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Blockchain has the Potential to Fight Root Causes of Poverty

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Blockchain has the Potential to Fight Root Causes of Poverty

You must have come across various use-cases of Blockchain. Do you have any idea how this distributed ledger technology can fight the root causes of poverty? This article talks about how Blockchain can help lift poor people out of poverty in developing countries.

Table of Contents 

  • Overview 
  • General Causes for Poverty and How Blockchain can Deal with it
  • Conclusion: Is Blockchain the Solution to End Poverty?

Overview 

While various technological advancements have significantly reduced global poverty to a great extent, it is still existing. Blockchain, which is a P2P decentralized distributed ledger technology, is assumed to have the potential to create significant political, social, and economic gains for developing countries. Although a Blockchain-based database isn’t enough to solve these difficulties, it can definitely change the poor economy’s facet. 

According to NASSCOM that stands for National Association of Software and Services Companies, Blockchain-led improvement in productivity and cost reduction can create a value of around US$5 billion in the Indian economy in the next three years from now.

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General Causes for Poverty and How Blockchain can Deal with it

Poor record-keeping methods and inaccurate registry are the significant challenges that make it nearly impossible for people to prove they own the land. Citizens of developing countries do not have a secure ledger to record and store their crucial information. Without the ability to verify deeds, people are unable to buy or sell their land, access loans, and other financial tools that are necessary to improve their financial position. They are still relying on third-party intermediaries for managing their documents, and therefore, their property records are typically vulnerable to inconsistencies, tampering, damage, and data loss. Lack of legal land ownership is one of the biggest causes of poverty in developing countries.

Distributed ledger technology like Blockchain can be piloted in novel ways to address such concerns. 

Using a blockchain to record transactions ensures that it is not susceptible to tampering. Since Blockchain records a clear history of modifications, including who did what and when thus records stored on the distributed ledger is virtually impossible to change. 

Using this technology for property ownership registration protects the rights of the owner and enables easy resolve of disputes, if any, prevents cheating, and makes the correct transfer of ownership after-sale possible. Thus, technology can be used to establish credit, allowing owners to open bank accounts and perform monetary transactions, thus enabling higher financial inclusion, paving the way to sound futures.

Lack of identity is another crucial issue in developing countries. According to the World Bank’s global financial index, around a quarter of the world’s population is unbanked, and due to this, people are unable to open their bank accounts and access financial services.

Blockchain can deal with this problem by providing a Blockchain-powered digital identity that could be utilized by all those who don’t have proper identification. Such identities can be used globally and hence enable poor people to access financial systems and transactions. Moreover, Blockchain-based smart contracts can also help in the verification process for availing the desired services in a truly independent manner. People no longer have to be dependent on higher-authorities for verifying their details for processing transactions.

Apart from this, Blockchain can also provide other benefits too. Like for instance, it can make the transferring of the land process easy and straightforward. Instead of relying upon central authorities like going to a public registry house to transfer their land, which costs heavily, moving the entire process onto the Blockchain can drop the cost and streamline the entire process.

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Conclusion: Is Blockchain the Solution to End Poverty?

The living conditions of billions of people are improving, and all credit goes to advances in technology such as Blockchain. But this technology is solely not responsible for breaking the cycle of poverty. Technologies such as the IoT, 5G combined with sound economic and social policies are also the key players in this direction. Despite the promise of Blockchain, there are various fundamental challenges for its implementation. Also, bureaucrats may oppose using that technology that reduces their power and privileges.

If you are looking for the best Blockchain Certification courses, you can get enrolled in Blockchain Council and become a Certified Blockchain Developer/Expert.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council.  

Blockchain has the Potential to Fight Root Causes of Poverty

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A Comprehensive Guide on ICO Scams and How to Identify Them

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In this guide, you will learn about ICOs, scams related to ICOs, and how to identify them. So let’s get started. 

Table of Contents

  • What are ICOs?
  • Categories of ICO Scams 
  • How to Identify ICO Scams 
  • Concluding Lines 

What are ICOs?

