Rohingya Project Launches ‘R-Coin’ Crypto Token to Reward Refugee Volunteers

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  – The Rohingya Project, a grassroots initiative for financial inclusion using Blockchain technology, will be launching the R-Coin, a crypto token designed to incentivize community service performed by stateless Rohingya and other refugees in Malaysia. The initiative will begin as a pilot in November and December with support from UNHCR.

The R-Coin is a digital token available through a downloadable e-wallet, developed with the assistance of technology partner Datarella. “The goal of R-Coin is to recognize and create a digital record of the service of refugees in the informal sector,” said Muhammad Noor, Founder and Manager Director of Rohingya Project. “We hope this can create a system which can focus on the positive contribution by refugees to their communities and Malaysian society.”

The token will be used to reward refugees performing certain volunteer tasks, such as teaching, counselling, soup kitchens, group cleanups (gotong royong) and tree planting. For each hour of community service, refugees will be issued one token to their e-wallet. Upon collecting sufficient tokens, they can redeem their tokens for prizes such as gift cards and insurance packages.

The pilot will begin with approximately 30 refugee volunteers and a network of field partner NGOs who will monitor the refugees in their volunteer work. The R-Coin can later be expanded to include other partners and businesses interested to sponsor reward items or services in exchange for tokens.