Wednesday 13 January 2016

Bitwalking

Bitwalking

Have you resolved to get fit in 2016? David Crookes looks at an app that will encourage you to get walking by earning you money for every step you take

Is Bitwalking when you walk for a bit, then sit down?


No. Bitwalking (www.bitwalking.com) is a new digital ‘crypto-currency’ that allows you to generate money based on the number of miles you walk. Created by entrepreneurs Nissan Bahar and Franky Imbesi, it makes a direct, motivational link between health and wealth, and encourages people to be active by offering a financial incentive.

Is it a bit like Bitcoin?


Yes – it has the prefix “bit” in the name, after all. Put simply, it’s like a mash-up between fitness wristbands and Bitcoin (bitcoin.org), the digital currency that was created in 2008 and went opensource the following year, proving very successful. With Bitwalking, instead of mining for money on your computer, the legwork is done by your feet pounding the streets. It has been attracting a lot of attention, including a slot on the BBC’s Click programme.

How does it work?


You download an iOS, Android or Windows Phone app called Go, which tracks your every movement and works out exactly how far you have walked. The app stores the number of steps made before translating them into what are called Bitwalking dollars, or BW$ for short. The project’s founders stress that users are not actually being paid for walking but are instead generating their own money.

What’s to stop me cheating the system?


You mean by shaking your phone wildly in the hope that it will register lots of steps and so earn you money more quickly? Shame on you! That won’t work because the app relies on GPS and Wi-Fi to work out the distance you’ve moved, so standing still will do nothing for your Bitwalking wealth, no matter how much you exercise your arm.

What is the earning potential?


At the moment, roughly 1 BW$ is earned for every 10,000 steps you take, which is the equivalent of about five miles. For those wishing to trade their earnings, each BW$ is currently worth exactly one US dollar although, just like any currency, the value has the potential to go up and down. There will also be an initial cap of 3 BW$ each day.

Can I use it in the UK?


The startup is based in London so, when it officially launches, it will be available to use across the UK. It has also launched in Kenya and Malawi, as well as Japan where the main investors are based. The Japanese business community has pumped around £6.6m into the project so far to create the platform and the verification algorithm (the precise details of which are kept secret).

Why has it launched in Kenya and Malawi?


Bitwalking is experimenting in these markets for altruistic reasons. Just as Bitwalking says it hopes to get people out of cars and on their feet to cut pollution and help the environment, so it wants to make a difference to those living in developing countries. It is said that rural workers in these countries earn around £1 a day but walk for many miles. By signing up to a Bitwalking account, these people’s earning potential will be boosted. That said, it does raise questions over whether a rural worker in Malawi or Kenya can afford a phone in the first place to generate their BW$. However, a Japanese company called Murata is working on a cheap Bitwalking wristband that will also measure steps and show earnings.

Can you trade BW$ for cash?


You can exchange Bitwalking dollars for cash (in Malawi, for example, local people will be able to trade BW$ for US$ or the local Malawi Kwacha currency) or you can use them to buy goods and services, some of which will be available from the in-app marketplace on a first-come, firstserved basis. The company is looking to foster relations with third-party partners and says it will send out an announcement every time the market is open. The founders also say that BW$ can be traded with other users which, we assume, means you could work together with friends to buy items that one person alone couldn’t afford.

What can I buy?


It’s still early days and deals continue to be done. There are plans to include health insurance companies, and sportswear and shoe brands (after all, lots of walking will increase the need for replacement footwear). However, the number of partners coming on board will depend on how well Bitwalking does. Walking five miles for 66p or so in the UK may not be that enticing, particularly in these cold, winter months. The miles do accumulate, though.

Could it benefit charities?


Potentially. Lots of people could, for example, decide to go on a fundraising walk and donate their accumulated BW$ to a charity or simply chalk up the dollars by walking to work. UK Fundraising (www.fundraising.co.uk) has already spotted the potential and says that it has contacted Bitwalking to discuss the scope for fundraising, although it hasn’t yet received a response.

How do I sign up to Bitwalking?


The project is currenty operating on an invite-only basis, but you can request an invite at www.bitwalking.com. A restricted number of people are being allowed into the scheme each week so you may have to wait before you’re accepted. Countries with the most requests are prioritised by the system.

Is it all safe and secure, though?


Bitwalking says so. It claims you can “enjoy security features from both the crypto-currency world and centralised management”. It stresses that it will not be passing on information about an individual’s movements to anyone, and that all transactions go through a verification process using the ‘block chain’ method – a distributed database which maintains a growing list of encrypted data that cannot be tampered with or revised.

What does Bitwalking get out of it?


Your personal information. It says on its privacy page that it will use this to send messages regarding “among other things, new products, features, enhancements, special offers, upgrade opportunities, contests and events of interest”. Fortunately, it’s possible to opt out of these at any time.

Could the cashflow dry up?


Yes, it could. The whole scheme is dependent on investment in the initial stages. But once it is properly up and running, and becomes widely accepted, it should become self-sustaining, just like Bitcoin has become.


MAKE MONEY WHILE KEEPING FIT


Here are three other ways you can improve your health and your wealth at the same time


Pact, whose slogan is ‘Earn Cash for Exercise, Healthy Living, and Eating Right’, allows you to set weekly goals and reap financial rewards for meeting them. But there’s a twist: you have to tell the app how much you will pay out if you fail. Pact’s carrot-andstick incentive works on the basis that a good number of users will not reach their targets and so will fund those who do.

Charity Miles (www.charitymiles.org)

By choosing a charity, users of this app can select an activity and have one of the corporate sponsors affiliated with the app pay them for every completed mile. You are shown an advert from the donating company and, although you aren’t likely to earn megabucks, every little helps in the long run.

Swagbucks (www.swagbucks.com)

Okay, exercising your fingers may not constitute actually keeping fit but with Swagbucks you can earn money by searching, watching videos, playing games, answering surveys and shopping. You’ll earn roughly six or seven swagbucks per pound spent: it costs 849SB for a typical £5 gift card.