ICO stands for Initial Coin Offerings. These are considered as ‘popular fundraising methods’ used by companies and startups. Organizations looking to raise money to create a new coin, app, or service launches an ICO as a method to raise funds. ICO is the cryptocurrency industry that is equivalent to an IPO, but the significant difference between the two is that IPO is usually for well-settled companies, whereas ICO is generally for the young and risky. Although some of the ICOs have yielded massive returns for investors, various others have turned out to be frauds. In fact, you can say that scams related to ICOs are the black sheep of the crypto-asset industry, and these sheep are pretty diverse.

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Categories of ICO Scams 

As we have understood what ICOs are, let’s explore some of its categories. 

Exit Scam 

An exit scam is a fraudulent operation organized by unethical cryptocurrency promoters who collected funds for an ICO and suddenly disappear without leaving any information to investors. In 2018, it was reported that more than $100 million in funds contributed to ICOs were stolen as an exit scam. 

Bounty Scams

When it comes to bounties, they have even made their way into the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and many ICO projects have witnessed the inclusion of the concept. Bounty scam is another common type of ICO scam. In this type, ICO fails to pay out promoters who were promised financial rewards for PR activities.

Exchange Scam

Sometimes, when developers plan to mislead investors to prefer to launch their ICO at a fake exchange, this type of scam is known as an “exchange scam.”

White Paper Plagiarism Scam

Another ICO scam is the white paper plagiarism scam, in which the scammer tries to copy the white paper of a promising ICO and then decides to launch it using a similar or different name. 

URL Scams 

Another popular method involves creating fake websites that match ICOs and instructing users to deposit coins into a compromised wallet. Naive investors that are unaware of the authentic websites are sometimes fooled due to such fake websites and lose their ICOs.

Ponzi Scheme

In the Ponzi scheme, organizers request new investors by promising to invest funds in opportunities to generate high returns with little or no risk at all. In this scheme, organizers promise high returns at a later stage just to attract more investors. Thus, rather than engaging in any legal investment activity, the deceitful actors focus on attracting new money to make promised payments to earlier investors and turn some of the invested capital for personal usage. 

How to Identify ICO Scams 

In order to get rid of Fraudulent ICOs and sketchy coins, there are many ways that can help you avoid such potential scams. A few of the ways are as follows:

Read Whitepaper 

To avoid ICO scams, go through the project’s whitepaper as it will help in gaining deeper insight about everything. Whitepaper lays out the background, goals, strategy, concerns, financial models, SWOT analysis, and the timeline for implementation for any blockchain-related project; thus, companies that don’t provide whitepapers should be avoided at all costs.

Thoroughly Understand the Team 

Before making any investments, the best protection measure is to thoroughly research the individual team members of a project. This is crucial because developers and the administrative team are the most important success factor for any ICO. Check out their profiles on social media platforms such as LinkedIn and other outlets. It is necessary to make an attempt to see how their credentials match up before deciding if the team is real. Explore whether the development team has the expertise that they believe they have or not. 

Evaluate Promises and Go With Your Gut 

Evaluating promises is a very crucial step. Before you decide to choose and go with any ICO team, evaluate their promises. If everything seems good, you can start investing, but if you feel off about an ICO, that’s probably because it is. Follow your gut and then decide whether you should invest or not.  

Moreover, checking out the GitHub repositories is another strategy to identify ICO scams.

Concluding Lines 

Due to a lack of regulation, developers can use a dozen tactics to fool investors, and therefore with the current craze, being careful and doing one’s due diligence is a must before investing in any ICO. It is advisable to invest your time, be self-aware, and do your own research before investing.

If you are interested in learning more about ICOs and start investing, you can get enrolled in Blockchain Council and become a Certified Cryptocurrency Expert/Trader.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council. 

A Comprehensive Guide on ICO Scams and How to Identify Them

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Wealthy Japanese Crypto Holders Thailand’s Latest Tourism Target

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Thailand didn’t fare really well with the COVID-19 pandemic. The country’s entire tourism industry managed to collapse on itself thanks to the pandemic. With this in mind, however, the country’s tourism industry has opted to target a new kind of market to try and revive it: Wealthy crypto holders from Japan.

