The South Korean government has put the lid on a science program that has created toilets designed to turn human waste into electricity, heat and digital currency.
The Science Walden project was revealed in July 2021 for the amusement of the crypto community and the general public alike, introducing the “BeeVi” toilet which turned human excrement into methane gas and rewarded its “depositors” with a digital currency called Ggool.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Science Leader Walden and Professor Cho Jae-weon however revealed that in February of this year, further development of the BeeVi toilet and associated Feces Standard Money (FSM) digital currency “sadly.” discontinued after the scheduled end of the five-year project funding.
“My project, Science Walden, unfortunately, ended in February of this year, with FSM and BeeVi […] I think they thought they supported him enough and believe that Science Walden would have to stand on its own legs to be independent.
Professor Cho noted that there are still some BeeVi restrooms on campus at his science booth at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology campus, but this is the only place where there is currently a bathroom of this type.
Since its invention, BeeVi users have been relieved to earn the Ggool digital currency, a transliteration of the Korean word for honey, and tokens to power the university. The currency could be used to buy campus goods such as coffee and snacks, but so far the market has not been active for most of 2022.
South Korean professor Cho Jae-weon invented a toilet that turns poop into energy and pays people in digital currency.
A person defecates ~ 500 g / day converted to 50 liters of methane gas which generates 0.5 kWh.
Toilet users earn Ggool, a literal sh3t coin. pic.twitter.com/DCn3WteII5
– Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele) August 17, 2022
Professor Cho explained to Cointelegraph that both his bathroom and the FSM system could have been a spark for significant positive change in society, if given the chance. He referred to Ggool tokens as a “social good” that exists “in contrast to what we think of as a ‘currency'”.
“We ask people to evaluate products, goods, services and even a work of art only in Ggool, without thinking [about] its value in Korean Won and US dollars. This is a new way of seeing value in different ways ”.
Ggool tokens were designed with a negative interest rate of 7% to discourage hodling, which means that earnings must be regular in liquidating your business or risk losing purchasing power.
In addition, 30% of the tokens earned are distributed to other holders upon receipt. Professor Cho said:
“Consequently, this is a form of currency that does not support the accumulation of wealth but is constantly circulated and used.”
FSM and Ggool tokens are not government-backed or blockchain-based entities. Professor Cho thinks the program has lost funds because “nobody seems to care […] whereas it has a different spirit and philosophy than existing currencies “.
Professor Cho said metropolitan cities could benefit from the technology by using waste to produce something useful rather than simply cleaning the pipes of a centralized water system or being released into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas.
Related: Cryptocurrencies need an “enabling environment,” says the Philippine Central Bank
For example, it believes there are plenty of opportunities with its technology as the methane it produces can be burned for heat or used to cook on gas.
However, he admits that such a launch would require an “institutional structure” as well as massive infrastructure investments.