Tag: blockchain use cases

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Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

Can Blockchain Help the Protection of Human Rights?

Blockchain was created with a new dawn of finance in mind. But more than ten years later, it’s proving to be the tech that could finally heal many ills of modern-day society. One of these is the violation of human rights all across the globe. 

Blockchain was created with a new dawn of finance in mind. But more than ten years later, it’s proving to be the tech that could finally heal many ills of modern-day society. One of these is the violation of human rights all across the globe. 

Blockchain was created with a new dawn of finance in mind. But more than ten years later, it’s proving to be the tech that could finally heal many ills of modern-day society. One of these is the violation of human rights all across the globe. 

Most of us take everyday common things like freedom of speech and movement for granted. It would be a shock to learn that for many people around the globe, many people do not have those rights. An Amnesty report recently revealed that in many countries, governments are denying citizens basic rights such as freedom from discrimination, freedom from slavery, freedom from torture, freedom of opinion, and so on. 

How are Human Rights Being Violated? 

In recent history, we’ve seen the most egregious of human rights in countries such as Venezuela, Yemen, Turkey, Russia.  In Yemen, as the country is embroiled in a civil war, millions lack access to basic rights like food and water. In Turkey, journalists pursuing the right to information are met with a hostile reception. In Russia, opposition leaders are routinely clamped down upon, and murders are commonplace. 

Most people would think human rights violations are a thing of developing countries and autocratic governments. But Amnesty has put countries like the EU and Australia on the spot for the “callous” treatment of refugees. US President Donald Trump has been called out for his administration’s border ban that violates the freedom of movement as well as his utterances that many perceive to be religious discrimination. 

So, let’s see how blockchain could help the cause for human rights all over the world. 

How Blockchain Can Help 

Blockchain could go a big way in helping the cause for human rights across the globe. Features of the tech like transparency, immutability, and decentralization could start with bringing more accountability to various processes that previously overlooked or undermined human rights. 

#1. The Right to an Acceptable Standard of Living

The right to an acceptable standard of living means that everyone should be able to access the very basic of human rights, such as having nutritious food to eat, nothing, and housing. It also means living in peace and without the fear of persecution or being forced to live in a conflict-affected country. The essence of this is that people can enjoy these rights without having to degrade themselves or being stripped of their dignity, such as through begging and/or forced labor. 

Some of the situations that could lead to the deprivation of these rights is hyperinflation in countries. Hyperinflation often leads to the loss of the average person’s life savings, putting them in danger of losing their basic rights. With blockchain-based cryptocurrency, hyperinflation could be avoided. For example, in Venezuela, residents turned to Bitcoin and Dash cryptocurrencies to cushion themselves against the hyperinflation of the nation’s currency. 

Cryptocurrency also makes micro-trading and micro-lending possible. Many cryptocurrencies are divisible to infinitesimal quantities. Bitcoin, for example, is divisible up to 8 decimal places. When you assign value to the tiniest of quantities, the size of a trade becomes smaller and hence very affordable. In the same way, people can sell their products at more affordable prices and make a profit. 

Blockchain could also support human rights through decentralized finance (DeFi). DeFi is the idea that anyone anywhere can participate in the global financial system as long as they have an internet connection. 

#2. The Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections

This right implies that everyone should be able to participate in decisions that impact their interests. This means that people should be able to defend their interests and to help create a society where those interests are upheld. The right to vote and participate in elections and the freedom of association translates into these rights. 

In many places across the world, these rights are denied to people. In these places, electoral fraud is rampant, distorting the true will of the people. Even in the United States – ‘the land of liberty,’ the 2016 presidential election is still mired in controversy. A Senate report released in August 2020 showed that Donald Trump’s election might have received help from foreign countries. 

In many parts of Africa, electoral malfeasance is often commonplace. The 2017 Kenyan election was rife with voter intimidation, allegations that the electoral commission was compromised, and chaos. The supreme court had to cancel the election, leading to a second one. However, the opposition party boycotted the second round, calling it a sham election. The result was the incumbent winning the election with 98% of the vote. 

But election fraud is not limited to politics. It happens too in private organizations. 