Trying To Rope In Japan’s Big Crypto Fish

The Tourism Authority of Thailand, or the TAT, has gone out of its way to try and cater to this space. It plans on being the first country in the world to welcome crypto holders in a tourism-based sense. In particular, the TAT is aiming for Japan’s host of wealthy crypto owners, with the TAT seeing Japan as a regional hub when it comes to crypto activity. As a result of this, the TAT is in the process of investigating the possibilities surrounding crypto payment options within a tourism context.

It should be noted that Thailand as a nation has been targeting the wealthier part of the world ever since its tourism industry was crushed thanks to the pandemic back in 2020’s first quarter. Countries all across the world started to close their borders as each of them tried to keep their respective outbreaks under control.

Everything Must Be Approved Legally

Yuthasak Supasorn stands as the Governor of the TAT and gave a statement by way of the Bangkok Post, a Thai news outlet. In Supasorn’s statement, he stressed that the inclusion of cryptocurrencies could be the key to bring back the high rollers to Thailand’s tourism space. He highlighted that crypto integration could see the young and wealthy generation of high-spending tourists be drawn to the nation.

Of course, Yuthasak was quick to state that these crypto payments must first be allowed by the country’s central bank, with the payments following its regulations. Furthermore, he stressed that certain mechanisms must be put in place in order to help combat the potential for money laundering through this process.

Elon Musk Potentially Visiting The Kingdom

This is where things get odd.  The TAT cited figures for Japan’s crypto ownership that are three years old, which showed that 11% of the country boasts crypto holdings. This figure isn’t the same as 2020’s, however, as the latest metric showed a crypto ownership metric of 4% of the population, according to Statista.

There were even suggestions that Elon Musk could visit the nation. Recently, the entire crypto market was jerked into a bull run thanks to Musk and his Tesla company including Bitcoin into their balance sheets, purchasing an incredible amount of BTC in the process.

It should be noted that Thailand as a country has very few establishments actively accepting crypto as payments. This comes despite the country’s overall positive view on cryptocurrencies, as well as boasting a number of crypto exchanges, such as Upbit and Bitkub.

Wealthy Japanese Crypto Holders Thailand’s Latest Tourism Target

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How CBDC Affected Crypto Space and What’s Next?

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Wondering what exactly CBDC is? How it affected crypto space in 2020, and what will it bring for the future? You have landed on the right page.

Table of Contents

  • What Exactly is CBDC?
  • Why is CBDC Gaining Momentum?
  • CBDC’s Effect on Crypto Space in 2020 and What’s Next in 2021?
  • Concluding Lines 

What Exactly is CBDC?

CBDC is a digital payment device that is issued and backed directly by the country’s central bank and is a legal tender. Instead of relying on third-party intermediaries such as banks and other entities, money transfers could be made directly between the participating parties in real-time.

Blockchain experts and technocrats consider CBDC as a new payment technology that could potentially increase payment efficiency and lower costs. It allows more direct control of the money supply than indirect tools and leads the way towards a full reserve banking system.


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Why is CBDC Gaining Momentum?

The Bank for International Settlements reported in January 2019 that around 70% of central banks were studying the potential of issuing a CBDC. But 2020 has been a promising year in terms of CBDC adoption. It was reported that around 80% of the world’s central banks such as Australia, Brazil, Estonia, Kenya, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, and many others are already evaluating CBDC adoption.

Central banks in developing market economies are moving toward developing CBDCs more swiftly than developed countries. Also, the competition of launching their respective CBDC between the United States and China led to the tech cold war. The conversation of this technology competition was even brought to the U.S Senate. 

There are various reasons for rapid CBDC adoption. European Central Bank, BIS, and many experts and technocrats believe that the COVID-19 outbreak is one of the prime reasons. 

CBDCs are crucial for the advancement of the financial system, as they can boost bank balances, radically modify conventional finance, reshape global markets, alter our perceptions of money and how we use it by substituting currency. 

CBDC’s Effect on Crypto Space in 2020 and What’s Next in 2021?

