MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES

Welcome to the future of value creation and flow with Smart Trade Networks. Membership driven value growth, tracked via crypto-tokens, delivers transparency and trustworthiness without the need of intermediaries.

Welcome to the Club — Members with Benefits

Lionel Messi — the world’s most famous footballer — recently joined Paris St Germain. Part of his package is payment on the Club’s crypto-token, $PSG.

For PSG fans, these tokens have considerable value as they enable them to participate in a range of activities related to the Club — something that they all care about in common.

In many respects the PSG token points to a much broader approach to value than a narrow focus on crypto-currencies suggests.

The Smart Trade Networks blockchain infrastructure-enabled global ecosystem has embarked on a similar path. In parallel to the more traditional models of enterprise development and equity, the Smart Trade Networks ecosystem is about to take its next big step forward with a focus on Membership Rewards managed via a token issued to function as a Proof of Contribution.

STN: Membership Rewards Token

The STN token is the Membership Rewards token that runs in parallel to, and interacts with, the supply chain ecosystem that is emerging on the infrastructure.

The STN is issued by a not for profit association — Data Integrity in Supply Chains Association Inc., (DISCA) — and provides a mechanism to track membership contributions and participation in the development and growth of the ecosystem. (More about DISCA at the end of this article.)

Benefits of membership include:

1. Access to STN Infrastructure to develop projects. This enables rapid prototyping, customisation and deployment of systems to support project growth. This is beneficial to enterprises or organisations whether they are small or big;
2. Access to the Credentialed Marketplaces, to sell products and services, and at varying levels of membership benefit from discounts depending on your tokens tally;
3. Access to education and capacity building resources, via our Learn & Earn initiatives;
4. Access to governance mechanisms across the length and breadth of the ecosystem, via our Multisig architecture including but not limited to shaping R&D priorities, project resource deployment, effort rewards distributions etc.;
5. Access to tools and support to initiate projects “from the ground up” to track value flows and reach across the ecosystem to seek synergies and complementary activities;
6. Access to network membership bonuses based on network velocity and volume by member enterprises and member consumers;
7. Access to early-bird opportunities to participate in ecosystem projects;
8. Access to opportunities to operate Network Archive Nodes and be recognised and rewarded for this effort with monthly Membership Reward Tokens. Members who purchase 1,000 STN tokens before 1 October 2021 will receive a pre-configured STN Raspberry Pi Archive Node; and
9. Access to STN Privacy Smartphones. These will be available in early 2022 to members who purchase 2,000 STN tokens before 1 October 2021; and
10. For a limited period, memberships purchased prior to 1 October 2021 will also receive a complimentary allocation of STNPay tokens for use in the Marketplaces.

Value Drivers

The STN membership reward token does not have a minting limit. So it’s not about scarcity but about creating virtuous cycles of abundance. It will be minted as the network grows. Its underlying value is driven by factors such as:

1. Volume and velocity of activity across the network undertaken by network enterprises and projects; and
2. Membership benefits as described.

The membership value will be driven by the activity of members — as producers, merchants, brand owners and entrepreneurs on one hand, and as consumers of products and services on the other.

The first Minting Era will see 400m tokens minted. These will be allocated in accordance with the Table. The reader will notice that allocations are made to acknowledge effort and contributions by various parties or groups, and in “pots” that will be governed by multisigs to deliver transparency and capacity for members to be involved in day to day allocation and management decisions.

Future token minting events will need to be agreed by members through applicable multisig mechanisms. The same goes for listing of the STN membership reward token; if sufficient members want the token to be listed and are willing to contribute liquidity to activate a market then this will happen. Meanwhile tokens can be swapped with others via multisig groups.

The approach to governance enables a bottom-up approach to membership engagement and involvement. Rather than lock in a set of predetermined rules we prefer to create tools that enable communities to design. adapt, adjust and modify governance mechanisms as circumstances demand.

STN Pairs

STN tokens can be exchanged for:

1. ETH;
2. USDT;
3. $BEEF; and
4. STN5 (for a limited time).

They can be swapped at Bounce.Finance.

STNPay (STNp)

The STN is a membership rewards token designed to acknowledge, track and reward contributions.

In this sense, it’s not explicitly designed to support a means of payment function. This needs an explicit stable token approach.

