The non-profit organization Glo has officially launched its regulated stablecoin, Glo Dollar, with a groundbreaking mission: to combat extreme poverty on a global scale. The initiative, which went live on August 2, aims to harness the power of cryptocurrency yields to uplift millions of the world's most vulnerable populations.
In an exclusive interview with CryptoSlate, Jasper Driessens, Co-Founder of Glo, shed light on the project's ambitious objectives and its innovative approach to creating a crypto for social impact.
Glo Dollar operates as a fully-regulated stablecoin, pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and backed by a robust reserve of fiat currencies and low-risk assets like U.S. Treasuries, a model similar to industry giants such as USDC and USDT. However, its distinction lies in its altruistic core. The interest generated from these reserve assets—which would typically be profit for centralized entities—is instead channeled directly into charitable initiatives designed to alleviate extreme poverty. This unique model allows users to contribute to a significant social cause simply by holding and transacting with the stablecoin, all at no extra cost to them.
Driessens outlined his vision for Glo Dollar becoming a staple for daily financial activities, from direct money transfers to routine purchases.
"What I'm most excited about is that people who usually have nothing to do with crypto are going to be the first to put some money into Glo Dollar," he shared.
Driessens elaborated on the practical integration:
"We're also testing the different crypto on-ramps out there right now. So quite soon, you could see individuals funding their checking account with Glo Dollar and then go grocery shopping with it."
Even if users engage with Glo Dollar for short-term transactions, the yields generated during that period could provide substantial funding for Glo's charitable work. "You're essentially exchanging your regular fiat money for a version that inherently helps lift people out of extreme poverty," Driessens explained.
His goal is for Glo Dollar to be seen not just as another crypto asset but as a viable alternative to traditional bank accounts, thereby maximizing the yields generated for its philanthropic mission.
"Why Glo? I think there are three main reasons, depending on who you are. The first is, if you're just a person who cares about the world, then Glo is a modern way to lift people out of extreme poverty," Driessens stated.
He offered a compelling hypothetical scenario to illustrate the potential impact if Glo Dollar achieved a significant market capitalization.
"Let's say, theoretically, we reach the market cap of USDC and USDT combined. It's ambitious, right? Then we would be lifting 10 million people out of extreme poverty."
Driessens confirmed that Glo Dollar launched on August 2 on Uniswap via the Polygon and Ethereum networks, initially paired with USDC, with plans to expand across more chains and platforms. The ultimate goal is to establish Glo Dollar as a universal stablecoin accessible everywhere users expect it to be.
Driessens acknowledged the skepticism surrounding cryptocurrency but believes Glo Dollar presents an opportunity to change that perception.
"We see people in our community who generally don't like crypto or might even be opposed to it, but they make an exception for Glo because they prefer holding a currency with a philanthropic angle."
This charitable focus provides a unique pathway to drive early adoption and challenge the stablecoin "duopoly" of USDT and USDC. Driessens added:
"Because we have this non-profit philanthropic characteristic, we have a community that is genuinely excited about our stablecoin, which is something most centralized stablecoins can't claim. This gives us a clear strategy to overcome the early adoption challenge."
When asked about his views on Worldcoin, another project focused on universal basic income, Driessens explained their divergent paths.
"In the very beginning, we thought of ourselves as a non-profit competitor to Worldcoin, but over the last year and a half, we've completely branched out. Right now, only at a very high level are we in the same category."
He highlighted two key differences: Worldcoin's goal is a global UBI, whereas Glo is specifically focused on extreme poverty. The other major distinction is Worldcoin's free-floating cryptocurrency versus Glo Dollar's stablecoin model.
"They have this very compelling and also somewhat controversial technology with their Orb, which as an individual, I'm super excited about," Driessens noted. "But that's not something Glo Dollar is involved with; our focus is purely on stablecoins."
While Worldcoin has captured more headlines, the two projects take distinctly different routes to leveraging crypto for social good. It remains to be seen which model will gain more traction in achieving its objectives.
To ensure Glo Dollar operates in a regulation-friendly manner, Glo has partnered with the stablecoin infrastructure firm Brale, which holds the necessary U.S. money transmitter licenses to issue regulated stablecoins, Driessens explained.
"If you want to launch a US-regulated stablecoin, you have to be compliant. This means you can either acquire all the required licenses yourself, which is very time-consuming and expensive... or you can partner with someone who already has them," said Driessens.
This partnership with Brale allows Glo to focus on its mission and growth while ensuring that users in the United States can legally and safely use Glo Dollars.
Glo Dollar has set an ambitious goal: to leverage the inherent power of stablecoin yields to lift millions out of extreme poverty worldwide.
Its success will hinge on attracting adoption from both crypto users seeking alternatives to USDT and USDC and from non-crypto users drawn to its philanthropic promise.
If the project achieves its theoretical potential, it could demonstrate the immense power of incentivizing social good through crypto-economic models. However, the challenge remains for the nascent stablecoin to capture sufficient market share to make a tangible impact on global poverty.
