Facebook Competitor in Latin-America Hits the Road as a New Internet of Value
IOV Labs, the parent company behind RSK Bitcoin smart contract network, and RSK
Infrastructure Framework (RIF) has recently acquired Taringa, the major
social media platform for Latin America with 30 million users. This
acquisition represents an opportunity to quickly bring blockchain
technology adoption to a non-technical, mainstream
population. Taringa users will have direct incentives to create,
curate and edit different types of content and get rewarded with
the native $RIF token, which currently has a market cap of over 50 million USD
and is traded on different exchanges. This acquisition is especially
important and meaningful for the Latin American market for the following
reasons: Blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that
underlies cryptocurrencies, is set to transform the world within the next
decade. Latin American markets have been struggling for years with weak
currencies that set their economies on the path of financial instability
(hyperinflations and devaluations). In this context, Latin American citizens are
further along in their awareness and understanding of cryptocurrencies, and are
more likely to embrace this technology as an alternative financial
system compared to other regions of the globe. By setting a reward
mechanism where Taringa users will profit from creating, editing and
curating content, the platform’s user base will have new motivations to
get involved and learn about blockchain technology, thus contributing to
the mass adoption process. Additionally, technical users such as
Bitcoin miners or developers will have incentives to contribute to the ecosystem
via merged-mining or by developing or integrating their apps on RSK.
Taringa has the potential to foster broader adoption and to accelerate
the growth of a nascent ‘sharing economy’. As current and new users get involved
with the community by creating, sharing and distributing useful
content, a new economic model is created with a direct reward mechanism
incentivized by and for the community. The more valuable content
users create for the community, the greater their rewards. It is a win-
win model where the community can play a role in defining the types of content
they prefer, and then reward their creators according to the perceived value of
the content. According to reports from the World Bank, there are billions of
people that fall under the category of the unbanked. They are individuals
without any kind of access to the traditional financial
system (e.g. any type of bank account). Latin America represents a considerable
portion of people without any kind of access to credit opportunities. The RSK
tech stack will provide different integrations that will enable Taringa
users to utilize the native token ($RIF) to pay for different services
and access credit markets without middleman fees. Financial inclusion is now an
option when it comes to generating a financial system that empowers those who
need it most, while at the same time providing self-sovereign identities to
speed up the process. Social networks have been plagued with privacy
breaches, censorship controversies and a lack of an end-user monetization model.
Blockchain is positioned to solve industry key challenges by enabling
users to decide where, to whom, and for how much they want to sell their
personal information. Additionally, rewarding users on a tokenized economy is
one of the most important features to create a new Internet of Value. Taringa’s
full integration into a blockchain-friendly environment sets the standard
to change the paradigm of how people interact with the internet. It represents a
stepping stone for a new model of social media networks: incentivized,
blockchain-based social media presents unique opportunities in cryptocurrency
and increased security for users. The opportunity to actively use different
technical solutions in a crypto-friendly environment will enable RSK
developers to deploy, test and re-adapt current and future smart contracts
solutions. Furthermore, as part of the adoption process, RSK will support all
members of the community willing to experiment and provide feedback on the
different implementations. Finally, by rewarding the mainstream population for
learning and experimenting with RSK’s solutions, communities within the Latin
American region will be set on a path that promotes active learning, and will be
more inclined to utilize blockchain technology.
IOV Labs, the parent company behind RSK Bitcoin smart contract network, and RSK
Infrastructure Framework (RIF) has recently acquired Taringa, the major
social media platform for Latin America with 30 million users. This
acquisition represents an opportunity to quickly bring blockchain
technology adoption to a non-technical, mainstream
population. Taringa users will have direct incentives to create,
curate and edit different types of content and get rewarded with
the native $RIF token, which currently has a market cap of over 50 million USD
and is traded on different exchanges. This acquisition is especially
important and meaningful for the Latin American market for the following
reasons: Blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that
underlies cryptocurrencies, is set to transform the world within the next
decade. Latin American markets have been struggling for years with weak
currencies that set their economies on the path of financial instability
(hyperinflations and devaluations). In this context, Latin American citizens are
further along in their awareness and understanding of cryptocurrencies, and are
more likely to embrace this technology as an alternative financial
system compared to other regions of the globe. By setting a reward
mechanism where Taringa users will profit from creating, editing and
curating content, the platform’s user base will have new motivations to
get involved and learn about blockchain technology, thus contributing to
the mass adoption process. Additionally, technical users such as
Bitcoin miners or developers will have incentives to contribute to the ecosystem
via merged-mining or by developing or integrating their apps on RSK.
Taringa has the potential to foster broader adoption and to accelerate
the growth of a nascent ‘sharing economy’. As current and new users get involved
with the community by creating, sharing and distributing useful
content, a new economic model is created with a direct reward mechanism
incentivized by and for the community. The more valuable content
users create for the community, the greater their rewards. It is a win-
win model where the community can play a role in defining the types of content
they prefer, and then reward their creators according to the perceived value of
the content. According to reports from the World Bank, there are billions of
people that fall under the category of the unbanked. They are individuals
without any kind of access to the traditional financial
system (e.g. any type of bank account). Latin America represents a considerable
portion of people without any kind of access to credit opportunities. The RSK
tech stack will provide different integrations that will enable Taringa
users to utilize the native token ($RIF) to pay for different services
and access credit markets without middleman fees. Financial inclusion is now an
option when it comes to generating a financial system that empowers those who
need it most, while at the same time providing self-sovereign identities to
speed up the process. Social networks have been plagued with privacy
breaches, censorship controversies and a lack of an end-user monetization model.
Blockchain is positioned to solve industry key challenges by enabling
users to decide where, to whom, and for how much they want to sell their
personal information. Additionally, rewarding users on a tokenized economy is
one of the most important features to create a new Internet of Value. Taringa’s
full integration into a blockchain-friendly environment sets the standard
to change the paradigm of how people interact with the internet. It represents a
stepping stone for a new model of social media networks: incentivized,
blockchain-based social media presents unique opportunities in cryptocurrency
and increased security for users. The opportunity to actively use different
technical solutions in a crypto-friendly environment will enable RSK
developers to deploy, test and re-adapt current and future smart contracts
solutions. Furthermore, as part of the adoption process, RSK will support all
members of the community willing to experiment and provide feedback on the
different implementations. Finally, by rewarding the mainstream population for
learning and experimenting with RSK’s solutions, communities within the Latin
American region will be set on a path that promotes active learning, and will be
more inclined to utilize blockchain technology.