Future First (GiveDirectly / Coinbase) New

Pilot
160 New Yorkers aged 18-30; $8,000 up front then 5 x $800 monthly in USDC

Future First is a guaranteed-income pilot in New York City, administered by GiveDirectly and funded by Coinbase. It pays 160 lottery-selected residents aged 18-30 a total of $12,000 each in USDC stablecoin.

Funding
Non-state
https://www.givedirectly.org/
Blockchain

USDC via Coinbase wallets (chain not specified)

Social identity

Lottery selection and KYC through Coinbase accounts (not proof-of-personhood)

Social mining

$8,000 lump sum plus five $800 USDC payments ($12,000 total)

Token economics

USDC stablecoin; funded with $2.6M redirected from Coinbase's wound-down GiveCrypto effort

Governance

GiveDirectly (nonprofit administrator); Coinbase (funder)

Verified users
160 recipients
Key people

Darin Carter (Coinbase)

Locations
New York City, USA
Links
CoinDesk (Oct 2025)
Bloomberg (Oct 2025)
Notes

2026-09: funded with $2.6M redirected from the wound-down GiveCrypto.
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/10/02/coinbase-backed-pilot-progra…

Targeted guaranteed income, not universal; tests crypto delivery against traditional cash transfers