Singapore’s National Library Board launched Read SG on 6 September 2026, a five-year national reading campaign that converts logged reading time into virtual coins redeemable for cash. The initiative targets a phone-first population, offering a small financial reward to reshape daily habits. The program uses a simple coin mechanic: log reading time on a government platform and earn rewards.

Log at least 15 minutes of reading on Gov Tech’s Crowd Task SG platform and you earn 20 virtual coins. The conversion rate is fixed: 1,000 coins equal S$1, putting one daily session’s value at roughly S$0.02. Only one session per day counts toward your coin balance.

Fifty consecutive days of reading earns you a single Singapore dollar. A parallel track called Read for Good adds a communal dimension. The program targets 7.5 million cumulative reading minutes across all participants, a collective goal that would unlock a charitable donation of up to S$150,000.

This is not a side hustle. Read SG builds on nearly a decade of national literacy initiatives, following the 2016 National Reading Movement. The National Library Board has described the current campaign as still in a pilot phase, with plans to refine the program based on user feedback.

Whether 20 virtual coins is a meaningful answer depends on how many people open a book tomorrow and remember to log it.