I don't think a UBI is practical from government, but there may be ways to leverage crypto-currency to the same effect. For a UBI to work would require a hyper-inflationary model to be sustained indefinately, which no conventional economy was designed to do. But with crypto, we can invent new economic models that were not possible before.
Consider this: Everyone gets 10 coins of some new crypto... we'll call them "UBICoins".
The UBICoin can be used for purchases, but depreciates at a fixed rate daily. If you don't spend it, you lose it. The longer you wait, the less it's worth. That cash-sink can hedge against inflation brought about by minting a billion new coins every week. When you transact business, the coin expiration clock starts over. This would provide a currency for day to day needs. The UBICoin could be exchanged at a fluctuating market rate for another deflationary coin at anytime to preserve it's value for long-term savings. We'll call that SaveCoin. UBICoin to SaveCoin conversions could happen almost instantaneously, but transacting with SaveCoin takes a week of verification, so it's not practical to hold for short-term transactions. They could even be the same coin with an internal flag that toggles it from one type to another.
That's one idea, and probably not the best. But this could never be done with physical currency, and that added functionality could make some form of UBI viable. I still have my reservations though, it would be a whole new economic model with many potential hazards and a rough transition for many people. I think it is possible for the first time in history, but not without it's dangers and most current tests are so flawed, they could never scale up. But it's an interesting thing to think about.
RE: Automation, Value, and Social Progress