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The crypto projects saving the planet

diffrint by diffrint
January 11, 2022
in Market & Analysis
0
The crypto projects saving the planet

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It appears as if the potential advantages of cryptocurrency are sometimes overshadowed by the know-how’s inherent vulnerability to exploitation. 

And it’s true, crypto adoption does include dangers. Over the previous 12 months, governments from around the globe have raised issues that crypto may very well be used to finance terrorism or other illicit activity like money laundering. There have been prohibitive measures all over the place from China to Nigeria, with many crypto exchanges forced into a legislative chokehold. 

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Whereas crypto has its challenges, it has additionally turn into a software for policymakers and activists desirous to make the world a greater place. 

The local weather disaster 

Throughout 2021, public scrutiny of Bitcoin (BTC) energy-intensive mining practices dominated headlines all 12 months lengthy — and for good purpose. In response to Digiconomist, Bitcoin mining consumes an analogous quantity of power to a whole small nation just like the Netherlands or the Philippines.

Nonetheless, many environmental activists are already utilizing the exact same know-how as a software within the battle in opposition to local weather change. For instance, good token contracts have allowed charitable establishments to lift funds in a means by no means seen earlier than.

Many of those “charity tokens” have a tax system that fees a price with each transaction, which might then be wired to a charity of selection. For instance, the World of Waves (WOW) token is on a mission to revive the planet’s oceans and fight local weather change. 

The undertaking has a transactional tax of 11% that’s redistributed again to all holders, 3.3% to the liquidity pool and 4.4% to the WOW charity pockets. Because the charity pockets grows, funds are extracted month-to-month for donations in direction of nature conservation actions and the preservation of wildlife. In response to the undertaking’s Twitter web page, over $49,000 has already been donated. WOW chief working officer Kristijan Tot instructed Cointelegraph:

“It is all about making a optimistic affect on causes around the globe whereas shining the highlight on NGOs and creators.”

On this means, charitable giving is hardwired into the token’s underlying algorithm. Not solely that however holders are additionally incentivized to speculate and keep invested within the undertaking. 

WOW is not the one crypto undertaking utilizing the sort of know-how to lift funds for an environmental trigger. 

Solarcoin distributes tokens as a reward to individuals who set up photo voltaic arrays of their houses or companies. The idea is that when the value of the coin exceeds the power manufacturing value, photo voltaic will successfully turn into free. The undertaking’s web site states:

“As of at present, cryptocurrencies are price over US$2 trillion. Most of that worth was distributed in trade for carbon-intensive crypto mining. What if it was given out to individuals who produced power at no cost?”

Black Lives Matter

After all, environmental conservation isn’t the one challenge crypto tasks have tried to sort out over the previous 12 months. In June, the world watched in outrage as George Floyd was murdered by a police officer. His loss of life sparked renewed momentum for the Black Lives Matter motion — and no scarcity of controversy within the crypto neighborhood. 

As beforehand reported by Cointelegraph, a bunch tried to money in on the turmoil by releasing a George Floyd token, a undertaking rife with shaky tokenomics and an unclear cost system. It was additionally reported that an individual attended the protests holding a sign claiming “Bitcoin will save us.”

Regardless of the apparent dangerous style of those remoted situations, the broader neighborhood primarily rallied for the trigger. For instance, the Giving Block introduced an answer for his or her customers to particularly donate to nonprofits supporting the Black Lives Matter motion such because the Chicago Group Bond Fund, Motion for Black Lives and the Bail Undertaking. 

Again in 2020, the crypto fundraising platform partnered with Gitcoin to launch its #CryptoForBlackLives marketing campaign. Initially, Gitcoin matched donations as much as $25,000 via a neighborhood grant. Nonetheless, that tally was boosted to over $100,000 by the marketing campaign’s completion.

Black activists have additionally labored tirelessly to make sure their communities are capable of profit from the financial features that crypto has to supply. Founder and lead engineer of Guapcoin (GUAP) Taviona Evans says that her platform was capable of accomplish extra in 2021 than any 12 months prior. GUAP was created to assist shut the wealth hole in Black communities and help Black-owned companies in the USA. She instructed Cointelegraph:

“We have sparked consciousness about crypto amongst a inhabitants with much less entry and training in crypto and finance — and we proceed to take action.”

Enhancing healthcare 

One other space of charitable giving the place crypto tasks have made a distinction this 12 months has been healthcare and psychological well being. In 2021, the well being of many individuals around the globe suffered immensely because the COVID-19 pandemic continued to unfold. 

Maybe one of many extra sudden outcomes of the coronavirus was its profound impact on crypto and blockchain, which could be traced to the pandemic’s genesis in late 2019. 

From Australia to Mexico, blockchain know-how is already getting used to confirm the authenticity of COVID-19 check outcomes and vaccination certificates. 

Quite a lot of crypto funds and tokens have additionally emerged to help communities around the globe which have suffered from outbreaks of the virus. In April this 12 months, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal created the COVID-Crypto Relief Fund as a crushing second wave of the virus tore via his residence nation of India.

The fund was capable of increase a whopping $429.59 million by mid-October, with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Australia cricketer Brett Lee and Coinbase chief know-how officer Balaji Srinivasan amongst its contributors.

Is crypto a drive for social good or dangerous?

If there has ever been a 12 months to show that crypto is really morally agnostic, it was 2021. Around the globe, the identical know-how used to finance terrorism was additionally used to fund healthcare amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas the world argued in regards to the affect that energy-intensive BTC mining tasks have on the surroundings, others created crypto tasks and tokens to avoid wasting our planet.

As we transfer into 2022, whether or not crypto is a drive for good or dangerous stays within the eyes of the holder.