So you’ve taught your 6-year-old child to read, write, and play nice with others. What’s next? Give them a base understanding of cryptocurrency, of course. After all, what self-respecting modern kid trusts their parents to hand over regular installments of allowance without systematically recording it on the blockchain for posterity?
Okay, so we’re not quite at the point just yet where Bitcoin joins Little League and Dinosaur Train as things that young people go crazy over, but that’s not stopping the folks behind an intriguing new Kickstarter campaign. Called Pigzbe, it’s a smart wallet for youngsters that’s intended to teach your offspring about money and saving for a world that’s rapidly becoming free from the kind of physical money that we grew up with.
“It all started with my son, Alex, who’s five years-old,” Filippo Yacob, co-founder and CEO of Pigzbe, told Digital Trends. “One afternoon last year, I was watching him Skype to his granddad. Granddad, who’s also my dad, lives in Italy, and he was showing a coin to the camera and saying, ‘Your mum told me you’ve been a good boy! When I come to see you next month, I’ll bring this to you so you can save it in your piggy bank.’”
Yacob, who comes from an ed-tech background, said this got him thinking about how a world in which we can share pictures, videos, text, and recordings across continents should also make it easy to do the same thing with kids’ allowances.
The currency which Pigzbe trades is called Wollo, and essentially acts like an easy entry point into the world of cryptocurrency. An associated app lets parents set up standing orders, transfer funds linked to chores, and more. The app also visualizes savings in a lively, fun way, which should hopefully make the process of saving cash seem less abstract.
Blurring the line between old-fashioned piggy banks and the cashless digital world is a pink physical wallet, which beeps and lights up when transfers are made. “I wanted to make learning about money relevant in the context of a digital world, but without losing the physicality of the traditional piggy bank,” Yacob explained.
Importantly, the money can be transferred back into ordinary currency for spending, although there are also plans for partnerships that will let people spend Wollo in an app-based marketplace.
As ever, we offer our usual warnings about the potential risks inherent in crowdfunding campaigns (plus the added risk of new cryptocurrencies). However, if you like the idea enough to get involved, head over to the project’s Kickstarter page to put down your hard-earned money. Prices start at $79, with shipping set for June 2019.
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