At De/Centralize 2018 we heard from blockchain-based voting solutions, a gift card that allows people to buy a latte with cryptocurrencies, plus many more!

Zeex

Zeex wants to use gift cards to allow people to shop using crypto. While there are options to pay for goods using cryptocurrencies, the process is usually a few steps more complicated than using cash or cards.

Zeex is trying to solve this problem by using gift cards. It has partnered with major brands like H&M, Amazon and Starbucks to enable the gift card suppliers and merchants to tap into the blockchain protocol. Basically, it’s a blockchain infrastructure for the gift card industry.

Take Starbucks as a use case. A customer will simply leverage a mobile wallet within the Zeex ecosysytem. They choose the company, make sure the money is all in place, open up a barcode and the cashier then scans the phone. Boom. The customer waits a bit for the latte, having paid the same amount of money as someone with fiat.

Also Read: Singapore is warming up to blockchain but many challenges remain, say experts 

Zeex is planning on launching the product within the next few months.

Agora

Agora enables end-to-end transparency for elections worldwide. The problem is electronic voting machines are not that common, with only 31 countries having attempted to use them and only 20 implementing the system consistently. Plus, they  are not secure and highly-hackable.

Agora claims that blockchain is necessary and can truly enable end-to-end verifiable elections. It allows ballots to be anonymised and voters can see their own ballot on the blockchain. If implemented correctly, elections could be fully transparent and verifiable.

The company also wants to implement a token economy to empower citizens to become active in voting initiatives. ICOs can create a bounty programme, build local awareness, develop a group to evangelise and increase public transparency.

Agora deployed its technology in Sierra Leone and was able to provide data that matched the official tallies, but at a much higher speed. Agora points to this test case as an example that a lot of governments are open to the idea of blockchain-based elections.

Fysical

Once a user gives permission third party app in software starts to access location data, the agreement continues indefinitely unless the person actively turns it off.

The problem with this is a company can earn about US$100,000 a month for about a million users while the consumers see zero dollars for their information.

What blockchain can do is allow people to “claim” their data. When the information is sold, it can be attributed back to the user so they can get paid. Think about the infamous Seinfeld deals that pay people every time an episode is replayed on television 20 years after the last show aired.

Most similar companies focus on the consumer first and existing model only allows people to claim a tiny percentage of the data. Fysical wants to make it a B2B offering so users can claim from one decentralised marketplace before it gets passed on to advertisers.

TTC

TTC is a company that is building a decentralised and token-incentivised social media platform. In a decentralised platform, actions like ‘likes’, ‘sharing’ etc. are recorded for transparency.

Social interaction leads to TTC mining which incentivises users to participate in the platform. There is an issued reward pool which is “mined” and can be used to purchase online gifts. It is comparable to the blogging platform Steemit except for social media.

The longterm goal for the company to be the largest social networking protocol and build a global presence. It is targeting 100 million TTC users by the end of the year.

DREP

DREP enables internet platforms to quantify, monetise and share reputation value. The Four solutions the company offers are a reputation quantification mechanism, a voting economic system, fake accounts identification and a reputation data sharing pool.

Also Read: Lattice80 launches crypto hub, winds up its fintech hub in Singapore

It was the first technical partner for the Chengdu Government for Blockchain Plan 1.0 and is a Founding Member of Sino-Singapore Cooperation Alliance with IE Singapore.

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