IoTex, a woman-led startup using the blockchain to add transparency and accountability to philanthropy, knows that the tracking capabilities of blockchain technology can help make charitable giving more secure—even tough most charities don't yet accept cryptocurrency.
IoTex saw a need for a facilitator in many cases, stepping in with smart contracts and "redirecting the cryptocurrency hype to charitable causes," according to founder and serial investor Jing Sun.
The company aims to increase the ability of systems and investors to work together with privacy and security.
Read on and click through for details on IoTex's model, their work with the Ethereum Foundation to help move blockchain research forward, and more.
Serial investor Jing Sun is interested in creating a new way of charitable giving. Even though the industry has already changed a lot by way of websites that connect you with charitable causes and even social media campaigns that easily allow you to donate money, Sun wants to take it a step further by way of the blockchain.
She has created a project called IoTex that seeks to connect the physical world, block by block and is heavily focused on charitable ventures, the first of which being connected to the Ethereum Foundation. I recently spoke with Sun to learn more about why charity is a focus for her startup and how cryptocurrency fits within.
Why is use of cryptocurrency a good fit for the charitable giving industry?
Sun: The benefit of blockchain is that it cuts out the middleman as well as enables the transparency and accountability of charity and other NGOs about how the money is actually spent. Basically, cryptocurrency could cut down on corruption in the charity cycle.
Using cryptocurrency, all the transactions you made to the charity could be tracked and transparent to public. Also, an individual donor would have the ability to voice out if they suspected wrongdoing. Currently, the bottleneck is that most charities still don't accept digital currency.
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