With blockchain, unfair election unfairness can be a thing of the past. Through blockchain, people can vote without fear of intimidation and in the privacy of their homes. And after votes go on immutable the blockchain, they cannot be interfered with. 

#3. The Right to Freedom of Opinion and Information 

The right to freedom of opinion and expression gives people the right to receive and also impart information of any kind and on any medium. 

All over the world, this right is often violated. This includes the clampdown on journalists. China, Turkey, and Egypt are three places with the dubious distinction of harassing and imprisoning journalists. The right to receive information is also violated when governments restrict information, such as by shutting down websites. For example, Wikipedia has been banned in countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, and Turkey. 

Blockchain can help address this by providing a platform where no one can censor, delete, or edit information. Decentralization also means no one party can shut down such platforms. 

Closing Thoughts

These examples are just a few of the many examples where blockchain could aid in the protection of human rights. Other scenarios include fighting modern-day slavery and human trafficking through blockchain-based identity management. Blockchain’s immutability could also help protect people’s right to property. In short, when it comes to blockchain and human rights, the possibilities are endless.

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Cryptocurrencies

How Can the Energy Industry Benefit from Blockchain?

Blockchain is usually perceived as only the building block of the much-hyped virtual currencies. As such, it wouldn’t seem like there is much technology can do for the energy industry. After all, what do cryptocurrencies have to do with the process of generating and distributing electrical power?

Blockchain is usually perceived as only the building block of the much-hyped virtual currencies. As such, it wouldn’t seem like there is much technology can do for the energy industry. After all, what do cryptocurrencies have to do with the process of generating and distributing electrical power?

Blockchain is usually perceived as only the building block of the much-hyped virtual currencies. As such, it wouldn’t seem like there is much technology can do for the energy industry. After all, what do cryptocurrencies have to do with the process of generating and distributing electrical power?

But from an insider’s look, blockchain has the potential to spur growth in the energy sector through its transformative benefits. More so, the energy industry is constantly changing – as seen from the entry of new innovations such as smart metering, electric vehicles, and renewable sources of energy. As such, blockchain technology is a viable solution to help improve efficiency in the industry. 

Ways Blockchain can be used in the Energy Industry.

Blockchain technology promotes transparency and immutability of stored data through its decentralized nature as a ledger system. These characteristics can be beneficial to the complex network of participants in the energy distribution chain, who often suffer from siloed infrastructures and unexpected inefficiencies. 

Here is a detailed look into six major benefits blockchain brings in to the energy industry; 

i) Improved Data Management 

Being a ledger system, blockchain can serve as a database providing users with secure and real-time energy usage data. Other important energy statistics, such as market prices, marginal costs, and fuel prices, can also be stored in the system to allow users to monitor how much they spend on energy. 

Additionally, the blockchain-based database system makes it impossible to corrupt the stored data, which helps enhance transparency. This saves energy providers as well as customers the financial costs associated with accidental clerical errors and intentional data manipulation.

ii) Peer-to-peer Energy Trading 

Over the last few years, energy production has shifted from large, centralized power plants to smaller power generation sources such as windmills and solar farms. This is especially true in “distributed energy grid” systems where electricity is generated and stored by small power plants that are connected to the larger electric grid. 

The integration of blockchain into the system allows the smaller farms to sell excess power to other consumers, decentralizing the energy distribution network. Essentially, the technology creates a peer-to-peer energy market, reducing the role of wholesale and central authorities entities. This helps promote competitive market prices.

iii)Enhance Commodity Trading 

Commodity trading in the energy sector involves massive ledger systems that keep account of the commodity prices at specific moments. Maintaining, securing, and updating these records requires significant resources in terms of money and time, which could otherwise be used to improve other core areas of the trading cycle. 

Applying blockchain technology to commodity trading makes it easier and more affordable to securely record trading data as compared to traditional ledger systems.

iv) Tokenizing Energy

Blockchain can be used to create tokens for use within the energy industry. One of the uses of these tokens is to facilitate a variety of energy market transactions, such as paying bills directly to the provider without involving an intermediary.

