ttaining the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is not only a critical set of objectives for the world, it is a way of focusing both public and private resources on pathways to shared prosperity. Some SDGs—such as the first, which calls for the eradication of poverty—seem nearly insoluble. SDG 9 on the other hand— which calls for developing resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation—is a goal which we have some clue about how to reach. Destigmatizing crypto, short form for cryptography, as well as open source technological development can help accelerate progress on SDG 9, while creating more equitable and accessible digital commons on which the future rides.
We already have all of the native technological, infrastructural and internet connectivity points largely in place. Yet the desire to re-architect more inclusive, device-centric financial services seems stubbornly obstructed. On the one hand the pathway to progress is obstructed by the preservation of monetary sovereignty and troubling preservation of status quo. If crypto-assets or digital currencies such as stablecoins become widely adopted in emerging and developing markets, these critics ask, could it not lead to an insidious form of digital dollarization or even lead to currency substitution? The other obstruction is a set of arguments that preserves slow, costly financial walled-gardens that favor large incumbent payments firms, banks, and money transmission companies. While these firms—and challenges to them—have been the laboratories of continuous fintech improvements through the scale and strategic advantage of their business models, they are anything but inclusive at their technological core.
The ire with which these objections are laid out is telling. If anything, these objections should be a welcome innovation challenge. When arrayed correctly, open source technologies and blockchain networks can help complete unfinished work in the global economy, rather than being disruptive forces. Indeed, the UN and key agencies like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), among others, have been crucibles of trial and error with blockchain, digital currencies, and other Web3 methodologies, technologies, and approaches. The UNHCR's ground-breaking digital cash disbursement program supporting war-displaced Ukrainian refugees displays precisely the architecture of financial access—open, inclusive, safe, and instant—the whole world should enjoy. Is the risk of digital dollarization or currency substitution worse than systemic levels of financial lockout? The objections to crypto could be more productively reframed as the domain of framing deeper uncommon coalitions and lasting public-private partnerships, rather than a set of false choices.
As the UNHCR case study demonstrates, advancements with open technology platforms such as the Stellar blockchain, dollar digital currencies like USDC, and open mobile-enabled wallets have all come together in an open-source mosaic. This humanitarian digital cash value chain critically includes an ever elusive example of interoperability with the traditional financial system. In this case, that example is MoneyGram, which added a critical layer of facilitating cash in and cash out, as well as foreign exchange access for UNHCR’s Ukrainian beneficiaries.
The early migration to cloud computing was potentially frightening to change-averse organizations. Today cloud infrastructure is indispensable and also acts as a veritable foundational layer for new products, services, and points of access. The modularity and comparatively light physical footprint (at least on site) of this computational change has made a vastly new set of technological commons possible, the price tag and large incumbents behind the cloud, however, still favors wealthier nations and their firms.
Global, open-source blockchain-based infrastructure can build an additional strata above the core foundations of the internet. Objections to crypto technologies miss the more fundamental point about distributed systems. The real breakthrough lies in distributing both trust and access in lockstep—at least this remains the promise. If data is the new oil, perhaps blockchains are the new barrel, and basic, low-cost, internet-connected devices are the access points. This new architecture is already providing durable examples of societal progress that would not be possible without a number of crypto innovations working together. Blockchains and crypto assets come together to form an internet of value when universal peer-to-peer networks are formed, irrespective of borders.
Look no further than the global dominance and staying power of dollar-denominated stablecoins for the proof. While not all of these innovations are created equal, they are all filling a void around the world for digital cash equivalents that allow the end user to send, spend, save, and secure money with the ease with which they may send messages or use the mobile internet. If blockchains, cryptographic assets, and open source developer-powered rails are the internet of value, the shift from dial-up to broadband is under way.
The universally distributed digital commons this new wave of technological development will produce is not only essential for achieving SDG 9, it can help achieve any number of other global goals. The UNHCR has shown it is possible to overcome legacy ways of moving humanitarian money, which have historically been plagued by corruption, bribery, fraud and transmission risks, especially where the money remains analog. Encouraging this wave of technology development can be a crucial link in advancing the world’s progress towards SDG 9, however fleeting.
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Destigmatize Crypto for Progress on SDG 9
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
September 19, 2023
Crypto technology now carries a stigma, and while some critiques of the tech are fair others are misleading. The UNHCR's digital cash disbursement program for Ukrainian refugees illustrates how crypto technologies can help us achieve SDG 9 and other global goals as well, writes Dante Disparte.
