Using Bitcoin and Dollar-Store Model to Combat Poverty

by Aleksey Vaneev (May 28, 2023, updated June 17, 2024) So here’s the deal: this idea introduces a transactional setup based on current blockchain tech that aims to leverage digital currencies to help cut down on poverty levels. Bitcoin and other blockchain-based digital currencies are pretty well-known and understood at this point. But a lot of folks think they’re just about risky financial play or even shady dealings… However, there's potential to tweak Bitcoin and other digital currency algorithms to create what some might call a “moneyless economy,” a part of the larger economy focused on reducing poverty. To kick things off, we need to set up a “gift card request pool.” This would work like a standard memory pool for transaction waiting in line, but instead, it gathers signed requests for “gift cards” from legit economic players, not blockchain miners. A “gift card” here is essentially a right for someone to claim some sort of product or service from a producer or store that’s part of the real economy. For a “gift card request” to be legit, it has to have: a wallet ID from the person asking for it (and that wallet needs some funds), a wallet ID of the product (which also should have some funds since zero means the gift isn’t available anymore), and a timestamp. Just so you know, fulfilling a gift card request isn’t mandatory.