The freelance economy is growing every day. By 2027 analysts predict there will be more freelance workers than traditional workers. Many are calling it the ‘industrial revolution of our time’. However, due to circumstances outside of their control, a large swathe of the world’s population are unfortunately excluded from this revolution. These are the 2bn people across the developing world who do not have access to financial institutions, and thus, cannot participate via the current freelancing platforms on offer. CanYa, and specifically its freelancing platform CANWork, will be the first widely adopted freelance platform for users to spend and earn cryptocurrencies. This will allow true participation from anyone, anywhere no matter their access to the world of traditional finance.

Cryptocurrency; a revolution, not a buzz word

The rise of cryptocurrency and decentralised technology will perfectly compliment the growth of the freelance economy over the next decade. Cryptocurrency, tokenomics and decentralised technology will revolutionise the way humans organise, interact and exchange value for the better. Let’s explore some of the ways in which this technology will allow the freelance economy to not only grow, but become more efficient.

Access:

According to a World Bank study in 2017 two billion people around the globe are ‘unbanked’ with the vast majority of these people being from developing nations. Without bank accounts these 2bn people are precluded from using any of the freelance platforms currently on offer.

However, one very interesting finding from that same study was that the population in these underdeveloped nations were also 6x more likely to have a mobile money account than the global average. This shows that many of these people want to participate in the global economy but can’t due to poor access to traditional bricks and mortar finance.

Fundamentally, access to cryptocurrency only requires internet access. In the developing world, internet access is growing much faster than bank access. Between 2011–2018 bank accounts grew at less than 2% per annum, in the same time frame internet growth was over 7% per annum. The unbanked making up this 5% delta can see the global economy but can’t access it; unless they adopt cryptocurrency. CanYa is a perfect use case in this scenario. People throughout the developing world can up-skill themselves online and then monetise these skills through CanYa’s international pool of demand. True global access not be possible using fiat based incumbent platforms.

Reduced fees:

The freelance economy is global and therefore requires remittance of fiat currencies across borders; an expensive and timely endeavour. This needs to be done through third party payment providers like PayPal or credit card companies who generally charge in the order of 2–3% of a job’s value. This is an outdated and inefficient barrier for such a revolutionary new economy. These fees also detract from the revenue that freelancers make hurting their bottom line. CanYa, using its own native cryptocurrency, will avoid these fees entirely enabling healthier margins for freelancers across the globe.

Universality:

Cryptocurrency also has the property of being universal in value. No matter what country you’re in the price of a crypto asset should more or less be the same. This means citizens of nations who have volatile domestic currencies can defer to more stable, predictable stores of value such as cryptocurrency. We have seen this recently with crypto’s popularity in Venezuala, Turkey and Argentina to name a few. By using CanYa, individuals in developing nations can earn this new asset class through globally recognised skill sets. Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, believes that most of the world’s population will earn their first cryptocurrency rather than buying it, CanYa is the platform in which they will do it.

Privacy:

In countries where governments can seize the assets of their citizens or prohibit external remittance, being able to send or store value in a private manner is critical. Cryptocurrency offers anonymity. Cryptocurrency is held in hashed addresses on a blockchain rather than a bank account with an easily identifiable owner. This means earning, storing and sending value can be done without restrictions or forfeiture by a hostile government.

Cryptocurrency growth in the developing world

Cryptocurrency is already making plenty of headway in the developing world. Citizens of nations with beleaguered economies have been turning to cryptocurrency for years now. More recently we have seen rapid adoption in Turkey and Venezuela as their domestic currencies undergo hyperinflation.

Crypto projects have begun to recognise this too. For example, Dash has aggressively expanded throughout Africa. Thousands of Africans are now saving in the order of 10% on international remittance by using Dash instead of fiat. Binance has also expanded throughout Asia, South America and Africa. It has created a $1bn fund to encourage cryptocurrency adoption and innovation. CZ, Binance’s CEO had this to say about cryptocurrency in these nations:

“I want to help Africa grow. I want to help South America grow. I want to help Asia grow. I want to help other humans beings, but I can only do my little bit to help. I strongly believe that crypto will make a massive positive impact in people’s lives.”

The Dash ‘Leopards’ — a community project throughout Africa sponsored by Dash

Summary

One of the greatest opportunities for cryptocurrency adoption is in the developing world. For all the reasons above, and many more, cryptocurrency solves many real world problems being faced by citizens of these nations. CanYa is a platform that will use cryptocurrency and a decentralised ethos to empower digital freelancers throughout the developing world. Using this technology will enable CANWork to push the freelance economy to become more efficient, more accessible and more empowering for those that use it. We look forward to helping shape this future.

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