With around 1,900 cryptocurrencies in existence, the crypto world is clearly growing at an astounding pace. Of course, some parts of the world have seen more investment and activity than others. But in some cities, crypto has become part of the DNA. So, what exactly does a crypto city look like?
Plenty has been written about Zug in Switzerland. This quiet, sedate, even sleepy town doesn’t immediately look like a hub of technological innovation. Yet, it is known as ‘crypto valley’ and is home to the Crypto Valley Association, a group of around 400 companies based in Zug with an industry presence. They include not just start-ups, but law firms, tax and accounting companies which specialize in all things crypto. In essence, this is an entire town which revolves around the crypto industry. You could be fooled into thinking that Zug is the ultimate crypto city.
However, celebrity singer Akon might disagree. He has launched the “Akoin” cryptocurrency, which he wants to be the basis of a radical new city in his homeland Senegal. He says that Akon Crypto City will be a “100 per cent crypto-based city.” Apparently, 2,000 acres of land near the international airport has already been earmarked to make Akon’s futuristic dream come true. A website which describes the “Akoin” project says “Akon Crypto City blends leading Smart City planning designs with a blank canvas for cryptonizing our daily human and business exchanges, towards inventing a radical new way of existence.” Sounds intriguing.
Others have taken a more methodical approach to declaring the ultimate crypto city. Alexandra Talty in Forbes mapped out the Bitcoin hotspots around the world in an attempt to find the globe’s top crypto city. She explained, “I used Coinmap on July 24, 2018. I recorded the number of BTC-vendors listed in a city and did not include corresponding suburbs.” The result? San Francisco was beaten into third place by Buenos Aires and top placed Prague.
However, a real crypto city is not about the infrastructure, the institutions or the number of crypto-friendly vendors. It is about the people that live there. Ultimately, if crypto fails to make an impact on the people of the city itself, then it becomes nothing more than a well-kept secret. If city residents themselves don’t see and feel the value of crypto, then it is little more than yet another faceless financial tool.
And so the secret to creating a real crypto city is the application of the currency itself. Can it impact daily life? More to the point, can it impact daily life in a positive way? The overwhelming answer is yes. That is exactly why we are working on making Colu’s City Currency a reality. We are already making an impact on a growing audience of more than 200,000 people in four communities across two countries, who use Colu’s mobile app. Ultimately, to make a genuine impact on cities and the people that live in them, cryptocurrency must be about a whole lot more than trading. And so, City Currency rewards good deeds, encouraging positive social behaviour, ultimately enhancing daily life across the city.
This is not just a distant dream. There are an increasing number of cities already adopting this type of approach, utilizing cryptocurrency to benefit the greater good. Berkeley in California is hoping to use cryptocurrency to help fund social housing, while South Korea’s capital Seoul is considering using the ‘S-Coin’ in city-funded social benefits programs.
However, the crypto model proposed by Hull on the UK’s east coast is perhaps the most striking. Described as “the world’s first community loyalty point,” the HullCoin promises to reward residents for a whole range of activities including helping children to read, running youth clubs and arranging activities for pensioners.
With the vision of an all-encompassing social coin, Hull may be poised to become the world’s ultimate crypto city. But given the pace with which the industry is moving, Hull need not be the only one rewarding positive actions. City Currency provides the perfect platform to make this type of scheme a reality. Hopefully, in the not-so-distant future, there will be plenty more cities adopting such a model. We are already working with municipalities, councils and other city stakeholders to help them become among the first to implement it. Because at the end of the day, what is increasingly clear is that crypto can become a communal resource, benefiting the entire city.
