Partisanship has never been higher. Red states, blue states, rich states and poor states are all up in arms. With the election of Donald Trump, it seems as if the political fabric of the entire nation has been ripped to shreds.
However, the underlying conflicts we are witnessing are nothing new. Ayn Rand pitched the “producers” against the “moochers”. From the first days of the American experiment, a battle has raged between those in favor of “big government” vs. the proponents of “limited government”. Finally, for almost a century we have been caught up in a tug of war between two economic theories: capitalism and communism.
What if it were all a sham?
The blockchain startup VIVA believes just that. According to their CEO, Dawn Parker-Waites, there is a common denominator that has remained constant, despite all of these conflicts. “Regardless of who was in power, one group has never ceased to prosper - the financial sector,” she explains.
“Since the 18th century the world of finance has never stopped growing, and neither has inequality. It doesn't matter if democrats or republicans win, the reality is that the financiers never get the short stick. Why is this? Perhaps because the paradigm is intentionally rigged to raise passions between two warring factions in order to keep our eyes far away from the hand that is continually picking our pockets?” she asks.
VIVA changes this.
According to William Banks, CTO and chief architect of VIVA, “the power of the blockchain, properly harnessed, reduces the need for monolithic world wide financial institutions that currently consume over 18% of the world's GDP. Instead of bitterly pitting two sides of an incomplete equation into a useless struggle, we need to reform the equation. That's what we've done with VIVA.”
VIVA's white paper explains, “In today's financial system every transaction is like opening and closing a leaky faucet. Inevitably, value is lost - usually into the pockets of a select few. In the VIVAconomy each and every drop of value is recovered and equitably returned to the individual people, Vivos, who participate in the VIVAconomy.”
VIVA has combined a three-tiered stabilized digital currency framework, an online blockchain trading exchange, a proven digital currency ATM network and real world value generating blockchain applications to form the world's first sustainable virtual economy.
Until now cryptocurrencies have remained somewhat on the fringe due to three principal handicaps: their volatility, the difficulties of being accepted “in the real world” and their inability to offer a clear value proposition to the public at large. The VIVAconomy solves all three of these problems.
First of all, VIVA's stabilized three-tier digital currency framework assures that VIVAcoins will freely fluctuate within a stable range of values. Second, the VIVA ATM network, which has been operating for over a year, and the agreements in place with a reliable Mastercard provider, make it easy for people to combine their activities in the VIVAconomy with the traditional financial system. Lastly, the business applications that VIVA is implementing guarantee a consistent influx of value into the VIVAconomy.
Instead of government having to force redistribution of wealth onto the backs of producers through inefficient taxation schemes, VIVA solves the problem inherently by redirecting a significant part of the pie, that is normally syphoned off into the financial sector, back to the individual participants. As the VIVAconomy grows, this will provide a stable recurring income for all participants.
Similarly, the system naturally fosters innovation and entrepreneurship. VIVA Crown Holders can easily finance their projects by running a mint on the VIVA blockchain. Capital is no longer locked behind the mahogany doors of venture capitalists and institutional investors, but readily available for hardworking innovators.
According to Parker-Waites, “we don't buy in to the theory that free enterprise necessarily has to lead to inequality. Instead, we've built an economic system that rewards individual initiative while simultaneously guaranteeing that the weakest members of society can have their needs met. The best thing is that it's already working.”
In May of this year, the startup launched a limited ICO and raised the capital necessary to launch the VIVAconomy. Since then, they have been diligently working to set up a solid structure capable of complying with the regulatory requirements of a serious fintech company. “We don't see the VIVAconomy competing with the traditional financial sector, but rather complimenting it,” explains Banks. “The more businesses and institutions who decide to participate, the faster we'll be able to help people around the globe.”
Starting this month, some of the earliest adopters within the VIVAconomy will be able to begin withdrawing a recurring daily income. “This is the proof that the system works,” Bank explains. “We are still hard at work developing out many of the elements necessary to complete the model, however the core functionality has already been put in place. The engine has been started, and now we are expanding it out.”