Author: Samuel

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Swarm City

What is Swarm City?

Swarm City is a decentralized commerce project that is built on the Ethereum blockchain. It is a project that is designed to leverage the benefits of blockchain technology in the way people transact value, communicate and create a contextual reputation from their interactions.

The idea behind Swarm City is to bring forth a global marketplace that is open for service providers and services, all taking advantage of the benefits of the Ethereum project, currency tokens, encrypted communication tools, the Kovan testnet, and any other tools that might be available on the blockchain.

This project realizes that change is imminent in the way things are done online, and we are yet to see the ultimate changes. Therefore, it is built as a responsive project in that any new solutions that might be available down the line will be adaptable into Swarm City.

It is to make sure that buyers and sellers all over the world have direct access to one another, without the bottlenecks that are currently present in e-commerce.

Through Swarm City, users are able to access a network of P2P consumers and service providers.

Swarm City aims to make work easier for anyone who would like to create a unique branded marketplace (Storefront) and people who would like to make use of contributors who share a common goal with them (Hives).

In order to achieve this, Swarm City brings together open-source development, platform cooperation, blockchain technology, and a decentralized swarm organizational model, and makes it available to everyone.

Essentially, Swarm City is a decentralized swarm of people whose desire to change the world is so strong, and believe that this is possible through P2P interaction. Value on the Swarm City project is expressed in terms of SWT, an ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain.

What is the problem that Swarm City Solves?

Swarm City is about freedom. The reason why Swarm City was built is to make sure that people would no longer have to worry about the interference of third parties in their interactions, whether for business or pure communication.

What has been able to achieve, is to get rid of all third parties from any transaction that is carried out in the project. This is a guarantee that the process will go on smoothly without obstruction.

By getting rid of third parties, Swarm City is able to reduce the cost of transactions.

Besides, there is no longer need for third parties in the system, whose function in a conventional system would have been to protect the personal data for users. On the Swarm City project, all data that is shared is protected.

Freedom has always been a challenge in the conventional world of doing business. This is because all data is stored on a centralized platform.

Therefore, someone somewhere always has access to all your data. Even data that is stored in an encrypted format is never safe as long as it is stored in a central place. Through Swarm City, however, this is different.

By creating decentralized apps on the Ethereum blockchain, these apps have the capacity to disrupt a lot of global industries and markets. Some of the markets that are already ripe for the taking include cybersecurity, banking, and payments, forecasting, the Internet of Things, networking and supply chain management.

Other industries that will benefit from the new revolution by blockchain projects like Swarm City include online music distribution, healthcare, legislative voting, charity, cloud storage, private transportation, insurance, real estate, retail, crowdfunding and so forth.

Basically, Swarm City will be useful for any industry or market that involves the use of transactions or data of some sort.

How does Swarm City Solve the problem?           

In realization of the things that Swarm City needs to achieve, it would have been possible to build it on the Blockchain project or any other project, but Swarm City chose Ethereum, and for a good reason.

There are technical and philosophical components that were built for Swarm City, which form the conceptual framework upon which the project thrives.

Simply put, Swarm City is designed to make it easier for people to use marketplaces that are context specific, to engage in, or in cases where it is impossible to do so, allow them to create their own marketplaces unique for their context.

In Swarm City marketplaces are referred to as hashtags. Users are also able to create decentralized communities on Swarm City, which will help them in terms of economies of scale. At the same time, this will also help them create a good reputation for one another through marketplace transactions. The communities are referred to as hives.

What makes Swarm City better than the competitors?  

There are several reasons why Swarm City is currently performing better than any other project that is designed in the same realm. The following are the key reasons:

Hashtags as Marketplaces

In the normal world goods and services are exchanged in a physical marketplace. This can either be in a shop or a local store. Things are different in Swarm City. Here, you will find goods and services inside the hashtags.

A hashtag is a marketplace that is specific for the particular context in question. Take for example the hashtag #needaride. This is a marketplace for ridesharing. In this context, drivers are able to get in touch with riders, getting them from one place to another.

The hashtag #contractor is specifically for homeowners, whereby they can get in touch with home improvement professionals like electricians, plumbers and so forth, to come and solve some of their concerns at home. What happens, in the long run, is that at the end of these transactions, users will earn a reputation by engaging in a transaction through a hashtag. This makes a significant difference in the long run.

Apart from that, users on Swarm City are free to create and operate marketplaces that suit their needs. This is as simple as creating a hashtag.

Like any other proprietorship, for example, running a shop, the person who creates a hashtag is held accountable for making sure that the marketplace in question is a conducive place for doing business.

