Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World

by Don Tapscott

Consider smart contracts for literacy. “Why don’t we target financial aid toward personal development? Like Kiva, but Kiva for literacy,” Swan said, except that everything would be super transparent and participants would be accountable. Donors could sponsor individual children, put money toward learning goals, and pay out according to achievement. “Say I wanted to fund a schoolchild in Kenya’s literacy program. Every week this child would need to provide proof of completion of a reading module. Perhaps it’s all automated through an online test where the blockchain confirmed the child’s identity and recorded progress before disbursing the next week’s worth of funding into what we might call the child’s ‘smart wallet for learning’ so that the child could continue payment for school without interference. Money toward a girl’s education couldn’t be diverted to her brother’s schooling,” she said.