How Blockchain and Crypto are Changing the World for the Better

The full extent of blockchain and crypto potential is still to be explored. However, I believe that a major impact can be made by these technologies in the social sector. From charitable projects to individual help, the potential of crypto and blockchain is immense. And here, I don’t mean the opportunities for earnings in P2E, like was the case with Axie Infinity during the COVID pandemic but something deeper.

Reasons Why Blockchain May Be a Successful Solution for Charity-Related Projects

When a charity company raises funds, the first question donors ask is whether the raised funds are going to be used for the advertised purposes and not stay in the pockets of the management. In other words, trust in charity was undermined by ages of resource misuse. Blockchain can fix this issue and move the sector to a qualitatively new level.

Why?

• It is reliable. Multiple nodes maintain the entire copies of the full ledger. All modifications are made in accordance with algorithms, and this makes a blockchain immutable. 

• It is transparent. Everybody who accesses the ledger can check all the transactions recorded there. 

• Blockchain is decentralized. Any exchange of assets occurs only upon a consensus among all parties. There is not a single entity that can enable, cancel, or modify a transaction. 

• It is accessible. Everybody can access all records on a blockchain.

Jointly, these factors can make a blockchain the source of truth. They can make impossible not only abuses of resources by charity foundations' management but eliminate corruption, allow tracking of original products from their production moment to the point when they arrive at the final customer, and for many more purposes.

Examples? 

For example, a charity can allow donors to help a selected company, project, or person. Through a blockchain, they can track their donations. Also, transactions may be performed worldwide and reach addressees within seconds instead of several days. 

By being available all around the world, a blockchain may help in reducing and eventually eliminating inequality. It makes it possible to receive funds even for those who don’t have access to banking services. 

By using a blockchain to show actual data on energy production and consumption, companies can contribute to responsible energy production and consumption, thus reducing the load on the environment and similar. There are many ways in which a blockchain can be used to make the world we live in better.

And here are just some practical examples that already work.

Crypto for Emergency Fundraising

During the last few years, the world experienced a lot of emergencies, including extreme weather events, a global pandemic, and a war. During such times, it is common for people to look for new ways to help those most at risk. This time, surprisingly, these new ways were blockchain and crypto.

One of the most common ways that blockchain assists in times of crisis is by raising funds rapidly and practically without limitations. Instead of having to wait days for a bank transfer, people can receive donations in cryptocurrency within seconds, from anywhere, at a very low cost. 

The most recent example of how crypto can assist those in need was the response to Russia’s war in Ukraine when several initiatives were launched to assist Ukrainians. For the first time, we saw a government appeal to the international community for donations in crypto when the Ukrainian Government posted their addresses to accept donations in crypto.

Source: Twitter

As the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Alex Bornyakov explained, “the national bank is not really operating, and crypto is helping to perform fast transfers, to make it very quick and get results almost immediately.”

Blockchain for Boosting Transparency and Accountability

Another blockchain use case is helping to make governments and individuals accountable. Blockchain can be used to upload and store information there indefinitely, open to anybody who wants to see it, free from censorship, and impossible to modify.

You may argue that social media can serve the same purpose. However, social media can be banned in a specific country (e.g., Telegram is banned in China, Cuba, and Iran) or censored. At the same time, these limitations are impossible to impose on a blockchain.

The most recent example of how blockchain can be used to hold a government accountable is during the authoritarian crackdown in Hong Kong.  When the government targeted the democratic newspaper Apple Daily, cyber activists uploaded newspaper articles to a blockchain. Soon after that, the assets of Apple Daily were frozen, the newspaper shut down its website, and all its publications were erased from social networks. However, all the uploaded documents are in the blockchain, tamperproof, and accessible to anybody.

Another example is AnonDrop, a new tool by Nym, a Cosmos-based platform. It will enable users to report the cases of war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine anonymously without revealing their location. 

Finally, I cannot leave without attention Building Blocks which is probably the world’s largest implementation of blockchain for humanitarian assistance. It enables tracking, coordination, and delivery of food, cash, medicine, and other types of assistance to those in need. 

Source: https://innovation.wfp.org/project/building-blocks 

Any Obstacles?

Yes, there are many obstacles to using a blockchain and crypto for social good. The main one is the lack of knowledge. Many people who could benefit from this technology as a donor or as a person who receives help don’t know about its existence. And those who know are humiliated by their lack of knowledge of how to use it.

Over time, this obstacle can be eliminated by educating people about the technology and its use. Now, such educational programs already exist, and their spreading is going to be the next step.

Another obstacle is the interconnectivity. Blockchain is still pretty isolated from other technologies. And to use the received crypto, a beneficiary has to exchange it for fiat. In this regard, the reduced use of crypto and blockchain in daily life is a real obstacle to the most needy ones in their efforts to improve their life level. Here, the solution is the introduction of proper legislation that will enable the use of crypto in daily activities such as purchasing groceries and clothes, paying for commodities, and similar.

Perspectives of Blockchain and Crypto Use to Make the World Better

I sincerely believe that options for blockchain and crypto use to help those in need are unlimited. Once the main obstacles are eliminated, this technology can change the world we live in and make it fairer.