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Central African Republic’s Bitcoin Adoption Will Be A Real Test Case: Here’s Why

Central African Republic’s Bitcoin Adoption Will Be A Real Test Case: Here’s Why

Among the poorest, the African country is likely to serve as a case study on bitcoin adoption in under-developed and politically unstable regions.

The Central African Republic has become the first country in Africa and second in the world after El Salvador to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender. Among the poorest in the world, the African country is likely to serve as a case study on bitcoin adoption in under-developed and politically unstable regions.

Central African Republic’s move towards bitcoin is surprising since it is not among the top African countries in crypto adoption and did not have any supporting infrastructure before the announcement.

A recent Chainalysis data showed Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria among the top 10 countries in the world for cryptocurrency use.

Reports said that President Faustin Archange Touadera signed a law to make bitcoin an official currency alongside the CFA Franc and legalise cryptocurrencies.

“This move places the Central African Republic on the map of the world’s boldest and most visionary countries,” the Presidential office said.

Significantly, the civil war-infested country is currently under an IMF-monitored financial reform programme. The IMF has opposed the adoption of bitcoin or any cryptocurrency, calling them ‘significant financial risks’.

“In the last decade, many economically-handicapped countries switched over to the US dollar. Now, people – and governments in particular – are looking at cryptocurrencies as the problem solver,” crypto expert Anndy Lian told NDTV.

In the case of the Central African Republic, the oft-repeated charge of former colonial power France’s overreaching economic influence could have been one of the triggers for legalising bitcoin.

However, there is no official statement yet linking the move to the flaws in the France-supported CFA Franc ecosystem.

While Mr Lian believes bitcoin is a good hedge against country-specific risks, he cautioned that bitcoin could only be a mid-way solution for economic stabilisation.

“Bitcoin can help build the economy in the short run. In the long term, countries need to innovate with a localised, sustainable model,” he said.

The African nation’s troubles are poor internet penetration and a high unbanked population – two metrics detrimental to adopting a sophisticated technology like bitcoin.

According to a Datareportal report, internet penetration stood at a mere 11.4% in January 2021, while the IMF estimates that 99% of the population is unbanked.

A look at the situation in El Salvador, which on September 7 last year became the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender, suggests that bitcoin as a currency has not yet gained wider acceptance among the general public.

As per a National Bureau of Economic Research survey, the “usage of bitcoin for everyday transactions is low and is concentrated among the banked, educated, young, and male population”.

About 70% of El Salvador is unbanked. Interestingly, the government had supported the adoption of bitcoin to enable greater financial inclusion.

Original Source: https://www.ndtv.com/business/central-african-republics-bitcoin-adoption-will-be-a-real-test-case-heres-why-2927618

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
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Why Understanding Token Utility Is Key to Finding Real Value

Why Understanding Token Utility Is Key to Finding Real Value

It feels a little like the heady days of the ICO boom of 2017/18 again with the rise of meme tokens, which have captured crypto investor’s attention following DogeCoin’s 14,000% rise in value in the first six months of 2021. Back in the ICO boom scores of crypto projects backed by little more than whitepapers and a compelling story pulled in newbie investors keen to benefit from the spectacular gains on offer. When the ICO market collapsed, and the lack of any real utility for most of these tokens became clear, as well as leaving people out of pocket it also left a question mark over the long-term value of crypto ventures.

 

With the rise of meme tokens the importance of establishing real utility is even more important in 2021, not just for meme coin projects, but also for the wider crypto and blockchain industry. For the crypto investor, faced with an overload of token listings, how do you find the hidden gem rather than fall for a dud, whether a new meme token or an innovative blockchain project? Billionaire entrepreneur, and head of Alameda Research and the FTX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried stated in a recent Vox article that some information are “clearly legitimate”, some information are “clearly bullshit”, and in-between that, there exists a plethora of information that are “a little bit confusing”. “In this financial environment”, he continued, even a token, stock, or asset with a meme can get “a $20 billion valuation”.

 

Projects like ChainLink, Cardano, BitcoinCash, Polkadot, XRP, EOS, Stellar, and many others have been backed by billions of dollars of market cap with billions of dollars in liquidity.” Luke Stokes, Managing Director for the Foundation for Interwallet Operability, pointed out the challenge in finding utility and thus getting in early on a crypto project. It is arguable in many ways that these projects are “innovative and providing solutions in ways investors (actual investors) believe bitcoin and second layer bitcoin solutions currently cannot.” Will these projects still be current in a decade? Is there a way to spot these projects before they reach the leaderboard?