This means that they need to ensure that everyone who comes aboard their hashtag, whether they are sellers or buyers, will be in a good position to have the experience of a lifetime. Should there arise any dispute in a given hashtag, it is up to the creator to solve it in an amicable manner.

Hives as Communities

Hives share a strong correlation with beehives. They are about people coming together, people who share resources and values.

Every single person in a given hive brings to the fold certain metrics in terms of their experience and genetical makeup. Since people have unique skills, a hive will, at any given point in time have a lot of professionals, and people from different walks of life, making it a good place to engage communities.

For this reason, therefore, the concept of a hive is useful for the members, as it allows them to come together and form a unique community that has all kinds of individuals in it.

By coming together, members of a hive are able to pool resources in terms of their ideas and skills. They learn from one another, and this helps them create a strong community that abides by certain set guidelines.

The idea of a hive is to bring together people who share resources and values and work together for the provision of services that they share in common. Using the example of rideshares, the drivers can create a hive. Once they create a hive of their own, this hive can be used to offer rides to riders inside a hashtag.

Every single driver in the hive earns a hive reputation whenever they provide rides to the hive members. Apart from that, the drivers contribute a very small percentage of their earnings to the shared resource pool of the hive.

For the drivers, this form of organization works well in their favor because as they earn hive reputations, they become authority figures in that community. Therefore, this also gives them more influence on the resource pool, and how it should be spent. Resource pools can be committed towards anything, from marketing to insurance, as long as the hive agrees on what they feel it is best suited for.

Value Proposition through Reputation

Transparency in an in-person commerce situation happens because both of the parties that are involved are able to physically see the form of payment and the goods, or can somehow tell the type of services that they are going to receive. Therefore, it is easier to interact.

However, there are also instances where people must interact and do business without ever knowing or seeing one another.

This can happen both online and in person. In such a situation, it is highly important to find a way of creating a level of trust, so that the participants are fully aware of the fact that the people they are dealing with are credible, and the transaction is also credible.

Users on Swarm City can create a contextual reputation by simply completing the transactions that they create within the hashtag. For example, on the #needaride hashtag, both the driver and the rider will earn a #needaride reputation when they complete the transaction.

For the user, you earn a reputation whenever you complete a transaction. The good thing about reputations is that they are forever embedded on your profile. The reputation is written on the blockchain, which makes it absolute and permanent.

Your profile will always show all the reputations you have earned in different hives and hashtags. As a result of this, anyone who is engaging you for the first time will have a rough idea of the type of things that you hold dear and the areas where you are competent.

How can Swarm City be categorized?

Swarm City is a decentralized e-commerce platform that allows people the ability to interact freely with one another, communicate and do business by taking advantage of blockchain technology. It is built in such a way that not even Swarm City can interfere with the interactions since they are on a voluntary basis.

What’s Swarm City’s vision on Security?

Swarm City is built on the Ethereum platform. Therefore, it enjoys the same security benefits that Ethereum projects do.

It is built with censorship resilience and resistance, so users never have to worry about interference by third parties like governments or other institutions.

Being an Ethereum project, Swarm City uses smart contracts. These are programs that are written to facilitate an exchange on an Ethereum blockchain. The contracts are written specifically to address certain terms and conditions of a contract. If these conditions are met, the contract will be automatically executed.

Another benefit of running smart contracts is that they are operated on a blockchain platform, which means that they are designed to run without any interference, fraud or censorship.

Examples of Swarm City use cases/applications

Users on Swarm City are able to do a lot of things. Entry into the Swarm City ecosystem is through the Swarm City Terminal. The following are some of the things that you can do once you are in Swarm City:

  • Create a digital wallet
  • Create your profile
  • Send and receive SWT
  • View your ETH and SWT balance
  • View the USD equivalent of your balances in SWT
  • Engage in a private conversation with someone
  • Engage in and complete a transaction
  • Receive Swarm City Reputation tokens (SWR) when you complete a transaction

With time, there is room for development and users can look forward to more intuitive features. At the click of a button, for example, they should be able to create a hashtag of their own. A hashtag, in this case, is simply a smart contract that creates a market with unique parameters.

Resources

https://coincheckup.com/coins/Swarm-City

https://swarm.city/

https://medium.com/swarm-city-times https://support.swarm.city/knowledge_base/categories/frequently-asked-questions-76 https://github.com/swarmcity/sc-token/blob/master/token-exchange-miniwhitepaper.md#token-exchange-whitepaper%20https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9RSMdR2vWssV2JJX0t6dmN6SUk/view

 

 

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WorldCoin

What is WorldCoin?

WorldCoin is a financial services blockchain project. WorldCoin was created to address the integration problems that local banks have.

