San Marino to reward green citizens with crypto

Citizens of the Republic of San Marino will be rewarded in crypto for saving water, recycling and other sustainable activities. The government branch San Marino Innovation is working together with VeChain to develop a 'low carbon ecosystem'. This was announced through a press release this week.

Citizens will be rewarded with the San Marino Innovation Token, which is an utility token build on the VeChain blockchain. The introduction of the 'low carbon ecosystem' is the first of its kind that's build on blockchain technology. The token could possibly also be used to pay for certain bills or buy at certain shops. However, this is still open for discussion.

San Marino hopes to become the first zero-emissions country in the entire world. For those wondering, San Marino is a small country of 62 square-kilometer and a population of 34 thousand people. It's located inside Italy, about 70 kilometers east of Florence. Just like the situation in Malta, it's relatively easy for the government to make drastic changes into their society. They are far more likely to innovate to attract businesses and tourism.

Obviously a blockchain project that attracts a maximum of 34 thousand people is not very interesting for VeChain. But the project is a first of its kind. When the system has been proven successful, it will become far more interesting for other countries, counties or cities to incorporate similar blockchain systems to promote a greener lifestyle.

Currently the most polluting country in the world in China, followed by the United States, India, Russia and Japan. China is alone is responsible for 30 percent of the total CO2 emission, thanks to the rise of their industrial power. They took over the first place from the United States ten years ago. The U.S. is still responsible for 15 percent, while India is third with 7 percent. India's CO2 emission is on the rise, and the country is expected to burn a lot more fossil fuels in the coming years.

Even though these countries could benefit a lot from the VeChain project, I would expect some Western European countries to follow San Marino. Think about Luxembourg, which is a rich and at the center of the European banking world. Switzerland is also very open to blockchain projects, while countries like Denmark, The Netherlands and Sweden have been known for using innovative technologies into their daily lives.

Sweden is aiming to become the first country which is fully powered by renewable green energy. This also means that benzine-powered cars will no longer be allowed. This should happen before 2040. Scotland is also very ambitious, as they have build a wind energy farm that provides 98 percent of all their electricity. Costa Rica and Nicaragua are also moving fast into green energy, while Germany is still world leader. In the first six months of 2018 they created more green energy than the entire country would need for a year. Each of these countries would be a candidate to embrace the VeChain project as their next social and nature-friendly investment.