Brian Brooks, who is an acting comptroller of the currency, expressed his views regarding CBDC. He believes that at this tremendous development phase, the crucial question is how to achieve the digitization of the dollar and other fiat currencies. He mentions that due to the vital role of the U.S. dollar, the United States should step forward in this domain.

Another expert, a founder of Neo, and founder and CEO of Onchain, Da Hongfei, also shared his opinion on the impact of CBDCs. He believes that the implementation of CBDCs will certainly be a boon as its development declares the integral role blockchain technology will play in building the future of tomorrow. As blockchain development spurs, countries recognize the necessity to build a truly digital future that will fix global order shortcomings. 

According to Denelle Dixon, CEO and executive director of the Stellar Development Foundation, CBDC will prove to be an inventive tool for financial inclusion. She highlighted, saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has proved that CBDCs are impactful and central banks and other entities are recognizing ways to serve citizens better and create equitable access to the financial system, which is way much better. She further added that 2021 would see central banks take the learnings from 2020 and start placing CBDCs into practice.

James Wallis, vice president of central bank engagements at Ripple, expressed his views and stated that in 2021 he expects to see a world where crypto assets, stablecoins, and CBDCs have their own place in the finance domain with even more comprehensible and precise use cases. As governments continue to pilot CBDCs, he thinks that more regulatory clarity in those jurisdictions will follow suit. 

Mance Harmon, co-founder and CEO of Hedera Hashgraph, shared his opinion stating that CBDC will continue to put a spotlight on the wider cryptocurrency and distributed ledger domain, and in next year, we will notice small countries issuing their first digital currencies apparently using private, permissioned ledgers.

Roger Ver, executive chairman of Bitcoin.com, also thinks that the pace of innovation is going to grow and develop in the years to come.

Want to become a Certified Cryptocurrency Expert? We are here to assist you!

Concluding Lines 

From the above discussion, it is clear that CBDC holds a very promising future in the years to come. People would prefer CBDC over a bank account because of the fact that central bank digital currencies are not vulnerable to risk. Moreover, the removal of that risk would not only be advantageous to citizens but to the economy as well.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council.

How CBDC Affected Crypto Space and What’s Next?

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Why the crypto world needs to build an Amazon of its own

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When Satoshi Nakamoto released the whitepaper for Bitcoin, his vision was simple: Creating a form of electronic cash that enables payments to be sent without a bank’s involvement.

Few could have anticipated how popular the cryptocurrency would end up being — let alone its impressive market cap of $635 billion. But Bitcoin’s success has largely hinged upon how this digital asset is often bought and kept for speculation. According to a recent Binance survey, just 11% of those who own crypto use it to make payments.

Amazon and eBay have shown little interest in rolling out support for digital assets, a move that would enable millions of users to spend their crypto freely. One long-standing irony lies in how you can buy pro-Bitcoin shirts on both of these platforms… but only in cash.

Waiting around for these e-commerce titans to embrace crypto might not be the best approach to take, either. Bitcoin has been around for more than a decade, Ether first launched in 2015, and thousands of altcoins have followed in their footsteps. Smaller independent retailers have started allowing major coins to be used for retail therapy, but many of these merchants are based in niche sectors and have a limited range of products.

As a result, consensus is growing that the crypto sector should build its own answer to Amazon and eBay. The advantages extend beyond ensuring that digital assets can finally be used for their intended purpose. Taking this initiative will prevent capital from flowing to tech titans who already generate billions of dollars in profit a quarter. Better still, it can also lead to a more equitable ecosystem — one where small businesses who sell their wares pay lower fees and protect their razor-thin profit margins.

Financial freedom? Don’t bank on that

For the e-commerce startups that are building crypto-focused platforms, this isn’t just about making it easy to buy a pair of sneakers using Bitcoin. It’s about delivering true financial inclusion for all — and delivering blockchain technology to millions of people.

At present, if you want to buy something on Amazon or eBay, you’ll need to have a debit card — and for this, you’ll need a bank account. That’s little comfort for the hundreds of millions of people who don’t have access to these financial services. Getting a credit card presents even more hurdles to jump through, as you’ll need to prove that you have a stable income and fit a bank’s strict lending criteria. And although prepaid cards that can be topped up with cash are available, they’re often subject to sky-high transaction fees.

