In February 2017, Intuit, released their second report on the evolving economy titled, “Dispatches from the New Economy: The On-Demand Workforce.” The study, which offers a window into the motivations, attitudes and challenges of the 3.9 million Americans now working in the on-demand economy.

The study goes on to predict the number of people working on-demand jobs will grow from 3.9 million Americans today to 7.7 million by the year 2020, and an impressive 9.2 million by 2021.

This document is a fascinating look into changing times that we live in, and how it will effect the workforce. This fundamental change in the way we organise the collective workforce moving forward, is one of the core insights for the CanYa project.

However from a CanYa perspective we will be looking at the impact that the gig economy will have when merged with cryptocurrencies on platforms such as CanWork and much further as crypto payment gateways become a routine part of life.

Currently 2 billion people around the world are unbanked. This means that they do not have access to a bank account or financial institution. These numbers are extraordinary, and give you an idea of the amount of untapped potential a truly global workforce would create.

One of the major impediments of a global workforce are the high costs and slow speeds of international bank transfers. Blockchain technologies through the utility of cheap, near-instant transactions can solve both of these problems with current solutions.

That is, allow the unbanked to earn and income and make eliminate virtual borders for transactions.

In combination with the fact that cheaper smartphones are entering the market, this will allow broad internet access and by extension access to cryptocurrency despite not having access to traditional banking tools and fiat currency.

As Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said recently, most people will earn and not buy their first crypto.

This is a central truth for the role that the gig economy will play in the global adoption of crypto currencies.

Gig Economy Platforms

The study, which features data from 6,247 people working via twelve on-demand economy and online talent marketplaces, found that people engaged in on-demand work are looking for flexible opportunities to smooth out unpredictable income, while also testing ways to to find alternative revenue streams.

The rise of adoption and understanding of in on-demand work platforms has been fuelled largely by startups like Uber, TaskRabbit and Airbnb.

This rise of the gig economy is part of a broader long-term growth trend in the changing workforce, which has grown from 17 percent of the U.S. workforce 25 years ago, to 36 percent today, and is expected to reach 43 percent by 2020.

Two key points from the report;

On-Demand Work Is Used To Build A Sustainable Future : Many people are leaning on on-demand economy work to either develop a new business, or to supplement and expand an existing business. Thirty-seven percent already own a business, and 21 percent want to build a business.

: Many people are leaning on on-demand economy work to either develop a new business, or to supplement and expand an existing business. Thirty-seven percent already own a business, and 21 percent want to build a business. There is General Satisfaction With On-Demand Work: Thirty-eight percent of people working in the on-demand economy feel they are better off, while only 14 percent believe they are worse off. Eighty-one percent plan to continue working an on-demand job over the next 12 months, and 67 percent of people are satisfied with their on-demand work.One major way that cryptocurrency startups can aid and the development and adoption of digital currencies is through the creation and fuelling of gig economies. A gig economy is simply a site or area of the world where the primary form of employment comes in the form of ‘gigs’, short-lived financial transactions where individuals use their skills to help out in a specific scenario.

The gig economy is tailor-made for cryptocurrency integration. Many gigs require a one-time interaction between the employer and the worker, and the gigs often appeal to the same kind of unique financial lifestyle that many users of cryptocurrencies hope to facilitate.

That is, typical crypto transactions fees amount to mere pennies, and when combined with the rapid confirmation speed of a blockchain transactions, this makes cryptocurrency an ideal source of payment for a growing number of freelancers.

According to Hackernoon, there are 57 million freelancers in the United States, who together make a combined $1.4 trillion a year. A McKinsey survey from 2016 puts the number at closer to 68 million freelancers. These are disruptive numbers in any sense of the word, but perhaps even more illuminating is the fact that in 10 years time, it’s possible that there will be more freelancers than full time workers in the workforce.

Consequently, several platforms on the blockchain have utilised new technology to put a spin on the age-old concept of the gig economy. One of which is our gig marketplace, CanWork, where providers can market their skills to interested clients, creating short transactions that utilise our native token $CAN.

Gig economy platforms like CanWork are essential to the eventual spread of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology alike. Moving forward most people that will get involved with cryptocurrency will not purchase digital assets, but instead will earn their first cryptocurrency through gig-working platforms.

These gig economy marketplaces create an opportunity for interested parties to dip their toe into the cryptocurrency waters without diving in entirely, and with little risk to their finances or lifestyle.

