🌍 This Week in Web3forGood
What We Can’t Stop Thinking About From 2024
gm gm,
This week, we’re sharing our favorite links that we shared in 2024 (the ones that we can’t stop thinking about), plus some big ideas that we’re thinking about for the future.
Did you catch all of our amazing guest posts from last month? Drew and Tereza from Crypto Altruists, Aliya and Vivek from Kernel, and Coleen from The Solar Foundation shared an abundance of thoughtful reflections, links, and ideas.
We can’t wait to continue collaborating and creating with this amazing community. Happy 2025!
WAGMI (we are going to make an impact!)
xx Abeera & Sam
What’s Inside
📚 What We Can’t Stop Thinking About From 2024
📡 What We Can’t Stop Thinking About For 2025
✨ And one more thing
📚 What We Can’t Stop Thinking About From 2024
This year, we shared over 500 links with the Web3ForGood community, covering everything from the latest news to some of the biggest new ideas in web3. Here is a shortlist of our favorite pieces, aka the stuff we can’t stop thinking about.
🛖 The African village mining Bitcoin: The cryptocurrency can be a liberating force. (UnHerd)
💭 Plurality philosophy in an incredibly oversized nutshell. (vitalik.eth)
🌐 We need network societies, not network states. (The Collective Intelligence Project)
🧒 What Feral Children Can Teach Us About AI. (Noema)
👑 Feelings Check-In on Leadership and Building Equitable Financial Systems with Denelle Dixon, the CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation. (Boys Club)
🛟 With bank infrastructure in ruins, Gaza gets a lifeline from cryptocurrencies. (New Arab)
🤝 How blockchain-driven humanitarianism can help people. (World Economic Forum)
🤖 AI for humanitarians: A conversation on the hype, the hope, the future. (The New Humanitarian)
📡 What We Can’t Stop Thinking About For 2025
Stablecoins are reshaping developing economies battling inflation, preserving value amidst currency devaluation and offering dollar stability without a US bank account. They revolutionize remittances with low fees, boost financial inclusion for the unbanked, and enable stable cross-border transactions. As BRICS challenge dollar dominance, stablecoins keep it relevant in fragile economies. Projects like Mento on Celo deliver mobile-first solutions to underserved populations, showcasing their potential as a financial game-changer. This evolving space promises to enhance economic resilience for millions.
Prediction markets made headlines this year because of their role in the US election, but their potential expands beyond politics. Gitcoin’s "Futarchy is an exciting experiment in redefining decision-making and funding for public goods. Prediction markets like Polymarket offer data-driven insights. Futarchy experiments with governance via economic signals. These innovative models are worth watching for their potential to revolutionize impact.
UBI is still one of the biggest potential use cases for blockchain. In 2024, impactMarket expanded its blockchain-based microcredit services, empowering underserved communities through accessible financial solutions, while forging impactful partnerships. GoodDollar grew its global community and launched new educational modules via GoodDollar Academy. UBI is crucial for disadvantaged groups, providing a safety net and promoting economic equality, particularly as Web3 figures how to empower those on the fringes on society.
Opera MiniPay, which recently reached 1 million users in key African markets like Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, is poised for significant growth in 2025. Built on the Celo blockchain, it offers an easy-to-use self-custodial wallet, allowing users to send and store stablecoins with low fees. With its focus on financial inclusion, particularly in regions facing currency instability, MiniPay could be a game-changer for millions seeking reliable, low-cost digital financial solutions. Watch for its potential to expand rapidly as more users across Africa explore Web3 and decentralized finance.
✨ And One More Thing
Catch us on the Crypto Altruist podcast next week!