In addition to being a medium of payment, the tokens can also serve as an incentive. For instance, by tokenizing the energy grid, consumers can earn tokens for reducing energy wastage in their households. 

Similarly, a tokenized energy grid means that energy is expended depending on household needs. This not only helps with the reduction of energy wastage but also cuts down on utility bills since consumers pay for the exact amount of power they need.

v) Propel Clean Energy as a Mainstream Option 

As governments and environmental activists advocate for clean energy, blockchain can be used to promote the use of renewable energy. This can be achieved by creating a blockchain-based smart grid that allows consumers to compare and choose their energy providers. The transparency in energy choices facilitates the integration of clean energy in the market, where renewables could become consumers’ favorite choice due to their affordability. 

The State of Blockchain in the Energy Industry

Currently, blockchain hasn’t fully permeated the energy industry despite its promising benefits. This is not to say that there aren’t any blockchain-based projects carving a niche for themselves in the vast energy market. In fact, some of them have even partnered with their respective governments to improve service delivery.

However, a good number of blockchain projects are still under development and are yet to materialize their solutions. Their delayed success can be attributed to the following challenges:

  • Conservative Industry Players

Success in an older industry like energy demands solid working experience and knowledge, considering that it’s intertwined with other complex sectors such as law and finance. Therefore, blockchain entrepreneurs need an insider’s insight on how blockchain can be beneficial to the energy industry.

Unfortunately, those with vast working experience and market knowledge of the energy industry aren’t inclined to blockchain solutions. They prefer old hat solutions which have served them fairly well for long. Probably, as the crypto space matures, key industry players in the energy sector will warm up to blockchain solutions. In the meantime, educating the stakeholders on the benefits of blockchain might be helpful.

  • Legacy Gatekeepers 

The integration of blockchain into the energy industry will result in a decentralized market. While such a marketplace is beneficial to the consumers, it threatens the existence of major banks and businesses who, for years, have benefited as intermediaries. Even without taking out their role as the middleman, their control will be diluted once blockchain enters the industry. As such, the industry giants are committed to slowing down the integration of blockchain into the energy industry so as to retain their control over the market. 

  • Strict Government Regulations 

Blockchain has been met with the same type of austerity measures that are imposed on virtual currencies. Likewise, the global energy market, being one of the highly regulated industries in the world, hasn’t been easy on blockchain technology either. It gets even worse knowing that the industry is run by conservative stakeholders who are skeptical about blockchain technology. As such, designing a blockchain solution that can find favor among industry players and energy-sector regulators is quite difficult. 

Conclusion 

Blockchain is a relatively new technology whose awareness is limited to the tech-savvy population. So, the idea of this technology finding use outside the cryptocurrency market is still catching on. In an older industry such as the energy sector, the technology will certainly take time before industry players see it as a solution to existing problems. Hopefully, as aggressive blockchain developers continue to design solutions for the industry, their solutions might serve as the entry point of blockchain into the energy industry. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

How Can Blockchain Help End Poverty? 

Blockchain has been lauded as an absolute game-changer that could improve society in so many ways. 

Blockchain has been lauded as an absolute game-changer that could improve society in so many ways. 

Blockchain has been lauded as an absolute game-changer that could improve society in so many ways. 

But there’s one area that could greatly benefit from the technology that has not received as much attention, and that is global poverty. 

According to the World Bank, about 750 million people somewhere in the world are living under the poverty line. Some of the factors contributing to this figure are the lack of access to banking facilities, lack of proper property documentation systems, and corruption.

Blockchain can help tackle poverty across the globe by doing what it does best: providing tamper-proof record-keeping models, promoting radical transparency, and being a decentralized platform that’s inclusive for all. 

Let’s explore the ways in which this could be a reality. 

Economic Identity

According to the World Bank, about 1.7 billion or the world’s population is unbanked or underbanked. This is due to these people lacking proper identification or not having a credit history. This renders them unqualified for opening a bank account. In turn, they can’t access loans to start a business or save up money to build wealth. This causes them to remain trapped in poverty. 

