Humanitarian – The Blockchain Daily Reporter and News Digest

Blockchain Is A Potential ‘Truth Machine’ For The World’s Transactions – Forbes Tech #CuttingEdge

By Joe McKendrick, Contributor March 15, 2018

There’s so much more to blockchain than cryptocurrency. Blockchain may eventually reach into every corner of the business, providing online, “smart contracts” that bind and assure any type of transaction, from exchange of goods to services rendered to employee records.

The money is beginning to flow in this direction. Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions is forecast to reach $2.1 billion this year, more than double the $945 million spent in 2017, according to estimates from IDC. The consultancy expects blockchain spending to grow at a clip of more than 80 percent a year, reaching $9.7 billion a year in 2021.

Moving up with blockchain

What’s all this money going to be spent on? Intelligent supply chains may be a big piece of it. Just recently, IBM and Maersk launched a blockchain-enabled shipping platform, essentially, an “end-to-end shipping solution that will give all parties involved in global trade a single view of where cargo is and allow authorities to give electronic approval for its movement,” as described by Computerworld’s Lucas Mearian.

More at: Blockchain Is A Potential ‘Truth Machine’ For The World’s Transactions – Forbes Tech #CuttingEdge

Entrepreneur and Former Child Actor Brock Pierce to Give Away $1 Billion of Fortune – CryptoSlate

The former child actor and current cryptocurrency entrepreneur, Brock Pierce has vowed to give away $1 billion of his cryptocurrency fortune to a blockchain network with charitable intentions.

Brock Pierce is a former child actor and currently serves as an advisor to EOS.

Brock Pierce entered the public eye in the 1992 Disney film, The Mighty Ducks, but has since proved himself to have as much of a talent for business and entrepreneurship as for acting and entertainment.

Pierce, who originally hails from Minnesota, has since his rise in the cryptocurrency, moved to Puerto Rico in order to benefit from the US territory’s unique tax policies which exempt Puerto Ricans from paying income tax on their crypto funds.

More at: Entrepreneur and Former Child Actor Brock Pierce to Give Away $1 Billion of Fortune – CryptoSlate

This New Blockchain Protocol Wants To Create Accountability For Social Impact – Fast Company

By Ben Schiller January 5, 2018

The Ixo Foundation’s “proof of impact” protocol wants to give investors knowledge that their money is working–and save organizations time and money in evaluating if their programs are working.

As philanthropists and impact investors pour money into social and environmentally focused businesses and projects, a nagging question often hovers over their efforts: Is the capital actually ending up where it is intended, and is it delivering impact in a measurable, tangible manner?

The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), an industry group, says that investors committed $22.1 billion to projects that deliver both financial and social and/or environmental purpose in 2016. Philanthropies increasingly believe that putting money into social businesses rather than issuing grants to nonprofits brings bigger, more sustainable, returns. And a wide array of mainstream funders, including pension and sovereign wealth funds, have recently entered the impact investing field. One prominent example from 2017: the $2 billion Rise Fund backed by TPG, a private equity firm, and a host of celebrity investors including Richard Branson and Bono.

[Source Images: Pavlo Zhoholiev/iStock, phoenix_olga/iStock]

However, a lack of measurement and verification standards may be holding back further capital flows in the impact investing sector. GIIN’s survey last summer of more than 200 funders found that 40% see data about performance as a “significant” or “very significant” challenge.Could blockchain technology come to the rescue? The Ixo Foundation, based in South Africa, believes so. It is developing a “proof of impact” protocol allowing data about projects–for example, that a child has been vaccinated or that a tree has been planted–to be recorded on a distributed ledger (a blockchain). This enables the claim of impact to be verified as legitimate and for funders thousands of miles of away to see that their money has been well spent. It also creates a new asset class, a cryptographic token that’s issued as the claim is authenticated, that could become the basis for a more organized, regulated form of investing.

More at: This New Blockchain Protocol Wants To Create Accountability For Social Impact – Fast Company

Using blockchain to lift billions out of poverty – Financial Times

News Podcast December 27, 2017

Two unlikely partners – controversial entrepreneur Patrick Byrne and economist Hernando de Soto – have joined forces to create a registry of informal property records using blockchain technology, making the records easier to trace and harder to forge. They join the FT’s John Authers to discuss their new venture.

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More at: Using blockchain to lift billions out of poverty – Financial Times

Fidelity’s Charity Arm Raises $22 Million in Bitcoin in 2017 – CoinDesk

By Sujha Sundararajan December 18, 2017

Bitcoin investors and users have now donated $22 million worth of the cryptocurrency to a charitable trust run by mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments so far in 2017.

According to new figures released by the company, Fidelity Charitable saw donations worth $11 million through November, a figure that has doubled since the start of the month, CNBC reports.

Matt Nash, senior vice president of donor engagement at Fidelity Charitable, credited the uptick to the “giving season” as well as the tax advantages of the donations, stating:

“People are getting smarter about donating appreciated assets, and bitcoin is the epitome of appreciated assets this year.”

More at Fidelity’s Charity Arm Raises $22 Million in Bitcoin in 2017 – CoinDesk

Cryptocurrencies As A Vehicle For Humanitarian Aid From Denmark – ETHNews.com

By Jeremy Nation December 14, 2017

Danish authorities are researching cryptocurrencies as a way to improve humanitarian efforts.

On December 12, 2017, a report titled Hack the Future of Development Aid was released by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs with help from the Sustainia think tank and Danish blockchain and e-commerce firm, Coinify. The report highlighted some of the benefits that blockchain technology can provide to humanitarian organizations.

The ministry turned to Sustainia to flesh out possible use cases involving blockchain technology. According to its research, the technology can significantly reduce the time it takes transactions to clear as well as costs associated with paper contracts. Corruption can also be curbed by digitized contracts and blockchain-recorded transactions, ensuring that financial aid is properly distributed to those in need.

More at: Cryptocurrencies As A Vehicle For Humanitarian Aid From Denmark – ETHNews.com

Moldova to Use Blockchain Technology to Eradicate Child Trafficking – BlockTribune

By David Pimentel November 17, 2017

Moldova, an Eastern European country and former Soviet republic, is planning to use blockchain technology to stop child trafficking.

United Nations recently teamed with blockchain firm World Identity Network (WIN) to explore the use of new technologies and solutions, such as digital identity on the blockchain, to increase the chance of catching traffickers and securing data on an immutable ledger, further making any such trafficking attempts more traceable and preventable.

Digital identification experts from the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) recently met with officials in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, to discuss how blockchain can help solving the exploitation of children.

More at: Moldova to Use Blockchain Technology to Eradicate Child Trafficking – BlockTribune

UN Agencies Turn to Blockchain In Fight Against Child Trafficking – CoinDesk

By Sujha Sundararajan November 13, 2017

The United Nations has partnered with the World Identity Network (WIN) to develop a blockchain identity pilot aimed to help curb child trafficking.

Announced during the Humanitarian Blockchain Summit in New York on Friday, the pilot involves participation from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Office of Information and Communications Technology (UN-OICT), a press release indicates.

Storing digital identities on a blockchain, the release states, provides a “significantly higher chance of catching traffickers.” Additionally, securing identity data on an immutable ledger will make trafficking attempts “more traceable and preventable.”

According to Dr. Mariana Dahan, co-founder and CEO of WIN, “invisible” children under the age of five and who do not possess a birth certificate are at “risk” and can fall into the hands of child traffickers. These children are often missed by social programs offered by governments or development agencies.

She added:

“Several developing countries are actively looking at more efficient ways to prevent child trafficking. Identification is always at the heart of the solution.”

More at: UN Agencies Turn to Blockchain In Fight Against Child Trafficking – CoinDesk

Charities Adopt Bitcoin Technology to Track and Transfer Funds Faster – TheStreet

By Tanzeel Akhtar October 26, 2017

Charity can be tricky business, especially when you have no idea where your money will end up in the process.

But Bitcoin and the revolutionary blockchain technology behind the cryptocurrency are now being adopted by a number of global charities and non-governmental organizations in order to “improve transparency” and track and transfer funds quickly.

Blockchain Payments Adoption Is Nigh

In fact, the adoption of blockchain as a payments technology may arrive sooner than we expect when it comes to altruistic organizations.

More at: Charities Adopt Bitcoin Technology to Track and Transfer Funds Faster – TheStreet