🌯Inclusive FinTech Knowledge Bites [Week #65]
Gold-melting ATM redefines savings, Bolt's cost-cutting tricycle targets equity, and why one platform backed drivers over discounts.
Hey,
I’m Hugo Pacheco, and this is The Barefoot Economist —a newsletter where, every week, I break down three essential stories on last-mile technology, emerging market innovation, and financial inclusion. Consider it your bite-sized takeaway to stay informed, sharp, insightful, and easy to digest.
This week on The Barefoot Economist:
🏧 The ATM That Melts Your Gold
🛺 Bolt’s tricycle costs less to run, less to own and shot at equity
💡 The Platform That Chose Drivers Over Discounts
Enjoy your reading!
🏧 The ATM That Melts Your Gold
Kinghood’s ATM isn’t a gimmick — it’s a proof of concept for frictionless asset liquidation. It’s digital KYC + instant liquidity + real-time FX — dropped into the oldest, most trusted commodity on the planet. And it’s happening in the middle of a gold bull run.
On launch day, queues ran out the door. The timing wasn’t accidental — with COMEX gold trading above $3,400/oz and domestic prices hitting ¥1,000/g ($137), public appetite to cash out was ravenous. Kinghood’s ATM offered ¥785/g ($108), net of a transparent ¥18 service fee ($0.12/g) — better than most gold shops and scalpers.