Furthermore, it is important to note that these gig platforms often provide an additional source of income to freelancers to supplement their wage if they may not be getting enough hours in their traditional workplace. This insight is also supported by the study which states that;

“On-Demand Work is Used to Supplement Existing Income: The average person working an on-demand job spends 11 hours per week, and earns 24 percent of their household income via on-demand work. Forty-one percent also have a traditional full-or part-time job.”

Gig economies are also effective at creating a more direct link between the employer and the provider of a service. Many job sites create a middleman between the two parties, either charging per listing or taking a large chunk out of the employee’s pocket with a transaction fee or service charge. On the gig economy created by the blockchain, P2P transactions mean that creators and employers are linked directly — often without a middle man at all.

Cryptocurrencies for Economic Inclusion

Another possible route for the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies is already in the works. The use of blockchain technologies by some crypto startups seeks to use cryptocurrencies to provide economic resources to areas of the world where people are often without traditional financial services.

One example of this trend is the work being done by Dash, that identified Africa as a ripe market for the rollout of digital payment services, and has already expanded their project into several African nations. They aim to subvert price inflation and corruption plaguing traditional currency and institutions.

Dash isn’t alone, either. A new generation of businesses on the blockchain continue to work to expand cryptocurrencies to developing areas all over the world. This effort will be essential to the mass adoption of cryptocurrency moving forward. It isn’t just economically wealthy countries that embrace the currency; in the developing world, the need for a decentralised way to pay has never been higher, and interest never greater.

It should also be be noted that large scale economic change can begin in the third world, and not in the first world, as countries that are disadvantaged by struggling economies are more heavily incentivised to activley take part, and support a global digital economy.

With this in mind, there is no reason why tokens such as Dash, CanYa and others can’t be the digital currency solutions that unite a continent.

Additional Expansion Factors

While the single most important factor in the acceptance of cryptocurrency by a larger portion of the population is the facilitation of gig economies, there are other ways that the community can effectively work to garner further interest in the cryptocurrency community.

Several obstacles stand in the way, of course, like possible interference from hostile governments; the growing web of scammers that inevitably accompanies any economic growth, as well as the possibility of collective pools of freelancers absorbing the work and then farming it out at a personal profit.

One suggestion as to how to solve this last problem involves the creation of a cooperative platform, such as CanWork, which is made by freelancers for freelancers. If workers could control their own hiring platform, then they would be free of centralised authorities attempting to exploit their freelance earnings and fees.

CanWork charges 1%, as opposed to up to 30% from similar gig economy marketplaces. This reduction in fees means both sides of the marketplace win out financially, and at no cost to the standards and quality of the work.

In order for the industry to garner the kind of institutional embrace required for common acceptance, work must be done to mitigate the clear negatives to public perception of the technology and its applications. The strongest counter to any argument is use. We have already seen this with Uber and Airbnb becoming customary within our day to day lives, the same adoption needs to happen with crypto-based gig economies as a fundamental step in the right direction towards crypto as a payment model.

Conclusion

A workforce of consultants and contractors can be a powerful option for businesses that seek out experts in any particular field, at short notice. We have never had more access to data that can outline shortcomings and needs of businesses in real time, and we can now address these needs just as quickly.

This is a two-way street as the benefits for the on-demand individuals are that they have more control over their working life, and the working conditions they desire.

Although the space is littered with misinformation about the potential for fraud, blockchain technologies can help solve the vulnerabilities of sole-contractors through immutable ledgers and smart contracts.

The growing prevalence of independent work could have tangible economic benefits, such as raising the levels of employment, by providing opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed. Consumers and organisations could benefit from the greater availability of skilled-service providers and searching solutions such as marketplaces that are cheaper, and easier for find people with compatible skillsets.

Digital platforms that enable cryptocurrencies as payment gateways can amplify all these benefits with faster, cheaper, and borderless transactions.

International transactions are a current major hurdle to a global economy that blockchain essentially dissolves through peer to peer marketplaces.

With any significant change, adaptation is critical. The impact of the gig economy will be no different.

Independent workers and traditional jobholders alike will have to become more proactive about managing their careers as digital technologies continue to reshape the working world.

In the meantime, marketplaces such as CanWork are already functioning and constantly evolving to prepare for this shift in the global working landscape.

For all the latest news and updates follow us here: