Emart24, South Korea’s fastest-growing convenience store chain, has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb to introduce a “bitcoin meal box” in a promotional campaign. Priced at 5,900 Korean won (.30) each, the company aims to sell 30,000 bitcoin meal boxes by May 31. Customers purchasing these boxes can receive 10,000 won worth of bitcoin by using […]
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TRON Announces MainNet Upgrade Designed to Enhance Security and Convenience
n TRON says new version of MainNet will feature a check on bad actors and a more lightweight event server for DApp developersn
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Blockchain Bringing Convenience and Control to the Hotel Industry
The next era of blockchain development is rolling out, with features like smart contracts and faster transactions making crypto much more than just a means of exchange. These simple features are making a lot of new business models possible. Smart contracts make many classes of transactions almost completely automated, removing any need for central servers and processing. This, in turn, removes the problems associated with centralization like central points of failure.
So automation and ledger technology make things more convenient and less risky. In almost every industry new tokens are being developed to bring these benefits to customers. In the hotel and accommodation space, Concierge is hoping to bring easy and secure transactions to the experience of booking and staying in hotels.
Same old centralization
Despite the progress of platforms like Airbnb that have opened up the range of offerings and even booking.com allowing easier comparison, booking hotels remain quite inefficient. It still involves a central actor moderating and running the marketplace transactions. Assuming the central system are even reliable (while still being prone to hacks), needing to run transactions through a central business process will always result in a delay. Credit cards and bank transfers take time.
Add to this the need for central oversight to remove and investigate fraud and you end up with a situation where the whole customer experience is slower, more expensive, and less secure than using a smart contract.
Ledgerising the hotel industry
The Concierge platform is almost simple in its functioning. It has a decentralized on chain marketplace which allows users to easily add their available rooms, and when a user enters the agreement with the service provider this is all backed up by smart contract and underpinned by the CGE token.
Automated transactions like these using a cryptographically backed currency presents a different league of speed and ease of use compared to centralized options like PayPal or credit cards.
Reviews, feedback, and disputes are all easier and more transparently handled because of the traceability of blockchain technology. This, in turn, makes for a more transparent and healthy marketplace.
These benefits will also extend to the other services offered on the platform: guided tours and similar activities. Reliable feedback is key to a good marketplace for these kinds of services (just consider the proliferation of fake reviews on sites like TripAdvisor), so it seems that this aspect of Concierge’s design could go a long way to improving the industry.
Platform design
In order to realize the efficiencies that blockchain can bring to the hospitality industry, the speed of transactions needs to be as rapid as possible. For this reason, the Concierge team have opted to use the NEO protocol to build their platform, which aims to have fewer issues in sending and confirming transactions.
The CGE token is based on this protocol and is on sale in the ICO from the end of March.
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P2P Lending Offers Participants More Efficiency and Convenience in the Financial Services Sector
Money is the fuel on which businesses run, and most ideas and ambitions will never find expression until a certain amount of capital is injected to either kick-start or establish them. Traditionally, one of the key roles of banks and other financial institutions is the financing of businesses and industries, providing the necessary liquidity for … Continue reading P2P Lending Offers Participants More Efficiency and Convenience in the Financial Services Sector
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P2P Lending Offers Participants More Efficiency and Convenience in the Financial Services Sector
Money is the fuel on which businesses run, and most ideas and ambitions will never find expression until a certain amount of capital is injected to either kick-start or establish them.
Traditionally, one of the key roles of banks and other financial institutions is the financing of businesses and industries, providing the necessary liquidity for the continuous running of the business ecosystem. This is mostly implemented in form of loans, where borrowers receive funds based on predetermined conditions and pay back over a given period of time at a specific interest rate.
Bank systems are becoming outdated
Recently, this traditional system of lending and borrowing has been losing popularity among businesses due to the stringent methods involved in accessing loans. Most businesses, especially SMEs and new startups find it difficult to keep up with the demands and conditions placed by these banks in order to access funds. Most often the demand for collaterals is too much for several startups in today’s business environment. Also, the bureaucracy and regional restrictions most times appear as limitations for borrowers to access certain loans.
By combining blockchain technology and regular convention, Lendoit is creating a robust system that will bring together lenders and borrowers from across the globe, enabling easy accessibility of funds for borrowers while ensuring the security of such funds in protecting the lenders.
“Lendoit is a decentralized peer-to-peer lending platform which connects borrowers and lenders from all over the world in a trusted, fast and easy manner using the advantages of Smart Contracts and Blockchain technology. Lendoit does NOT use Tokens as collaterals, instead, it combines efficient methods to mitigate the chances of lenders to lose their money such as 3rd party professional scoring/verification local companies, smart compensation fund, syndicated loans and a collectors market where default debt can be sold.”
Peer-to-Peer lending
Peer-to-Peer lending is the practice of matching borrowers and lenders through online platforms. Borrowers are often able to gain access to funds quickly, and typically at lower interest rates than those offered by banks, making it an attractive alternative to bank loans. These loans are often comprised of many different lenders ranging from individuals to institutional lenders.
P2P lending has experienced rapid growth as borrowers seek better alternatives to banks. The global lending marketplace market is projected to reach 0bn. by 2020, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 51% from 2014-2020.
Participants on Lendoit
On the Lendoit platform, loans can be given in any of the ERC20 currencies, and the platform has developed a disruptive ecosystem, using its Smart Contracts that serve the following participants:
- Borrowers can apply for a loan using a Smart Loan Contract
- Lenders can lend to borrowers, using the Smart Loan Contract, by transferring funds to the contract
- Reputation Consumers can get information about an Ethereum address via Smart Reputation Contract for any purpose (e.g. check address before transferring tokens to it, exchanging physical assets for tokens, etc.)
- Collectors can buy the debt in a tender using the Smart Loan Contract. The Collectors that can participate in the auction must be under applicable legal requirements and regulation in the relevant jurisdiction.
A Smart Process
The entire process of borrower application, KYC verification, loan issuance, and repayment are well organized on the Lendoit platform. During repayment of a given loan, the borrower repays the funds including the interest to the Smart Loan Contract using his wallet, the lender can then withdraw the principal loan funds from the Smart Loan Contract, in the same lending currency. However, the Lender receives the interest into his wallet in Lendoit Tokens (LOAN) after an automatic conversion using the Smart Conversion Contract, according to the current rate of the Smart Conversion Contract.
In order to maintain an efficient and secure marketplace, the Lendoit platform implements the Smart Reputation Contract, which is like a global score for an Ethereum wallet, Smart Compensation Funds Contract, which helps lenders to cover losses in case a borrower defaults on a loan among other features.
However, the platform benefits by charging a small fee from the Smart Loan Contract, paid in LOAN tokens, using the Smart Conversion Contract.
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Fiat-like Convenience for Crypto Users Has Arrived
n Bonpay is aiming to bring credit card-style convenience to cryptocurrencies.n
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