Blockchain Revolution

7.
Inclusion
Principle: The economy works best when it works for everyone. That means
lowering the barriers to participation. It means creating platforms for distributed
capitalism, not just a redistributed capitalism.

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Problem to Be Solved: The first era of the Internet created many wonders for
many people. But as we have pointed out, a majority of the world’s population is still
excluded—not just from access to technology but also from access to the financial
system and economic opportunity. Moreover, the promise that this new
communications medium would bring prosperity to all has rung hollow. Yes, it helped
companies in the developed world provide jobs for millions in the emerging
economies. It lowered the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs and gave the
disadvantaged access to opportunities and basic information.
That’s not enough. There are still two billion
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people without a bank account,
and in the developed world, prosperity is actually declining as social inequality
continues to grow. In developing economies, mobile is often the only affordable
means of connecting. Most financial institutions have mobile payment apps that
combine cameras and QR codes. However, the fees needed to support these
intermediaries make micropayments impractical. Consumers at the bottom of the
pyramid still can’t afford the minimum account balances, minimum payment
amounts, or transaction fees to use the system. Its infrastructure costs make
micropayments and microaccounts unfeasible.