The Columbus Token Project: Cryptocurrency Solutions to the Third World
Cryptocurrencies seem like the type of endeavor that will split the world into the haves and have nots. Despite its talk of democratization of currency via removal of the impact of central banks, cryptocurrencies practically are only available to those people with access to technology. This is the kind of thing where first world countries have a distinct advantage over third world countries.
Despite this expectation, the reality is that cryptocurrencies not only have a strong role to play in the future of many third world countries, but also have already provided some interesting benefits to third world people, spurring some exciting innovations.
In a similar way that Chinese nationals turned to cryptocurrencies because of Chinese government policies, people of third world countries need a safe haven to protect themselves from hyperinflation, government seizure of assets, massive devaluation and the like. An anonymous, secure currency with no ties to a central banking authority, cryptocurrencies offer the perfect solution. In Africa, a region involved in ongoing political and economic instability, the opportunity to use cryptocurrencies offers civilians the chance to ensure that their property is not impacted by this turmoil.
There is also a significant amount of Africans that work overseas that send money home to their families. Cryptocurrencies offer a means of transferring currency easily, without the costly issues associated with traditional money transfer. It is also quick and for most part avoids taxation and the like, another remnant of opportunistic political largesse. In fact, mobile money transfer has become so popular, that it was reported in The Economist that over 25% of money in Kenya is transferred through the mobile money service M-Pesa.
Part of this can also be attributed to other structural banking elements. In Africa, a relatively small amount of people have traditional bank accounts. Less than 3% of the population has access to credit cards in Sub-Saharan Africa. PayPal is prohibitively expensive or blocked in many countries. Bank transfers are several times more expensive than in other parts of the world. All of these factors contribute to the practical need for non-traditional means of transferring and holding money.
Cryptocurrencies and mobile transfers have created an opportunity for people in Africa to control and protect their assets. The purest ideas that underlie the cryptocurrency project is on display, lighting the way forward by enabling equal access to currency solutions to everyone, regardless of circumstances.
Addressing the people in the above areas is a huge case for The Columbus Token believing that access to financial solutions is a right of each single person in the world.
According to statistics, in 2017, 99% of the Australian and Canadian population older than fifteen years old had a bank account. In Afghanistan, the number drops to a shocking 14%. Meanwhile, in South Sudan, it goes as low as 8%. As you might have guessed, the situation hasn’t changed much since then.
Not having access to such a basic human commodity as a bank account means (usually, but not always) no regular income, no securities of any kind, and no opportunities to get a loan of any type, be it business or personal necessity. Which, in turn, leads to a vicious circle — even if you have the desire to change anything, your hands are tied.
Why is that? The onboarding process in third world countries is a tricky business. Many people simply have no standard documents such as a birth certificate or ID to even start the process. And insurance is completely out of the question.
Here’s where blockchain technology can and should step forward.
Columbus Token Project is one of the few platforms that takes care of the poverty issue. And they take it very seriously. They offer financial services to the unbanked and help small businesses broaden their outreach.
Apart from zero-fee money transfers, the company strives to provide remote work to anyone. They believe that the blockchain can power a new, uncorrupt, and transparent kind of charity and give their stakeholders the opportunity to control where their funds end up. They also enable guarantor and direct lending to entrepreneurs.
