Even though a fair few countries are looking to introduce their own virtual currencies at some point, several cities are taking a similar approach. In the United Kingdom, the city of Hull is now experimenting with HullCoin. The project has the backing of the local city council and the country’s NHS. Additionally, 140 retailers are willing to accept this form of money.
HullCoin is a Surprising Currency
A lot of people were taken by surprise when the city of Hull announced its new virtual currency out of the blue. Even though HullCoin is not designed to compete with the Pound Sterling, it is certainly a rather remarkable initiative regardless. This new cryptocurrency has the support of various entities in the city, including Hull College and the Department of Work and Pensions.
The technical details of this new currency are quite interesting. As one would expect, it is something controlled and created by the HullCoin team itself. That means the entire supply of 10 million HullCoin has been premined, although that is not necessarily a bad thing. Coin bundles will be issued to volunteers, health service providers, community support organizations, and others.
The people of Hull can also earn HullCoin by volunteering and helping others to create a better community. Once these coins are earned, they will then be spendable at over 140 retail locations. Participating businesses can then re-issue coins to staff members as rewards, donate some to charities, and even set up new customer reward schemes. With so many retailers on board with HullCoin, this initiative may actually succeed in the long run.
It seems the city of Hull has been working on this initiative for some time now. If this venture proves to be successful, we may very well see similar ventures show up in other cities across the United Kingdom. At the same time, if every major city issued its own currency, things would get pretty confusing.
Adopting an existing cryptocurrency would be a far more favorable approach, but that is very unlikely at this stage. After all, the Bank of England is clearly not in favor of existing cryptocurrencies, mainly because it can’t exert any control over them. That situation could change in the future, but for now, it seems highly unlikely.
Although an effort like this one can only be applauded, it remains to be seen whether or not it will be successful. Cities using their own forms of currency are nothing new, as such things have been around for as long as money has existed. In the past few decades, the idea has taken a backseat, but it may be revitalized eventually.
