Project AirDrop Venezuela: A positive example of how a cryptocurrency can help aid organizations
Hi Steemians
I read about this airdrop with great interest because it provides an example of how cryptocurrency can change the way we do things for the better. When ever we give money to centralized agencies or governments we always worry about how much money actually gets to the people. In other cases the government may be too proud to allow assistance or block it. But with cryptocurrency, cellphones and internet we can send money directly to the people who need it or directly to agencies to distribute it.
Thus AirDrop gives us an idea of how this might work so it can be used in other places as well.
The Project “AirDrop Venezuela” appears to be a positive example of how a cryptocurrency can help aid organizations help get money into the hands of citizens without driving cash around the country. Steve Hanke, hyperinflation expert, and professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University has teamed up with AirTM, a Mexico City-based blockchain-powered currency platform. Their goal is to get financial aid to beleaguered Venezuelans and they've named the project "AirdropVenezuela." The initial target is to attract cryptocurrency donations totaling $1 million and then distribute the money to 100,000 people in Venezuela via the AirTM platform. "We provide in effect a clearinghouse that allows for the exchange of bolivars for dollars and vice versa," says Hanke who is now a member of AirTM's board of directors. "This is also much superior to distributing physical cash because you don’t have to run the risk of driving your armored truck into the country."
That's where AirTM comes in handy. "In Venezuela, we don’t have a bricks-and-mortar Cambio, that would be illegal," says Hanke. "Instead we have a Cambio in the sky." Cambio is synonymous with a Bureau de Change, where small lots of currency change hands. His reference to "a Cambio in the sky" is because the money can be distributed via the AirTM on-line platform. In other words, the money will be moved through the ether or cloud.Successful distribution of the target $1 million would also help pave the way to dollarize Venezuela, says Hanke. In other words, the AirTM platform could be used to prompt Venezuelans to use U.S. dollars in everyday transactions, so helping stabilize the economy which has been in freefall lately.
Specifics of Project AirDrop Venezuela
Goals: Put ten dollars into the hands of 100,000 Venezuelans for food.
How: Use Cryptocurrency Bitcoin to send money directly to the mobile phone wallets of the recipients, this reduces administrative costs to almost zero and insures that almost 100% of donated funds go to recipients.
More information: https://airdropvenezuela.org/#About
Picture Source
- AirDrop Venezuela website promotional materials
Reference:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonconstable/2019/01/14/could-a-crypto-currency-service-help-save-venezuela/#3ac1e25a4856https://airdropvenezuela.org/#About