Blockchain can help solve this by providing a decentralized and immutable platform where people can properly document their identity. Blockchain-powered platforms in organizations and governments would help more people access financial services that would start them on the journey towards economic empowerment.

Property Rights

In many places around the world, especially in developing countries, there are no proper systems of tracking property rights, and where they exist, they’re either fractured or incomplete. Land registry systems are either unreliable or marred by corruption.

Yet owning property is one way to combat poverty. People can sell land and pay school fees or start a business. They can cultivate crops and participate in the economy. The lack of proper property registry keeps people stuck in poverty, as well as causing conflict. 

Blockchain can help solve this. Blockchain-based property documentation can help grant many of the world’s poor their first undeniable asset. Since blockchain records are immutable, documented property would be immune from fraud or manipulation. Several countries are already experimenting with blockchain-based land registries: including Bermuda, Ghana, India, Russia, Rwanda, and so on. 

Access to Money

One of the biggest hurdles to providing financial aid to the poor quickly and efficiently is the numerous steps involved in the banking process. This is even more so when borders and international regulations are in play. Add to this the administrative costs and banking fees, and a lot of the money ends up swallowed in the process. 

Blockchain can help solve this by providing a peer-to-peer framework where people can receive money as soon as it’s disbursed. No need for footing administrative labor costs, paying extra banking fees, or waiting for days for funds to reach individuals. This can prove even more useful in times of acute needs when money could practically help save lives. 

We’re already seeing this functionality in play. The United Nations tested a  cryptocurrency-based model of voucher-giving to Syrian refugees who could then redeem them for food items. About 10,000 people utilized the vouchers and got faster access to food relief, as opposed to if multiple international banking channels and procedures had had to be followed. 

Financial Inclusion

Exclusion from the world’s financial system is why millions remain impoverished. And this is partly because they’re unbanked. Banks themselves require a lot of money to set up. As such, building banks with the requisite infrastructure, especially in poor regions, is an expensive and often difficult endeavor. 

Blockchain eliminates the need for banks. All people need is a mobile phone with internet connectivity for them to access financial services and manage their finances. There is no need for complex infrastructures, bureaucratic procedures, hidden costs, or the corrupt interference of local authorities. 

Blockchain treats people the same way; it doesn’t recognize whether you’re a high-flying career banker in Manhattan or a poor farmer in Kazakhstan. It’s this indiscriminate and inclusive nature of the technology that could help lift many out of poverty. 

Creating Transparency and Reducing Corruption

Corruption is a disease that keeps people trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. When public funds are stolen, people are denied basic services like healthcare, water, decent sanitary conditions, and so on. 

Blockchain is immutable, transparent, and secure, and it can help minimize the avenues for corruption. On a public blockchain, anyone can see the history of records and where the money is going. 

The immutability, i.e., the unalterable nature of blockchain records, means no one can manipulate records. As such, it would be impossible for corrupt officials to embezzle or redirect funds. Even if they attempted, the blockchain would show who did it, and when. 

Monetizing Microtransactions

Blockchain-based currencies can help assign value to items at smaller prices, making transactions cost-effective. People can purchase value with very tiny amounts of money, e.g., a small amount of data at 0.000001 of crypto. 

This level of micro transactions opens avenues for more people to participate in global commerce. In this way, individuals can also prove their credit-worthiness and gain access to credit. A poor grocery keeper on the other side of the world can easily show the cryptocurrency in their wallet and prove that they’re a good candidate for a loan. This means banks can take more risk than they would have and service more people. In return, this opens up the economy for the betterment of everyone. 

Supporting Micro-lending and Micro-trading

Once again, blockchain’s ability to support microtransactions can foster micro-lending and help people pull themselves out of poverty. 

In the past and even now, micro-lending has gotten a bad rap thanks to exorbitantly high-interest rates and unscrupulous loan sharks.

Blockchain could help solve this. First, it would massively help reduce the administrative costs for processing loans, allowing microlenders to administer more loans and extend their services to more borrowers. 

Blockchain tech would also enable farmers in poor regions to engage in micro-trading by giving them direct access to the market and sell their products at fair prices – without the need for expensive markups. Blockchain would help them sell small sizes of products since with the technology, even the smallest sizes will be profitable and economically viable. 