 

As a shorthand for how to spot a coin with real utility and real value, there are several common characteristics worth paying attention to, Stokes. The first is to look at the team, what is their track record, do they have much experience or is their first venture. In such a new sector as meme coins this may not be easy to assess, but it’s still worth looking out for. Secondly, to review the product or service the crypto startup is looking to solve. In the case of meme coin DogeCola, the team not only took the initiative in launching the first crypto-backed cola drink, but has also followed up with its first GameFi product, MoonAlley. “This is a great example of how meme coins are maturity, as they see the need to demonstrate real utility to users, and not some ‘pump and dump’ token. I think it’s just the start of an exciting phase of development in the crypto space, which harnesses the power of the meme community to real world projects, from consumer products to eco campaigns,” said BigONE chairman Anndy Lian. BigONE exchange was the first central exchange (CEX) to list DogeCola, in large part down to its understanding of the value of utility to its long term prospects, confirms Lian.

 

DogeCola has entered the cryptocurrency gaming industry with the intention to bring cryptocurrency into the current traditional economy of the world. “DogeCola is here to stay”, confirmed the DogeCola team last month. When reviewing token value, it’s also worth reading the fine print too when considering the impact that its perceived utility can have on token price. For example, as the DogeCola’s website states: “Even though DogeCola DeFi/Crypto project is related to the brand, the token and the soft drink are not to be considered the same legal entity. DogeCola Token is made, managed, and maintained by a community of Devs in a decentralized way. DogeCola Trademark will be used from a different company aiming to connect crypto and real worlds. BigONE Exchange will continue to find innovative projects to be part of our ecosystem.”

 

So, when looking for crypto projects worth investing in consider whether the token utility helps solve a real need for the customers, from consumer-facing gaming projects to more business to business propositions. In the rapidly emerging play-to-earn (GameFi) sector, the utility token often has value both as the crypto currency to reward the gaming community and to fund in-game transactions. Consider the rise of Axie Infinity, the hugely popular crypto gaming platform which runs on Ethereum, created by Vietnamese developer Sky Mavis. After generating more than $220 million in revenue in 30 days to the start of August, the play-to-earn game has its own in-game token, SLP, that can be sold on an exchange, with top players earning up to 1,500 SLPs a day. As a further revenue stream the game’s cute digital pets called Axies can be sold as a non-fungible token (NFT).

 

So where else should investors look for the long-term gains of utility, rather than a quick buck? Paddy Osborn, managing director of the London Academy of Trading, says it’s clear that the returns from crypto with utility are far superior to coins with no intrinsic value or function. Osborn pointed out that the true challenge, within this complex and fast-paced industry, is to identify these very “hidden gems” before their price skyrockets. A good starting point is that when looking at token utility, any evaluation must be set in a business context. CEO Mayande Walker, who’s blockchain startup OpenCT first emerged in the ICO boom days of 2017, agrees that explaining the role of token utility within the business is key to persuading investors. “When you look at the technical details of how our OpenCT protocol delivers data transport – it soon becomes clear just how dependent it is on a utility token to drive our VPN-killer product, the Private Crypto Network. But it’s also our experience working with governments and global carriers that goes a long way towards convincing would-be-investors and partners of the OCT token’s long-term value” he added.

 

For rising stars of the GameFi sector, or with fast-moving NFT projects it probably involves doing more in-depth research into the sector, as much as an individual project. Attracting attention is Solana, which despite outage issues since the beginning of August, the price of Solana has risen by more than 100%, making it the tenth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.  In the recent Raconteur article Osborn highlights three other coins with real utility, he thinks are worth watching: Polkadot, Internet Computer, and Vechain. Polkadot is building a network with an aim to support a range of different blockchains, enabling them to work together. Internet Computer aims to disrupt the internet space through a decentralised web platform running on a blockchain. Vechain helps companies monitor and analyse their products through each stage of the supply chain in a safe and secure manner. Ultimately, it’s down to the individual investor to do their due diligence before parting with their hard earned cash, whether to back a popular meme coin or invest in a little-known crypto startup’s token.

 

Original Source: https://programminginsider.com/why-understanding-token-utility-is-key-to-finding-real-value/

 

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
j j j

Mid-Day Mumbai News: How reflective tokens and real-world use cases can work together

Mid-Day Mumbai News: How reflective tokens and real-world use cases can work together

Mumbai`s homegrown newspaper – Mid-Day is a 41-year-old brand. Thank you for listening to my inputs.

The media outlet has quoted my points on how reflective tokens and real-world use cases can work together. Taking Dogecola as an example. The Cola sold will be used as a form of funds to support its crypto pricing. The added-on elements such as GameFI and NFT would create a better bond and interaction between the brand and the consumers.

The combination may not be rocket science but they are certainly making traditional companies think about how tokenization would work for their business.

