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01 Cryptocurrencies contribute to low-cost money transfers
For many customers, the cost of bank transfer is usually governed by a number of factors, including uncompetitive exchange rates and the limits of geography. According to a recent World Bank study, the average cost of a single bank transaction for private clients can be equal to 5.5 per cent of the transfer amount. International money transfers can also take up to five working days. While the nature of money transfers has remained unchanged, companies such as Ripple, which sells to cryptocurrency called XRP, are taking advantage of using digital tokens to speed up the process while reducing costs. Ripple, which is based in California, has created a $ 300-million fund for transferring money across international borders.
, Known as Xspring, which will pay for software with a focus on using XRP. Earlier this year, several Western Union and MoneyGram, announced they are working on pilot programs using XRP. Cryptocurrencies have also provided traditional money transfer companies with an opportunity to diversify their incomes. Earlier this summer, UK-based TransferGo began offering cryptocurrency trading to its customers in the form of buying and selling five major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin. Founded in 2012, TransferGo says it currently has more than 600,000 registered users. The company is partnered with 30 banks.
02 Blockchain technology combating electoral fraud
Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and litecoin may have changed in other, less obvious, areas such as non-profit organizations A new startup called Sovereign, launched by a group called Democracy Earth, uses blockchain technology to give users more flexibility in how they cast their votes. The practice is described as a kind of "liquid democracy", which allows you to vote on their behalf. In turn, other participants can also pass their votes across the chain. Sovereign uses existing blockchain platforms such as Ethereum and produces a number of tokens calls "votes". Run as co-operatives.
Voters use an app to vote on their accounts and debate issues with each other before deciding which way to vote. A single vote takes a single issue. A possible drawback of the technology is that all transactions on the blockchain can be viewed by other users. Sovereign says, however, that some blockchain technology providers have found ways to guarantee anonymity. The last year was a large number of students in Colombia.
03 Blockchain aiding green energy trading
A major advantage of decentralized database technologies is highlighted in Brooklyn, New York, where a promising project has seen dozens of homeowners collaborated to install solar panels as part of a standalone network. The Brooklyn Microgrid is run by the start-up LO3 Energy, and enables residents and businesses to become self-sufficient for their energy, while giving them access to trading platforms. Brooklyn Microgrid has around 50 participants, but its modest beginnings are part of a larger idea to create a countrywide peer-to-peer energy trading system using blockchain technology.
Organizers to help the environment, and build a secure supply chain that could function in extreme conditions such as in the hurricane season. Across the world, companies like LO3 Energy are building new blockchain networks that maximize decentralized energy systems and work with existing grids or, in the case of remote locations and emerging economies, avoid the need for them. In Australia last year, Power Ledger announced the launch of a blockchain-powered electricity trading market in Perth. In Bangladesh, where an estimated 65 million people are currently lacking access to power, ME has been using rooftop solar systems to build a trading network. Consumers can sell their excess power, which is purchased by small businesses using a mobile phone.
04 Blockchain technology helping the homeless
One of the most socially conscious uses of blockchain technology. New York, Texas, is currently piloting a new blockchain platform to consolidate and verify the identity and other vital records of the homeless person. Austin is currently home to some 2,000 homeless people with several thousand people in various stages of access to unreliable housing.
Administrators will be able to replace paper as such as social security cards, which can be lost or damaged, with electronic encrypted records. The MyPass program will be able to confirm the identity of the person involved in an office for processing. MyPass will also improve the ability of government and private homeless service providers to offer more integrated and comprehensive help. The blockchain-powered records will verify the identities and the store records of the previously received evidence of physical and mental care.
05 Tackling food security
Another area where blockchain technology is playing a role is in limiting food waste. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the food waste was often inadequate and the amount of food some 815 million people suffered from chronic undernourishment in 2016. To alleviate the problem, IBM launched a blockchain-based food traceability platform with retailers, wholesalers and suppliers. The IBM Food Trust platform helps companies track the path of food products through the entire supply chain and across borders. It verifies products that have been digitally certified as organic or fair trade, and it gives their product information.
Carrefour, which operates 12,000 stores in 33 countries, has been adopted by the French retail giant. Other large adopters includes multinational companies such as Nestlé, Tyson Foods and Unilever. The platform may be a particular value to the food industry in identifying and locating products that are subject to recalls, a process that is usually expensive and time consuming. Pricing for the platform begins at $ 100 per month and is tiered for small, medium and large businesses.