Insurance

This is one of the most interesting ways in which blockchain can help reduce poverty. Traditionally, insurance is usually too expensive for the average person and the poor. This is due to the byzantine administrative channels involved, or simply the service costs being beyond the reach of many. There’s also the issue of corruption in which contributors to insurance schemes are denied payments in the time of need, often under flimsy justifications. 

Blockchain can greatly help to change this by providing a system where people can verify payment records and help deter fraud. Blockchain-based accounting procedures can also reduce admin costs by a ton. 

Blockchain can also allow people to make payments in small amounts so that even the economically disadvantaged can receive insurance services. Insurance claims can also be verified in the immutable and transparent blockchain. And lastly, insurance payments can be processed faster to reduce waiting times and help facilitate a better economy for everyone. 

Blockchain can help surmount the many hurdles that have always hampered efforts towards the reduction of poverty. It doesn’t discriminate on origin, race, class, or gender. It eliminates convoluted procedures that increase costs or delay services. It helps stamp out fraud by showing records to everyone involved. Let’s hope more countries will recognize the power of blockchain and employ it to better their people’s lives. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

How Can Blockchain Improve the Music Industry?

Music is a universal language that connects all of us, regardless of where we come from or what language we speak. Music makes us move and dance and lifts our moods and spirit. But how much do we know about what goes on behind the creative scenes? Unlike the music itself, the goings-on in the music industry are not as harmonious.

Music is a universal language that connects all of us, regardless of where we come from or what language we speak. Music makes us move and dance and lifts our moods and spirit. But how much do we know about what goes on behind the creative scenes? Unlike the music itself, the goings-on in the music industry are not as harmonious.

Music is a universal language that connects all of us, regardless of where we come from or what language we speak. Music makes us move and dance and lifts our moods and spirit. But how much do we know about what goes on behind the creative scenes? Unlike the music itself, the goings-on in the music industry are not as harmonious.

From delayed payments to a lack of transparency to artists earning way too little, the current way of doing things in the music industry is too fractured. The industry is rife with conflict between artists and managers and artists and distributing services. Claims of distributing content without permission or unclear revenue splitting methods are some of the persistent bones of contention. 

But this may change soon, thanks to the decentralized, immutable, and transparent blockchain. Blockchain is transforming the way the music industry handles contracts, how artists receive their deserved pay, and how royalties and copyrights are managed.

This piece explores this topic deeper by identifying the ways blockchain can improve relationships among various parties in music and how artists can catch a break from the currently skewed revenue-sharing model. We’ll also be looking at some exciting blockchain-based projects that are leading in this space.

Blockchain and Music: Use Cases

i) Decentralization

In the current musical setup, centralized entities, e.g., Apple Music, are the ones who provide music to the masses. This means they control what music is aired and that they (entities) are subject to the regulations (and whims) of the country they reside in, or indeed external governments with vested interests. This means they can delist musical content when instructed to do so. This can be illustrated by Apple Music removing the contributions of Chinese pro-democracy singers Li Zhi, Anthony Wong, and Dennis Ho – due to pressure from the Chinese government. 

Blockchain-based music distribution would be immune to this kind of censorship or unilateralism. With blockchain, no one can delete artists from musical platforms, and no one would be capable of taking any music down from the platform. Artists will be able to distribute what they like whenever they like, and to whomever they like. No government or states would have any say or influence whatsoever on what kind of content is played.

ii) Fairer Royalty Systems

The music industry constantly finds itself mired in financial squabbles over unpaid royalties. For instance, Spotify, the streaming giant, had to pay up to 30 million dollars in settlements after being sued by music publishing and songwriters over uncompensated work.

This fiasco testifies to the never-ending misunderstanding over who is owed what that plays out in the traditional music setup.

