A major cryptocurrency exchange says the world is on the brink of a data crisis, and is launching a digital cooperative designed to give users total control over their personal information.

CoinBene has announced it is listing the Internet of People (IoP) — a digital cooperative community which aims to allow users to build “a new generation of DApps” with full control of personal information, eliminating censorship and obstruction by governments and large companies.

IoP says its protocols and “people first” principle are essential in a world where data breaches occur daily, with large corporations harvesting far more information than they need. As well as attacking the state of the internet — and arguing the online world has failed to stay true to the web’s original goal of connecting people — IoP says that cryptocurrencies have so far worsened this particular problem instead of resolving it, with ICO funding models “trumping the values which crypto was built on.”

“More than a cryptocurrency”

CoinBene says IoP is more than a cryptocurrency, enabling peer-to-peer operations to be performed without middlemen, censorship and obstruction. The first version of a new communications protocol called Mercury has just been released, and it says that DApps that use IoP’s protocols are inherently more private and secure and, at the same time, will be able to offer all of the services that centralized companies provide.

IoP has stressed that one key difference with Mercury will be how data is treated — with DApp owners only receiving the information that is essential for them to offer their goods and services. Where possible, IoP says the personal data of its users never leaves their device — and if it does, it is encrypted to a high standard.



Describing itself as a decentralized digital cooperative (DDC), IoP says it already has members based in nearly 40 countries — and IoP says it has no need to conduct an Initial Coin Offering because their cryptocurrency “is held by people who actively support our project’s values.”

IoP is comprised of a decentralized network of nodes, and it says anyone is welcome to set up and run their own. Its community is rewarded through IOP Coins, and IoP believes its concept has the potential to reduce the high levels of energy consumption which are often associated with mining.

CoinBene says it is delighted to be listing IoP and says the launch helps the exchange in its quest to offer as many digital assets to its customers as possible.

What it means for users

In time, IoP hopes to make using Mercury for decentralized applications as simple as using mainstream, centralized players, such as Google Play or Apple’s App Store. The main difference would come in the levels of privacy afforded to users.

IoP says that its infrastructure means users cannot be spied on — and its server allows users to create specific profiles for different purposes. For example, it could mean that a user has one profile for their business activities and another for online dating. The platform is also confident that the peer-to-peer nature of its network means governments will be unable to block, censor or even access data.

IoP says it wants to bring cryptocurrency to the masses — creating technology that people actually need and offering the resources that the public needs in order to understand how crypto works and the benefits that it can offer. IoP also says that it is currently collaborating with major universities all over the world. There, they integrate IoP and add cryptocurrency to their curricula, as it believes that crypto is going to be relevant to almost every modern discipline in the future.