Through WorldCoin, banks should be able to introduce the WorldCoin Network tokens and the subsequent infrastructure into the banking system. This is a process that will, in the long run, help to open up the ATMs and local bank branches.

Through this, users are able to visit the bank or the ATM machines and exchange their WorldCoin tokens for the local currency that they prefer.

In light of the strategic partnerships that will be formed between WorldCoin and the local banks, there is a lot of promise for the growth of the Middle East economy.

WorldCoin further promises to donate 20% of their proceeds from transaction fees to non-profit education facilities within the Middle East.

The rest of the proceeds received as profits are reinvested into the coin or stored in cash reserves, in line with Sharia compliance.

Instead of paying the WorldCoin employees salaries, they will earn tokens. This explains why the biggest allocation of tokens was set aside for members of staff.

This is a plan that would see employees become not just an important part of seeing this project succeed, but become owners. As the WorldCoin succeeds, so does their compensation, and their stake in the project.

What is the problem that WorldCoin Solves?

A lot of people know the Middle East to be a hub for international trade. However, even though this might be true, there have been challenges facing trade in the Middle East for a very long time.

One of these is the difficulty in moving money from one place to another.

The idea behind WorldCoin is to solve the issue of cash transfer, while at the same time making sure that cash-backed securities are used in the process. Upon implementation, it will be possible for users to redeem their coins for local currency, or whichever acceptable currency in the same way that people often check cashing in the US.

The currencies used in the Middle East should help this process by creating a dynamic equilibrium for trade, thereby encouraging growth in the region, which has for the longest time possible, been hindered by monetary infrastructure concerns.

While cryptocurrencies are currently booming and opening new uses that most people might never have thought possible in the past, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

There are so many coins currently available on the blockchain platform. However, the challenge is that most of these still lock out a huge chunk of the community, hence a lot of underserved markets. This is what WorldCoin is trying to solve.

The banking infrastructure in the Middle East is limited. As a result, online transactions depend on the goodwill of foreign banks, which come with very high costs of operation, and in the long run have a negative impact on the economies.

Growth in this region is also challenged by the fact that there are limitations to the banking infrastructure, and given that the reliance of the world on oil keeps slowing down, the economic outlook for the future of economies that rely heavily on oil remains bleak.

Other than that, there are also several challenges in the Middle East that inhibit cultural or religious integration that would spur progress. As a result, the financial institutions here often struggle to compete with their peers in markets abroad.

Most of these restrictions come as a result of Sharia Law, which prohibits profit taking in the banking sector, through normal practices like earning interest or charging late payments.

In light of all these challenges, what is needed is a trustless system which can be adopted by the Middle Eastern economies.

This will greatly help to solve the problem of having to engage in physical cash transactions which is very risky for traders.

How does WorldCoin Solve the problem?

WorldCoin is coming in provide a solution to the underserved segments of the market. In so doing, WorldCoin will create a level playing field, bringing the Islamic world into the new digital space, bringing it up to speed with the modern standards and practices of the financial and technological markets.

Of course, WorldCoin will still be in operation under the confines of Sharia law. However, the idea here is to cultivate one of the most useful marketplaces that the Middle Eastern economy has ever seen in more than 5 decades.

The Middle East is a trade-hungry environment. For this reason, it is the kind of environment that would greatly appreciate the presence of hundreds of billion dollars industry like the crypto ecosystem.

Through WorldCoin, the Middle East is not trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they are working with amicable partners (Kyber Network) to create a trustless exchange which eliminates the need for middlemen in transactions, making them more affordable.

This will also increase the level of accountability and security in the platform, which is a step in the right direction, with respect to the financial revolution in the Middle East.

WorldCoin acts as a digital representation of physical cash transactions. The financial system is Sharia-compliant and runs on a decentralized blockchain network, sharing risks among the users on the network.

All transactions are recorded online on a ledger and stored in a distributed ledger system.

Therefore, they can be audited at any given time. In realization of the fact that most people in the Middle East have very poor access to the internet, WorldCoin will open up physical branches in the countries where they are operating.

This means that even without access to the internet, users will still be able to exchange tokens for whichever local currency they prefer.

What makes WorldCoin better than the competitors?    

Most of the problems that exist in the Middle Eastern economy are associated with the fact that fiat currencies that are in use are either unstable or issued by authoritarian governments.

A better explanation of this can be derived from the rampant currency devaluation in the Middle East, where in some cases, the rates are as high as 90%.

To combat this, WorldCoin plans to empower the masses, and through asset protection, facilitate the growth of economies in the Middle East through a digital currency that everyone can trust. This can be done in the following ways:

  • Common currency

First, the idea of creating WorldCoin is to create a common currency that will be acceptable and used in all the Middle Eastern countries. This makes it easy to do business and to engage in any other transaction.

