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November 23, 2017

Hull – The City of Culture and cryptocurrency innovation

Hull is set to be the home of a new cryptocurrency project aimed at benefitting the local community, and it could spread nationwide.

By Tom Ball

Hull, the UK City of Culture 2017, has also proven to be a hub of tech innovation where a new cryptocurrency is about to be put into action after gaining £240,000 in funding.

Harnessing blockchain technology, the initiative aims to reward socially beneficial deeds and actions, and it is set to be made available to community workers and project volunteers.

The currency can be spent with local businesses, stimulating communities in a cyclical fashion. This concept is ingrained in the nature of the HullCoin, as it cannot be bought with another currency, it must be earned actions that benefit society.

Hull – The City of Culture and cryptocurrency innovation

Following a good deed, each unit of the cryptocurrency is indelibly ingrained with information of what was done to earn it, putting the action at the core of the process.

A very broad range of actions could earn the currency, including providing services like clubs to the community, with plans to empower schools and community groups to issue HullCoins to those that give to society.

While this instance of cryptocurrency use in society appears to be gaining traction, the concept is not new, with Liverpool having also explored the technology’s potential this year. The Liverpool Local Pound, a digital currency linked to sterling.

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The Liverpool Local Pound was aimed at independent retailers, with the project providing insights into customer loyalty. This is intended to provide tailored discounting, also stimulating local communities by supporting local businesses.

Technology provider, Colu, is behind the Liverpool Local Pound, and it has expressed interest in expanding to East London after receiving substantial funding of $9.6 million in 2016.

Cryptocurrencies have been surrounded by hype throughout 2017, with Bitcoin leading the way by breaking records on its meteoric journey of growth this year. A single unit of Bitcoin recently surpassed a value of $8,000, dwarfing the sub $2,000 mark it began at when the year commenced.

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