Transportation has always been the lifeblood of the world economy. Shipping, and seaborne shipping in particular, is one of the oldest and largest industries. Modern civilisation would be impossible without sea trade, and that is not going to change any time soon. At the same time, shipping is one of the world’s least technologically sophisticated industries, and that can result in any number of problems and petty hazards that interfere with the flow of trade and make this line of business much more arduous, nerve-wracking and costly than it needs to be.

https://thecargocoin.com/

CargoCoin is a project whose stated aim is to streamline and optimise the process of shipping (at first by sea, and later in general) by reorienting it around an easy to use online platform and enriching it with the new possibilities created by smart contracts.

How is the platform structured?

The CargoCoin platform is intended to be an integrated one-stop shop that will potentially cover all areas of trade and transport and all interactions between all participants in this process. Though the initial platform deals with maritime shipping only, eventually the project team envisions a network of interconnected dedicated platforms that would also handle inland and air cargo transport, as well as an all-purpose marketplace that will bring together customers and manufacturers and connect them to the other platforms.

All of those platforms will run on the same general lines pioneered by the shipping platform. This includes having two types of functions available to their users: services and utilities. The basic services are free, while the optional smart contracts-based utilities require a fee, paid using the CargoCoin token.

How do those functions work?

The services part of the platform allows users to place orders, receive offers and bids from subscribed participants and review all the details - including the backgrounds and past performances of everyone involved. Ship brokers, owners and booking agents can use the platform to input vessel positions, schedules or dates for potential charterers to find. Agreements with providers of other essential services can be arranged in the same way. Lastly, the platform can also be used by seafarers to look for work.

While using those services, the clients can also make use of some or all of the utilities meant to replace the traditional paper trail that accompanies shipping with smart contracts. These include a smart Bill of Lading, a smart Letter of Credit, and direct settlements between participants. In other words, by relying on these utilities, the participants in every transaction on the platform can handle all the necessary arrangements through the platform and its blockchain, arranging for and confirming delivery and releasing and receiving funds instantly and securely. The process is fully transparent, allowing all interested parties full access to the contract at any stage of its development. The terms of the contracts can only be altered with the agreement of every interested party.

How will people benefit from the CargoCoin platform?

The promised advantages of the platform for its users are many. By relying on smart contracts in their shipping arrangements, they can avoid many of the traditional hazards of paper arrangements, such as important documents being lost at any point during transit (or afterwards, thanks to the safe archiving function), sensitive information being exposed to third parties, fraud (as smart contracts only release payment once pre-set conditions are made) and the risk of bank insolvency interfering with payments. Also, this system is much faster, potentially saving days of weeks of time in an often time-sensitive business. Furthermore, use of the platform itself is free, while the utilities are intended to be cheaper than the current industry standard; combined with cutting out middlemen such as banks and couriers, this would lead to a considerable reduction of transaction costs.

https://thecargocoin.com/

As for the company and its investors, their profits depend mainly on the use of smart utilities (which requires CargoCoins), as well as on advertising, providing references to participants and market research.The company’s strategy relies on attracting a large amount of clients (particularly smaller businesses) through their free services, and then offering them the additional convenience of their utilities. While some similar platforms already exist, their focus is much narrower and their services are considerably more expensive, limiting their appeal.

ICO details

The CargoCoin token (CRGO) is based on the ERC223 standard and fixed at 1 USD. The first phase of the ICO ended in May 15th, 2018. The second phase is due to end in June 30th, 2018, at UTC 23:59.

The future of world shipping

CargoCoin still has some hurdles to overcome. As its team knows all too well, a large, traditional industry like shipping will be difficult to change overnight. Nonetheless, the existence of competing firms proves that there is a very real interest in the possibilities created by blockchain technology among at least some section of the industry. As this interest continues to spread, CargoCoin, with its well-planned business model, will be in position to permeate a truly massive and constantly expanding niche. Since it promises to resolve many of the long-standing issues that plague international shipping and especially smaller companies involved in it, and since it has much to offer to many different participants in the ecosystem (from traders to seafarers), this platform appears likely to take off and eventually fulfill its potential as a central part of a more efficient global trade and transportation network.

Links

Website: https://thecargocoin.com/

WhitePaper: https://thecargocoin.com/docs/CargoCoin-Whitepaper.pdf

Telegram: http://t.me/thecargocoin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecargocoin/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecargocoin

Medium: https://medium.com/@thecargocoin

ANN: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3224289

Author: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=980049

Disclaimer

This review by Bonanza Kreep is all opinion and analysis, not investment advice.