Blockchain would solve this problem by providing transparency and value for everyone involved. It can do this by tracking royalties then ensuring that they go to their rightful owners, as well as ensure various contributors are compensated for their input into a song. Smart contracts powered by blockchain can also streamline payments so that artists are paid for songs as soon as they are played or downloaded. This is in contrast to the current scenario where they have to wait for weeks, months, or even years to receive payment.

iii) Better Revenue-Sharing Model

Currently, musical artists are getting the short end of the stick. For instance, musicians got a meager 12% out of the total $43 billion in revenue for the music industry in 2017. And this was an improvement from the 7% cut that they got in 2000.

While recording companies and distributors bear much of the financial risk, the revenue distribution still seems unfair. Blockchain-enabled distribution platforms world cut out the many intermediaries involved in music distribution – ensuring only the contributing parties are on the payroll. This way, artists can go home with a fairer compensation for their work.

iv) New Monetization Models

With blockchain technology, artists can discover new ways of making money instead of relying on the traditional revenue model. The traditional model brings in money from touring, playing live, licensing fees, and so on.

Instead of depending solely on these revenue streams, artists can generate more revenue via blockchain-based models. For instance, they could come up with a cryptocurrency for a specific song or album. Through this cryptocurrency, they can create a virtual “stock market” through which listeners can purchase pieces of the rights of the song. Artists can then receive money from the money trickling down from the purchases. Blockchain-based smart contracts would ensure security, fairness, and transparency in this model.

v) A Global Music Registry

One of the challenges the music industry is grappling with currently is lack of a verified global registry of musical works. Attempts to build one have come to naught – resulting in the waste of millions of dollars.

A global music registry that identifies music rights holders would help streamline the royalties and rights management of music globally. Blockchain would help this by providing an open and transparent protocol where all musicians, composers, and other associated parties can have their rights managed more efficiently and fairly. 

vi) Change the Concept of Advances

An advance in the music industry refers to the pre-payment of royalties, whether by a label or a distributor to an artist. This arrangement has its share of problems. First, artists will have to recoup the advance at a later date, and the recording company bears the larger share of the overhead risk. 

Blockchain could change how advances are made – by distributing the risk among various stakeholders, facilitating a fairer distribution of royalties, and offloading much of the risk from the recording company.

Examples of Blockchain-Based Musical Projects 

MediaChain: This is a blockchain-based company that organizes open-source information with the use of unique identifiers for every single piece of information. Via the MediaChain platform, artists can also see to it that they paid fairly. By utilizing smart contracts, MediaChain allows artists to stipulate their royalties and rights without the need to integrate third-party intermediaries or contingencies.  The company has already been acquired by the streaming giant Spotify to assist in streamlining royalty and rights management in the music industry.

Ujo: This is a decentralized, blockchain-based platform on which artists can upload music, self-publish, and manage licensing and distribution. The Ethereum-based platform manages a database for music ownership rights and distributes royalties fairly and transparently via the use of smart contracts.

Choon: This is an Ethereum-based digital streaming platform that fairly and timely compensates artists for their work. On the Choon platform, artists can create smart contracts that ensure every contributor is fairly rewarded.  Rather than wait for weeks, months, or years to compensate artists, Choon rewards them almost immediately according to the number of streams the blockchain has recorded on any given day. Choon also features a crowdfunding function that allows burgeoning artists to gain a solid footing in the game. The platform also allows music fans to create personalized playlists and get paid for it.

VOISE: This is a blockchain-powered application that has its own token. The platform’s token enables artists to get paid for their music in a peer-to-peer marketplace. VOISE provides a collaborative platform through which artists can upload music according to fan preferences while getting almost 100% of revenue from the music. Artists using the VOISE platform can also determine how much listeners will pay for consuming their content. Artists can also offer free sample tracks to lucky listeners and receive feedback and support from the community.

Concluding Thoughts

Blockchain is making things better for music. Artists can get their fair pay without contention; risks can be shouldered by various parties so that record labels do not bear the brunt. Fans can participate in the music-making process, and artists can find support within the community. Everybody wins.

What we are yet to see, though, is the full-scale adoption of the technology in the industry. Perhaps this is because movers and shakers of the industry are yet to discover the revolutionary potential of blockchain, or because transitioning into a new way of doing things is easier than done. Either way, the music industry stands to benefit massively from blockchain, and the sooner it wakes up to this fact, the better.