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Why DogeCola Is the Reflective Token To Watch

Following news that the ‘king’ of meme coins Dogecoin has relaunched its foundation with plans to become a serious global cryptocurrency, is DogeCola ‘on trend’ as a  meme coin worth taking seriously? Meme coins are tokens backed by crypto influencers and investors have rapidly increased in popularity. CoinMarketCap estimated there were more than 5,000 meme coins available to investors by late June. Created as a joke meme back in 2013 Dogecoin started the trend, rising to prominence after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the novel token in April 2019, replying to a tweet saying “Dogecoin might be my fav cryptocurrency. It’s pretty cool.”

While meme coins are a type of cryptocurrency, a key difference between the likes of Dogecoin and currencies like Bitcoin, comes down to utility. Namely that most meme coins, serve no real-world purpose. Even more reason why DogeCola, which is both a reflective token and a soft drink brand, has such potential to grow the meme coin market more sustainably in the future. In just the past week the cola-branded meme token, has delivered on its promise of distributing 1,000 sample cans of the fizzy drink to its token holders. And as its doubling-down on its listing on BigONE exchange with a staking activity, it’s certainly appears worth a closer look.

In this article we’ll therefore review how the ‘reflective’ token mechanism works to maintain price stability, the role the DogeCola soft drink brand plays in its growth, and what this could mean for the chances of success in such a fast-moving meme-market place.

 

Taking a look ‘under the hood’ of DogeCola

Auto-boost function: The auto-boost feature helps distinguishes DogeCola from the other standard meme tokens on the market. The DogeCola project’s developers added this feature to prevent the all too common ‘pump and dump’ associated with meme tokens. It was designed to make variable repurchasing and token burns based on the transaction volume every 24 hours. The goal is to keep the price of DogeCola high by burning tokens and reducing supply every time a sale is made with the tokens.

Reflection mechanism: The reflection mechanism means the tokens are self-generating and aim to discourage selling by promoting a ‘hold and earn’ use culture. By implementing a reflective mechanism in the token’s smart contract, all transactions involving tokens are ‘taxed’, and rewards are distributed evenly among holders. The DogeCola team does this to encourage the holding their tokens, and the commission on sales is much higher to prevent whales from dumping and driving the price down

Both the auto-boost and reflection mechanism are underpinned by a buy and sell fee structure: on buying 6% is set aside for the auto-boost function, with 2% going reflection to holders and 4% of marketing. While on sales, 7% is for auto-boost function, 7% for reflection to holders and again, 4% allocated to marketing.

Branded cola drink: The DogeCola team has begun the process of bringing their soft drink brand to the market as soon as possible. In a recent interview the DogeCola project’s lead developer, Chris, confirmed that the primary goal is to have the soft drinks readily available for purchase in stores, within the next three to six months. In the meantime, DogeCola token holders this week snapped up the first 1,000 samples. As Jason McLeod of the community-based #stopelon crypto initiative, commented on Twitter: “I definitely think this is the way crypto will go in the future. For me, it’s all about that link from crypto to ‘everyday’ people in the ‘real’ world.” The DogeCola team also plans to fight plastic pollution caused by corporations like Coca Cola, using a community-led vote to determine which eco-charities to support – enhancing their ‘disruptive’ branding in the process.

 

What the crypto experts think of DogeCola?

At the launch of DogeCola in July, Chris the lead dev and founder proclaimed: “If you like Coca Cola, if you like Dogecoin, then you will love DogeCola.”  While the meme coin has risen in price by 556.1% from listing on CoinGecko to its all-time high, with the current price 500% from the listing price, its already has some push back from within its 10K strong international Telegram community. “Please know that you are in a project with a team that many times literally does not sleep in 72 hours; please do not look at x minutes candles in DogeCola; try to be patient, intelligent, trust the process and stick to your guts and vision,” said @Freejo1 in response to such jitters.

Jason Suttie, CMO of Bumper, a new protocol designed to protect the value of your crypto says: “What I find most exciting about projects like DogeCola is the visibility it’s bringing to the crypto space from the general public. Everybody knows Cola, many non-crypto people have now heard about Dogecoin. DogeCola creates a connection between a physical and virtual object which starts to make crypto less scary for the uninitiated. It’s through clever projects like this that crypto will make big steps toward mass adoption.”

Chairman of BigONE, Anndy Lian, says he believes that DogeCola being based on a reflective token mechanism and with a real-world use has a clear advantage in the crypto marketplace: “We are excited to list DogeCola on the BigONE exchange because it’s ticked all the boxes – a smart reflective token mechanism, branded cola drink, a great development team with passionate community behind it.” Certainly, this is supported by news that the team has succeeded in reaching 20k token holders just a couple of days after their CoinMarketCap airdrop on August 27th. And with a DogeCola sponsored NSCAR driver due to be announced shortly to further promote growth, this reflective token is surely one to watch out for.

Source: https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/infotainment/article/why-dogecola-is-the-reflective-token-to-watch-23191206

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

www.anndy.com
j j j