With Bitcoin prices surging throughout November and December, there has been a wave of public interest in cryptocurrency like never before. With many consumers are looking to invest their own money in popular currencies, there are a wave of coin offerings happening all the time. Few, however, are looking to target people in developing countries to improve their financial security.
Alex Kong, founder of financial services firm TNG, suggests that 1.6 million working adults in the UK alone are ‘unbanked’, with the World Bank giving a 2 billion figure for people around the world with no access to a traditional bank account. Bringing this number down will allow greater financial democracy in economies where fewer citizens have bank accounts.
Tokyo-based firm Telcoin are looking to move the dial on this. Working as a smart contract on Ethereum’s blockchain, Telcoin will release 100 billion coins in an ICO on December 10th, which will be distributed by national telecom operators. Leveraging the vast geographical reach of telecom operators worldwide, and the seamlessly fast transactions blockchain technology makes available, Telcoin will give unbanked individuals a financial link to their mobile services provider.
A particularly compelling use case for Telcoin is migrant workers. A report from the International Labour Organisation estimates that 150m people worldwide are migrant workers, with only slow and expensive options available for sending money home to their families. Using Telcoin, it will be quick (a matter of seconds!) and easy to transfer money around the world.
Telcoin will be issued to telecom companies at a rate of 5% each year for ten years following the 25% released at the ICO. What’s in it for telecom operators? They will be issued more of the currency according to the flow of exchange traffic the telecom operator receives. There are already a number of major telecom operators enrolled, representing more than 350m users around the world.
The major benefit to the user, beyond allowing more financial freedom to mobile users in developing countries, Telcoin allows a simple access point to the cryptocurrency market for those who might not otherwise understand the somewhat complex process of navigating wallets and exchanges. Users will have immediate access through their issued coins to online remittances, transfers, payments, and ecommerce.
Telcoin will not work as a competitor to telecom operators, but will work co-operatively with these organisations as a complementary solution for the customer. The partnerships with operators will help overcome many of the hurdles involved with similar projects: promoting trust, allowing reach, and complying with KYC.
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https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@originalworks/150-steem-sponsored-writing-contest-telcoin