The STNp is a network stable token, which can be used in the Marketplaces. The STNp can be purchased over the counter (from Smart Trade Networks or affiliates in the future) in exchange for USDT or with Fiat currency. No transaction fee is applicable when STNp are being purchased. Conversion of STNp to fiat will be subject to a 5% conversion fee, payable in the fiat currency of exchange. The STNp is pegged to the USD at 1 STNp = US$1.00 for over the counter transactions. There are no inherent limits to STNp minting.

The benefits of this approach is that (a) we are able to maintain liquidity for transaction flow purposes based on demand requirements on the one hand (thus avoiding the paradox of thrift problem, also exemplified in the babysitter co-op experience); and (b) on the other, ensure the blockchain-enabled tracking of assets and transactions maintains integrity. Not using a currency that can be tracked via the ledger reduces the overall audit transparency of the ledger.

Value Flows

Value is a social construct. It ebbs and flows, and is only meaningful when it is in motion. Value can take many forms. It can be material in nature, or it can be immaterial or affective. It is frequently contextual, as needs and wants vary in intensity over time and for different people. Value is the common grammar that enables exchange to take place; it’s the basis of parties coming to an agreement on equivalence. There are many ways of accounting for value. We have dived to the foundational primitives of value flows by recognising that value ultimately stems from, and is grounded by, things that human beings care about.

STN reward tokens track effort and contribution, and provide member benefits proportionately. STN reward tokens can be accumulated by any of the following 3 main ways:

1. Invest in portfolio enterprises. This is done subject to the relevant compliance obligations of applicable jurisdictions. Investors gain enterprise equity as well as STN reward tokens.
2. Purchase of STN reward tokens without investing in enterprise equity. Purchasing STN constitutes payment of membership dues.
3. Earn STN through contribution of effort, IP or some other in-kind resource. You can also earn STN as a business or organisation by becoming a network user.

These pathways are summarised in the illustration below:

About DISCA

DISCA is a not for profit association incorporated in Australia. It is a membership based association that is focused on harnessing members’ resources to promote and advance the mission of the association and deliver membership benefits.

The Mission of DISCA is:

1. Support the Smart Trade Networks projects ecosystem to deliver systems that provide data integrity in supply chains.
2. Enable the production, verification and maintenance of a body of common knowledge in a dynamic digital ecosystem that Members can depend upon as the basis for engaging in financially sustainable, value-creating transactions in global supply chains.
3. Curate, broker and empower people, communities and projects to make use of these capabilities to deliver authenticated, trustworthy products and services that enhance supply chain community sustainability, human wellbeing and improve the health of the planet.
4. Support ongoing research and development and global education to empower communities to participate in socially responsible and ecologically sustainable value creation.
5. Focus on activities that enhance the health of people, communities and the planet.

Membership is open to all. Ownership of STN confirms membership. Governance is via the multisig tools, which enables an organic development of multisigs to efficiently govern association focus and resource allocations.

DISCA has been working with Smart Trade Networks to curate a global portfolio of projects that align with the association’s mission. Opportunities to invest directly in these projects or enterprises are now open. Investing means a contribution to network development and is therefore recognised via allocation of STNs.

Other contributions of effort and resources will also be recognised.

About the Global Portfolio

The global portfolio is an ever-growing range of projects across the globe. The first cohort includes a diverse range of projects in various industries in different parts of the world.

The portfolio is underpinned by a curatorial ethos of strength through diversification. The range of projects also delivers network-leverage opportunities through integration and back-end efficiencies.

The portfolio also reflects a concern for projects that contribute to the betterment of people, communities and the planet. Underpinned by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs we have projects ranging from foundational supply chains that meet material necessities like food and housing through to projects that contribute to intellectual, emotional and spiritual development.

Read more about the Global Portfolio here.

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About Smart Trade Networks

Smart Trade Networks is a general purpose blockchain technology-enabled supply chain asset registration, tracking and trading ecosystem.

Smart Trade Networks undertakes R&D in cross-border supply chain and trade systems in collaboration with researchers at Queensland University of Technology and the Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre, in Australia.

More information about Smart Trade Networks can be found at:

Medium Article: What is Smart Trade Networks?

Telegram: https://t.me/SmartTradeNetworks

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCarnV-OEusVcPRil2gDF3Ig

Website: https://www.smarttradenetworks.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smart-trade-networks

Twitter: @networks_trade