The economic case for Incent
It’s no secret that the global economy is in bad shape. There aren’t many opportunities for good returns. That’s just one reason we think Incent is going to be popular.
The Global Financial Crisis brought about fundamental changes in the way we think about and approach investment. Gone is the idea of a ‘safe’ return. Interest rates have crashed from over 5% to all-time lows of zero or, in some cases, even lower. In the bizarre world of central banking, institutions are now charged for depositing money, and one or two commercial banks have even started passing these negative rates on to customers.
With successive rounds of QE the stock market has inflated, enriching the already wealthy but doing little for everyone else. If you own stocks or a property, you’ve probably done well out of QE — so far. But there are now clear signals that monetary policy is at the very limits of what it can achieve. The bubble cannot inflate forever. Bond yields, again fuelled by QE, are at rock bottom. The spectre of systemic risk, introduced again by the prospect of Deutsche Bank’s ongoing problems, is causing jitters throughout the world’s markets. Big investors aren’t looking for returns any more: they are looking for a place to park their money to ride out the storm.
That means there are few opportunities for regular investors, too. However, individual small investors can take advantage of opportunities that are out of the reach — or off the radar — of institutional ones. Incent falls into this category. Moreover, for the customer who receives Incent at point-of-sale, it’s zero risk.
Merchants will pay customers with Incent using a configurable proportion of the transaction. For example, if a customer pays $100, the merchant might reserve 1% or 5% to remit as Incent, depending on their profit margins and other factors. The customer receives $1 or $5, or whatever the merchant determines.
The customer can opt to cash that out straight away — either selling it at market rates, or using it to pay for goods and services, with the same merchant or with another in the Incent network. However, they may also hold their Incent and accumulate more with further purchases. Rather than being rewarded with a token they will spend, it’s entirely possible they will go back to gain more of a token that will appreciate over time.
As there is a limited supply of Incent, merchants will need to buy it from the open market (via BitScan, as primary broker) to distribute it to customers. The more successful Incent is, the more buy pressure there is on the supply — and the better it performs as an investment.
We don’t know how well it will perform. There are too many variables at stake. But we are fairly sure that, in an era of sub-zero interest rates, QE, open talk of helicopter money, and overinflated stock and bond markets, there’s room in most people’s portfolios for an asset that is backed by real economic activity and involves little to no risk to the holder.
To find out more, visit www.IncentLoyalty.com, join our Slack or visit the bitcointalk thread.
The crowdfund formally starts on 1 October. To participate, register at IncentLoyalty.com/register.
