It seems that the potential benefits of cryptocurrencies are often overshadowed by the technology’s inherent vulnerability to exploitation.
And it is true, the adoption of cryptocurrencies carries risks. In the past year, governments around the world have raised concerns about the possibility of cryptocurrencies being used to finance terrorism or other illicit activities such as money laundering. Prohibitive measures have been taken everywhere from China to Nigeria, and many cryptocurrency exchanges have been forced into a legislative lockdown.
Although cryptocurrencies have their problems, they have also become a tool for policy makers and activists who want to make the world a better place.
The climate crisis
During 2021, public scrutiny of energy-intensive Bitcoin (BTC) mining practices dominated the headlines throughout the year, and for good reason. According to Digiconomist, Bitcoin mining consumes an amount of energy similar to that of an entire small country like the Netherlands or the Philippines.
However, many environmental activists are already using the same technology as a tool in the fight against climate change. For example, smart token contracts have enabled charities to raise funds in a way never seen before.
Many of these “charity tokens” have a tax system that charges a commission on each transaction, which can then be transferred to a charity of your choice. For example, the World of Waves (WOW) token is on a mission to restore the planet’s oceans and combat climate change.
In 2020, world’s oceans may have stored up to 1 sextillion more joules of heat energy than in 2019. Warmer water contributes to melting sea ice. Seas may have absorbed enough heat last year to boil 1.3 billion kettles of water. Buy $ WOW & support climate conservation efforts. pic.twitter.com/4ehOOc2iq0
– World of Waves (Official) (@World_Of_Waves) November 13, 2021
The project has a transactional tax of 11% that is redistributed to all holders, 3.3% to the liquidity fund and 4.4% to the WOW charity wallet. As the charity purse grows, funds are drawn monthly for donations for nature conservation activities and wildlife preservation. According to the project’s Twitter page, they have already donated over $ 49,000. WOW COO Kristijan Tot told Cointelegraph:
“It’s about making a positive impact on causes around the world, while giving visibility to NGOs and creators.”
In this way, charitable donations are built into the underlying algorithm of the token. And not only that, but holders are also incentivized to invest and stay invested in the project.
WOW is not the only crypto project to use this type of technology to raise funds for an environmental cause.
Solarcoin distributes tokens as a reward to people who install solar panels in their homes or businesses. The theory is that when the price of the currency exceeds the cost of producing energy, solar energy will be effectively free. The project website states:
“Today, cryptocurrencies are worth more than $ 2 trillion. Most of that value was distributed in exchange for mining of cryptocurrencies, which requires a lot of carbon. What if it was distributed to people who produced energy for free? “
Black Lives Matter
Of course, conserving the environment is not the only topic that crypto projects have tried to address in the last year. In June, the world watched with outrage as George Floyd was assassinated by a police officer. His death gave new impetus to the Black Lives Matter movement, and controversy was not lacking in the crypto community.
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, a group tried to capitalize on the turmoil by launching a George Floyd token, a project riddled with unstable tokenomics and an unclear payment system. It was also reported that a person attended the protests holding a sign that read “Bitcoin will save us.”
Despite the obvious bad taste of these isolated cases, the wider community rallied to the cause. For example, Giving Block introduced a solution for its users to donate specifically to nonprofits that support the Black Lives Matter movement, such as the Chicago Community Bond Fund, Movement for Black Lives, and the Bail Project.
As early as 2020, the cryptocurrency fundraising platform partnered with Gitcoin to launch its #CryptoForBlackLives campaign. Gitcoin initially matched donations of up to $ 25,000 through a community grant.. However, that figure rose to more than $ 100,000 by the end of the campaign.
Black activists have also worked tirelessly to ensure that their communities can benefit from the monetary gains that crypto offers. Guapcoin (GUAP) founder and principal engineer Taviona Evans says her platform was able to achieve more in 2021 than any previous year. GUAP was created to help close the wealth gap in black communities and support black-owned businesses in the United States. She told Cointelegraph:
“We have raised awareness about crypto among a population with less access and education in crypto and finance – and we continue to do so.”
Improve healthcare
Another area of charitable giving where cryptocurrency projects have made a difference this year has been healthcare and mental health. In 2021, the health of many people around the world suffered greatly as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread.
Perhaps one of the most unexpected results of the coronavirus was its profound effect on crypto and blockchains, which can be traced back to the genesis of the pandemic in late 2019.
From Australia to Mexico, blockchain technology is already being used to verify the authenticity of COVID-19 test results and vaccination certificates.
Various crypto funds and tokens have also emerged to support communities around the world that have suffered outbreaks of the virus. In April this year, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal created the COVID-Crypto Relief Fund when a second wave of the virus struck his native India.
The fund was able to raise an impressive $ 429.59 million in mid-October, with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Australian cricketer Brett Lee, and Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan among its contributors.
#India @CryptoRelief_ @VitalikButerin @RyoshiResearch
The #India #Covid #Crypto Relief Fund donation has been spent! This is good news for everyone! For the ones that supported the donation, and also for the ones that opposed!
What do you think #ShibArmy? https: //t.co/dbxNx84bVF pic.twitter.com/fe7w5swdge– SHIB INFORMER (@ShibInformer) September 26, 2021
If there has ever been a year to prove that crypto is truly morally agnostic, it was 2021. Around the world, the same technology used to finance terrorism was also used to fund healthcare amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world argued about the impact that energy-intensive BTC mining projects have on the environment, others created cryptocurrency projects and tokens to save our planet.
As we move into 2022, the question of whether cryptocurrencies are a force for good or evil remains in the headline’s eyes.