All of this has contributed to a world where making purchases is near impossible to do without a bank’s involvement somewhere down the line. And although cryptocurrencies can be converted into fiat to make e-commerce purchases, this process can end up being fiddly and time consuming.

The alternative

DeFi For You is positioning itself as the crypto industry’s answer to Amazon and eBay. The platform aims to support small and medium-sized businesses by enabling them to sell their products in exchange for digital assets.

As well as democratizing the retail world, the company has bold ambitions to shake up the world of lending by allowing anyone to set up their own pawn shops and issue short-term loans secured by smart contracts. The use of blockchain technology enables someone to prove they are trustworthy over time and access preferential lending terms — without having to fit a bank’s narrow criteria.

Through DeFi For You, users become their own bank — and have an opportunity to start their own business.

In a recent AMA session with Cointelegraph, DeFi For You CEO Adam C. Chaplin said he was inspired by a documentary about a pawn shop in Marbella which specialized in allowing rich people to use their luxury items as collateral — servicing high net worth individuals who may encounter cashflow problems from time to time.

“We’re helping the unbanked, we’re helping the high end of the market, we can open this up to literally millions of people — and microloans are big too,” Chaplin said.

There is one hurdle that may have been holding Amazon and eBay back from accepting crypto: Concerns over scalability. The Ethereum blockchain has become exceedingly popular among DeFi protocols over the past 12 months, but all of this congestion has caused the network to creak under the pressure. DeFi For You has reacted to this by opting to use the Binance Smart Chain, which boasts quicker speeds and lower costs thanks to a block time of between three and five seconds.

DeFi For You is holding a 24-hour initial DeFi offering on the Binance Smart Chain, which begins at 10pm UTC on 31. Jan.

Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you all the important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor this article can be considered as a piece of investment advice.

Why the crypto world needs to build an Amazon of its own

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China’s Biggest Cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Plan to Promote CBDC in 2021

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China's Biggest Cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Plan to Promote CBDC in 2021

According to the latest announcement, Beijing and Shanghai, which are the biggest cities in China, are planning to hold pilots to promote CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) this year.

According to a Global Times report, this effort would lead to a positive start and could pave the way for the digital currency’s official launch.

CBDCs are controlled by the country’s central bank directly, thus helpful in storing value and making digital payments seamlessly. CBDCs can be considered as a digital form of sovereign money that is backed by national credit and government power.

Wider Efforts to Promote the Digital Currency

As a part of this announcement, Beijing Mayor Chen Jining announced that the capital would stimulate the building of demonstration zones for fintech and professional services this year.

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng also expressed his views regarding the development of CBDC and stated that the Shanghai city will continue to maintain financial opening-up and encourage the digital currency. 

Also, the governor of South China’s Guangdong Province, Ma Xingrui, confirmed that authorities will assist Shenzhen’s development into a pilot zone for the country’s digital currency. 

A report also highlights the views of one of the Shenzhen-based veteran industry insiders. According to him, the pilot testing is just an initial innovative step. Once launched, the digital yuan will transform the financial sector and unleash an encouraging digital finance service sector worth billions of yuan. 

Chinese Cities Continues to Plan Large-Scale Tests of Digital Currency

CBDC can minimize dependence on banks and other financial institutions and facilitate financial inclusion for the underprivileged population. Since 2020, DCEP’s (Digital Currency Electronic Payment) trial operation has increased from small-scale closed-loop testing to large-scale open testing. 

The tests were carried out in various cities of China, including Shenzhen, Shanghai, Suzhou, Chengdu, along with others.

Recently an announcement was made stating that Shenzhen city will stage another public trial of the central bank’s in-the-works digital currency. According to the reports, this is the third time the city will hold one of the “red envelope” giveaways, distributing 20 million digital yuan through a random draw.

Suzhou city also held a similar trial in the month of December 2020, giving out 20 million digital yuan.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council.  

China’s Biggest Cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Plan to Promote CBDC in 2021

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