell phone or computer, receive the funds.
Tipping for change
In addition to his flyer campaign, Hood is making significant online dogecoin donations to influential and presumably well-off people – such as actor Ashton Kutcher, New York Times journalist Nick Bilton, and television host Jimmy Fallon – and announcing the tips on Twitter.
However, the tips are not destined to stay with the recipients, but are to be passed on to people more in need:
Today I tip the influential, those that understand technology, those that can help distribute to the poor.
— Hood (@savethemhood) April 9, 2014
Ben Doernberg of the Dogecoin Foundation told CoinDesk:
“Hood is using his dogecoin to help the poor while making an artistic statement. The beauty of a decentralized currency is that he can spend it how he wants, and I hope others use it as inspiration for their own good deeds.”
Judgement call
Hood’s is an interesting campaign – giving money to notable citizens for redistribution to the needy and raising awareness in the process – but what’s to stop people from just keeping the money?
It seems Hood is just trusting that his judgement is correct when he tips someone. Many tweets follow the formula:
@tipdoge tip @gaberivera 2000000 doge – I ask that you give to your followers in need. Those that can’t afford housing or food.
— Hood (@savethemhood) April 9, 2014
Said Doernberg:
“I saw at least one of the wealthy people he tipped yesterday – @jason has already committed to donate his tip to the homeless, and I hope the rest follow suit.”
He added that so far, Hood has donated around $20,000, or 45 million DOGE, as part of his campaign.
Giving with cryptocurrencies
One of the advantages of digital currencies is that they can be transferred across the world almost instantly and at almost no cost, which makes them ideal for use in making charitable donations or to provide funds for relief aid.
The dogecoin community has notably raised funds for Indian and Jamaican athletes to attend the Winter Olympics in Sochi, as well as a well-building project in a drought-hit region of Kenya.
While bitcoiners are less known for charity giving, Sean’s Outpost, founded by Jason King, is a homeless outreach project that is funded by bitcoin donations.
Furthermore, after Japanese-American Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto was, possibly falsely, ‘outed’ as the founder of bitcoin by Newsweek, an online campaign raised over $20,000 in bitcoin to support him.
The tragic mudslide in Washington State recently also saw 13 bitcoins raised via the sympathetic reddit community to help victims and their families.
This story was first reported on Business Insider.