{"id":213918,"date":"2021-03-29T20:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T17:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/growth-hacker-uses-crypto-to-help-the-unhoused\/"},"modified":"2021-03-29T20:35:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T17:35:00","slug":"growth-hacker-uses-crypto-to-help-the-unhoused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/growth-hacker-uses-crypto-to-help-the-unhoused\/","title":{"rendered":"# Growth hacker uses crypto to help the unhoused"},"content":{"rendered":"

“# Growth hacker uses crypto to help the unhoused <\/strong>”<\/p>\n

Before the 2017 bull run, growth hacker Giacomo Arcaro often slept in his car. Now an entrepreneur who speaks at crypto conferences and forums, he is looking for ways to promote adoption and help those financially struggling as a result of the ongoing pandemic.<\/p>\n

Last weekend, Arcaro prepared to issue up to $50,000 in Ether (ETH) crypto loans to homeless and unhoused people in New York City. After speaking with some of the roughly 80,000 individuals in the city\u2019s homeless population on a different occasion \u2014 and giving away some Bitcoin (BTC) in the process \u2014 he said many were, unsurprisingly, asking for money for necessities like blankets or food. However, some reportedly wanted funds to buy equipment to work remotely \u2014 e.g. microphones.<\/p>\n

On Mar. 20, the growth hacker set up posters on Wall Street with crypto expert Eloisa Marchesoni and listened to business pitches from unhoused individuals, many of whom don\u2019t have the ability to app<\/a>ly for a loan through traditional banks. Arcaro approved 12.5 ETH \u2014 roughly $22,000 at the time of publication \u2014 in loans, with an average of 0.5 ETH going to each person. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome interesting ideas that Eloisa and I vetted and funded were related to recycling, investing in the purchase of equipment to collect cans and bottles,\u201d said Arcaro. \u201cOne woman was going to use the ETH to then buy a professional trash picker and stroller cart to carry the cans and bottles to the nearest store where she will drop them off each time to get some money in return.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of\u00a0Giacomo Arcaro<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In approving the crypto loans, the growth hacker sent the ETH directly to Coinbase wallets on the recipients\u2019 smartphones with the stipulation that should they pay him back in the future, he would double the loan and continue the relationship. If they immedia<\/a>tely cash out, he would not assist them again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey did not easily accept the idea of having to download Coinbase Wallet on their phones and having to handle intangible money. It was harder than I thought to speak to them about Ether.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Though Arcaro acknowledged this is not the typical way many try to help the homeless in the United States \u2014 often by donating to non-profit organizations, giving cash directly to them on the street or through an online fundraiser \u2014 his approach is reportedly based on the work of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. The Bangladeshi social entrepreneur pioneered much of the work around microcredits in the 70s and 80s, giving small loans to many unbanked people in poor communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf these guys are smart, they can do all sorts of microinvestments,\u201d said Arcaro. \u201cIf they keep this money in their wallets and stake it, they may earn $2 or $3 per day \u2014 which is a lot for a homeless person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though it is difficult to get a true count, some estimate that there are more than 150 million individuals without homes or proper shelter around the world. In early 2020, there were more than 580,000 people homeless in the United States, with many in New York City and Los Angeles. However, with the economic impact of the pandemic, that number has<\/a> likely increased significantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can guess there\u2019s a lot of really smart people that have some issues with COVID and they are in the streets,\u201d said Arcaro. \u201cThey cannot access [credit], they cannot open any bank account, they cannot ask for mortgages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arcaro\u2019s methods require that any unhoused or homeless person requesting a crypto loan have a smartphone capable of supporting Coinbase Wallet. Though he said \u201call the homeless\u201d he encountered had access to the internet, that may not always be the case outside of a major hub like New York City. A 2018 study showed<\/a> that the majority of homeless people in the U.S. do have access to mobile phones, while a separate report from the City Bar Justice Center cited<\/a> smartphones and internet access as a major factor in shortening periods of homelessness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not comfortable with crypto, it\u2019s not for you, but [this is for] a \u2018new kind\u2019 of homeless. The \u2018startup\u2019 homeless, or the people who want to step out of poverty […] It\u2019s for people who want to do something with their life but they have bad luck.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Following the rollout on Wall Street, Arcaro said he would circle back in about a month to check in on the loan recipients to address any technical or logistical issues. He said he may eventually try the experiment in Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as internationally in Germany, Dubai, and Thailand.<\/p>\n