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ttaining the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is not only a critical set of objectives for the world, it is a way of focusing both public and private resources on pathways to shared prosperity. Some SDGs—such as the first, which calls for the eradication of poverty—seem nearly insoluble. SDG 9 on the other hand— which calls for developing resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation—is a goal which we have some clue about how to reach. Destigmatizing crypto, short form for cryptography, as well as open source technological development can help accelerate progress on SDG 9, while creating more equitable and accessible digital commons on which the future rides.
We already have all of the native technological, infrastructural and internet connectivity points largely in place. Yet the desire to re-architect more inclusive, device-centric financial services seems stubbornly obstructed. On the one hand the pathway to progress is obstructed by the preservation of monetary sovereignty and troubling preservation of status quo. If crypto-assets or digital currencies such as stablecoins become widely adopted in emerging and developing markets, these critics ask, could it not lead to an insidious form of digital dollarization or even lead to currency substitution? The other obstruction is a set of arguments that preserves slow, costly financial walled-gardens that favor large incumbent payments firms, banks, and money transmission companies. While these firms—and challenges to them—have been the laboratories of continuous fintech improvements through the scale and strategic advantage of their business models, they are anything but inclusive at their technological core.
The ire with which these objections are laid out is telling. If anything, these objections should be a welcome innovation challenge. When arrayed correctly, open source technologies and blockchain networks can help complete unfinished work in the global economy, rather than being disruptive forces. Indeed, the UN and key agencies like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), among others, have been crucibles of trial and error with blockchain, digital currencies, and other Web3 methodologies, technologies, and approaches. The UNHCR's ground-breaking digital cash disbursement program supporting war-displaced Ukrainian refugees displays precisely the architecture of financial access—open, inclusive, safe, and instant—the whole world should enjoy. Is the risk of digital dollarization or currency substitution worse than systemic levels of financial lockout? The objections to crypto could be more productively reframed as the domain of framing deeper uncommon coalitions and lasting public-private partnerships, rather than a set of false choices.
As the UNHCR case study demonstrates, advancements with open technology platforms such as the Stellar blockchain, dollar digital currencies like USDC, and open mobile-enabled wallets have all come together in an open-source mosaic. This humanitarian digital cash value chain critically includes an ever elusive example of interoperability with the traditional financial system. In this case, that example is MoneyGram, which added a critical layer of facilitating cash in and cash out, as well as foreign exchange access for UNHCR’s Ukrainian beneficiaries.
The early migration to cloud computing was potentially frightening to change-averse organizations. Today cloud infrastructure is indispensable and also acts as a veritable foundational layer for new products, services, and points of access. The modularity and comparatively light physical footprint (at least on site) of this computational change has made a vastly new set of technological commons possible, the price tag and large incumbents behind the cloud, however, still favors wealthier nations and their firms.
Global, open-source blockchain-based infrastructure can build an additional strata above the core foundations of the internet. Objections to crypto technologies miss the more fundamental point about distributed systems. The real breakthrough lies in distributing both trust and access in lockstep—at least this remains the promise. If data is the new oil, perhaps blockchains are the new barrel, and basic, low-cost, internet-connected devices are the access points. This new architecture is already providing durable examples of societal progress that would not be possible without a number of crypto innovations working together. Blockchains and crypto assets come together to form an internet of value when universal peer-to-peer networks are formed, irrespective of borders.
Look no further than the global dominance and staying power of dollar-denominated stablecoins for the proof. While not all of these innovations are created equal, they are all filling a void around the world for digital cash equivalents that allow the end user to send, spend, save, and secure money with the ease with which they may send messages or use the mobile internet. If blockchains, cryptographic assets, and open source developer-powered rails are the internet of value, the shift from dial-up to broadband is under way.
The universally distributed digital commons this new wave of technological development will produce is not only essential for achieving SDG 9, it can help achieve any number of other global goals. The UNHCR has shown it is possible to overcome legacy ways of moving humanitarian money, which have historically been plagued by corruption, bribery, fraud and transmission risks, especially where the money remains analog. Encouraging this wave of technology development can be a crucial link in advancing the world’s progress towards SDG 9, however fleeting.
