As Blockchain develops and more projects are created around its technology, the value of information mutates (see Blockchain: Breaking Paradigms). Our data will no longer belong to a few companies which squeeze their own profit out of it. Data will belong to an open network that we all will be able to access.
While some cryptocurrencies as Bitcoin are created by coders who have the skills the time and the equipment to mine them, others as Ether are mined by ideas that are valued through ICO operations. Besides Ether, other cryptocurrencies have helped paving the road for projects that value the creativity behind art, music, stories and ideas.
Here is a short selection of entrepreneurial projects developing protocols based on Blockchain technology that can transform the future of ID generation, contract agreements, information sharing and the concept of value. Most of them are in their initial stages and are defining where is this technology heading towards, how should information be organized and who should it belong to.
Music
UJO begun through a collaboration between artists Imogen Heap and Ethereum. They proved there was a different option to execute transparent payments for artists, where the contracts for copyrights and use of the music where specified according to each case. UJO supports the creation of the artist’s ID, simplifies the process of publishing upon upload, allows for a simple control of licensing options and sets distribution of payments.
JAAK connects songs, films, and TV shows directly to the artists, producers, writers, and organisations that create, own and distribute them. They relay on a new type of smart contracts that facilitates the fair usage of content where the rules are controlled by the artists.
COALA connects creatives with audiences via seamless IP handling. Using Creative Commons License they seek to change the way consumers and creatives interact. Consumers will have the chance to pay directly to the creators of the content they really love, skipping the surveillance they face when served with ads that respond to their data profiles.
Social Impact
D-CENT (Decentralized Citizens ENgagement Technologies) is a Europe-wide project aiming to create a decentralized social network that can enhance direct democracy. It empowers society by enabling a wide collaboration and participation in decision-making.
D-CENT supported projects will be able to use digital currencies in parallel with conventional ones. Cryptocurrencies will be used to reward individual actions that enhance collective values.
By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.
Learn more
BRER (Bitnation Refugee Emergency Response) is a Humanitarian Aid Project developed by Bitnation to support in the European refugee crisis. It uses Blockchain technology to authenticate and validate identification as well as to support with secure transactions and transitional tools required by the refugees within the State which is receiving them.
HUMANIQ is a new model of bank aiming to reduce global poverty. It provides banking services and income opportunities to the needed population across the world. It gives a biometric identity to those citizens who don’t have one, enabling them to access microlending as well as earning cryptocurrencies by working on digital devices.
By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.
Learn more
AMBROSUS is a project that aims to radically improve the global supply chains of food and medicine. It will provide a trusted ecosystem where we can reliably record the entire history of products and execute commercial transactions accordingly. Individuals will be able to know where exactly does their food or medicine comes from, what treatment it has had and what other elements make part of its production.
https://ambrosus.com/#overview
Fashion
Earlier this year, Blockchain proved it can also play a role in fashion. During the Shanghai Fashion Week a young Chinese-New York label, a company specialized in blockchain and an anti-counterfeiting application worked together to showcase Babyghost’s Spring and Summer 2017 collection. The latter teamed up with BitSE and VeChain to develop IDs for each clothes article. Guests could then verify the fabric’s origin, the process it has gone through, and further information like if the article has been worn and by whom.
The fashion industry still appears as an empty canvas for creative minds to develop new ways of involving blockchain technology into it. Most likely projects will look into new ways of sharing clothes and clothes information, second-hand fashion, quality control and responsible consumption for those whiling to know all the details of where their wardrobes come from.
Here you can listen to a couple interviews made to entrepreneurs and their approach to Blockchain technology to shape the future of music, fashion and social impact.
Please share your thoughts about blockchain and exciting projects that we have missed in this article. We are happy to research into new projects and create awareness around them.
