Giving Compass' Take:

• Cryptocurrency exchange Swapity discusses how cryptocurrency is already being used to create stability and access and how it can be used to lower aid costs in the future. 

• How can donors improve aid through emerging technologies like cryptocurrency? 

• Learn about opportunities and challenges of cryptophilanthropy. 

For many of us who live in modern cities in first-world countries we take for granted that we can open our smartphones and see that our paycheck was direct deposited, use Apple Pay to buy groceries at the store, or find an ATM on any corner with plenty of cash if we actually need it. For over 3 billion people on the planet who are unbanked, having access to a workable medium of exchange continues to be a huge challenge.

Venezuela has been the poster child of currency crisis for decades. According to a report in Reuters, annual inflation in Venezuela at the end of May topped a staggering 24,600% for the previous 12-month period. Excessive money printing and shortages of food staples and medicine have only continued to compound the problems and caused the Venezuelan Bolivar to lose 98% of its value over the past year.

Cryptocurrencies are finally giving the people of Venezuela, and other countries around the world a democratic and stable option for digital currencies not under centralized control.

Distributed Ledger Technology in general has amazing potential to empower social impact programs around the globe. Reduced transaction and administrative costs insure that the beneficiaries realize the maximum impact of donations and eliminate corruption and waste.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) estimates that 50% of the benefits they deliver will be cash-based transfers by the year 2020. Utilizing blockchain technology, transaction costs will decrease from 3.5% to less than 1% saving millions of dollars that can be used to help many more people.

Read the full article about cryptocurrency at Medium.