This Startup Wants You To Earn Cryptocurrency By Riding A Bike International Business Times 12 hrs ago AJ Dellinger © Provided by IBT US
A Singapore bicycle-sharing company announced plans to launch its own cryptocurrency that customers can mine for while riding a bike—a system that trades in computing power for physical activity.
The firm, oBike, will offer its riders oCoins in exchange for riding the company’s bikes. The proposition offers the potential of providing riders with an asset that proves to be profitable over time and could pay for the cost of the bike rentals.
oCoins will operate on the blockchain platform Tron, which recently introduced its own cryptocurrency called TRX—a digital token that had the distinct honor of getting hit by China’s ban on initial coin offerings (ICO) when it tried to launch in September.
TRX has since launched, and enjoyed a successful start in which it more than doubled in value overnight—though it’s still trading at about $0.03 per coin .
It is that promise that oBike hopes to capitalize on by encouraging riders to hop on a bike more often in order to cash in on cryptocurrency.
Tron, like oBike, also has its roots in Singapore.
It was created by the Tron Foundation, which was founded by a group of Chinese entrepreneurs. The platform is primarily targeted at artists to get paid directly by consumers using the cryptocurrency.
Tron has managed to integrate itself into a number of social networks, which bodes well for those who start riding a bike to earn oCoins. The oCoin cryptocurrency can be used to make purchases in any market that accepts Tron.
“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with TRON, a leading decentralized online content entertainment system,” oBike co-founder and chief marketing officer Edward Chen said in a statement . “The collaboration with TRON will enable oBike users to generate and earn oCoins, which can then be used on apps and online content purchases.
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The upstart oBike was founded at the start of the year and has a bit of an uphill climb in motivating Singaporeans to hop on a bike. The city-state is not known for having easily accessible bike paths and its humid climate doesn’t lend well to spending a lot of time outside performing physical activities.
The Singapore government has promised to improve infrastructure for cycling but thus far oBikes has struggled. Perhaps the most notable use of one of the company’s bikes occurred when a couple decided to dump the rented bicycle into a drain .
Adopting cryptocurrency may be a gimmick to get people more interested in the bikes but given the newfound rush to virtual currencies, it may also prove to be successful.
oBike isn’t the first to adapt a more human approach to mining for cryptocurrency. Earlier this year a startup in the Netherlands developed a way to use excess body heat from humans to mine for cryptocurrency , which it believes will provide a way for people to generate income as automation begins to eat away at employment opportunities.
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