  • First mover advantage

Being the first blockchain platform that is offering these services, WorldCoin benefits from a first mover advantage. This will give the blockchain a competitive edge above any other competitors. WorldCoin will also be in a good position to venture into untapped markets, integrating systems accordingly.

  • Strategic partnerships

WorldCoin is already forging partnerships with local and international businesses in the region. These are the businesses that will help to introduce WorldCoin into the Middle Eastern economy, using it as the premier currency for online transactions, or even in their local stores.

  • Sharia Law

It goes without saying that WorldCoin will be a pioneer of sorts. This is the first project that is piloting a digital lending platform that is compliant with Sharia Law. This is a P2P lending platform where users can carry out transactions while at the same time still staying within the confines of Sharia Law.

It will be possible to create a partnership that is interest-free with businesses and business people and at the same time succeed in creating more jobs across the Middle East.

Through WorldCoin, it will also be possible to provide easy access to credit facilities, something that most people are not able to enjoy in the normal business environment.

  • E-commerce champion

E-commerce in the Middle East has an unlikely champion in the form of WorldCoin. Through this project, it is possible to address some of the challenges that a lot of businesses have in the Middle East when it comes to doing business online.

One such problem is the low rate of penetration for credit cards. This is one challenge that has, in the recent past, led to a very low rate of innovation, job creation, and speed of online commerce. WorldCoin will create a community or a network of tens of thousands of merchants who will be using WorldCoin as their preferred token of trade. This will, in the long run, help to spur commerce and trade all through the region.

  • Coin Exchange

In most of the countries in the Middle East, transactions are often cash based. Therefore, people have to visit local exchanges from time to time to get the currency they prefer. Through WorldCoin, however, it will be possible to create lasting partnerships with the exchanges, where they will start exchanging fiat currency for trusted and secure WorldCoin tokens. This is also a good way to empower the masses about WorldCoin.

How can WorldCoin be categorized?

WorldCoin is a financial services blockchain project that is designed to ease the way of doing business in the Middle East and beyond. It was established to tackle some of the traditional challenges that businesses and users encounter when transacting on a day to day basis.

What’s WorldCoin’s vision on Security?

WorldCoin uses cryptographic security protocols. All transactions are impossible to tamper with. This is one of the basic principles of blockchain technology.

Examples of WorldCoin use cases/applications

Philanthropy

One of the ideas behind the creation of WorldCoin is to use it as a champion for philanthropic reasons. The goal of WorldCoin is to be at the forefront of the struggle to create a prosperous and stable Middle Eastern economy. For this reason, WorldCoin will always allocate a part of the profits as Zakat (a charitable tradition in Islam).

WorldCoin proposes setting aside 20% of the transaction fees to non-profit education charities that are currently available in the Middle East. By helping those children who lack privilege, they should be able to get the education they do not have access to, and in the process, help to break the yoke of poverty that holds them from realizing their true potential in the world, and eventually dismantle the vicious cycle of poverty.

The decision to support the education sector comes from the fact that the Middle Eastern economy has often struggled through multiple conflicts. As a result, children are unable to get an education. Some of the factors that contribute to this include economic instability and lack of access to basic services in the affected areas.

According to UNICEF, more than 40% of children in the Middle East lack access to basic educational facilities. This is a region in crisis, especially since the governments have been overstretched in their resource limits.

WorldCoin is fully committed to investing in children and education because they understand that education is key to opening up future generations. For this reason, WorldCoin hopes to offer a helping hand to this generation, and help them get a bright future, and prevent the children from being collateral damage in an unending cycle of poverty.

Job Creation

One of the biggest challenges that economies in the Middle East struggle with is lack of jobs. WorldCoin will contribute towards changing this by setting aside some of the tokens for job creation. 15% of the tokens are held in a lending platform. This lending platform is supposed to help the underprivileged to start small businesses, either online or to open stores locally. Given that WorldCoin has plans of generating up to 100,000 tokens a year, loans can be given in the range of 100 to 10,000 tokens.

One of the reasons for this project is the realization of the fact that small loans have often been useful in helping and changing the lives of a lot of people. By investing in women, especially, it is possible to boost the economy of a community. Since more than 85% of the Middle East is unbanked, WorldCoin will be the ultimate bridge between the unbanked, the underbanked and the rest of the financial world.

Resources

https://coincheckup.com/coins/WorldCoin

https://medium.com/@keyboardbasic/worldcoin-whitepaper-review-f810e892449b

https://worldcoin.cash/charity.html

https://worldcoin.cash

https://worldcoin.cash/assets/V8-%20WCN-%20White%20Paper%20+%20Lending.pdf