Akropolis - The protocol for the catch-up race of the poorest people in the world
Akropolis - The protocol for the catch-up race of the poorest people in the world
You hear it quite often. Financial protocols in the DeFi space, which promise to give even the poorest people in the world access to financial services. Even though this is often true, this is mostly used to strengthen their own reputation in the space. Although this is by no means reprehensible, if this is true at all, the DeFi space is expected to eliminate precisely these self-glorifying features that are found mainly in the central financial system. We all want to push a revolution at the end of the day, which mainly has the intention to improve the world sustainably! However, if there is one protocol that wants to improve the situation for millions of people, in terms of financial inclusion, then it is Akropolis!
In today’s analysis, the DEFI WORLD community will learn about the intention and the workings of the Akropolis Protocol.
The Problem
According to the World Bank, more than one billion people do not have a bank account and therefore do not have access to the international financial system. Why? Because they cannot afford the fees of a bank account.
This is also the case for many people who live in Kenya.
Using the so-called Chamas is an alternative for many people there. These are Autonomous Financial Organizations (AFOs) that collect and invest the savings of many Kenyans. In other words, it is an informal cooperative. One might think that this would solve the problem, but it does not. More precisely, the opposite is the case. Kenya has a problem with corruption that also affects the Chamas. Money is embezzled and is used to commit regular corruption. It should also be noted that the Chamas, like today’s banks, are not for everyone. There are also certain basic requirements for joining the Chamas, such as financial status, recommendation by members, etc.
In addition, more than 47% of Kenya’s GDP is managed by these Chamas. In plain language, this means that 47% of Kenya’s total assets are managed and controlled only by a certain stratum of the population, in order to engage in corruption and embezzlement.
But this is not an African problem, even though this system seems typical for the African continent. Autonomous Financial Organizations have existed since the invention of modern money and operate globally. The sad thing is that poorer countries are more vulnerable to such constructions because people in rich countries can easily open a bank account and do not consider it as necessary to join such non-transparent constructs. Thus, general access to the financial system often determines about being rich or poor.
How Akropolis Works
Akropolis is a protocol for the informal economy, which can be implemented on blockchains that are Turing complete, such as Ethereum. The protocol aims to create a unified program interface to ensure a digital landscape in which different parties can interact with each other. Thus, banks and financial companies will be replaced by a federal system of autonomous cooperatives.
However, due to blockchain technologies, they are completely transparent, which prevents corruption and embezzlement. Additionally, it is important to note that users can decide for themselves whether they want to use decentralized self-custody or prefer to rely on regulated custodians.
There are different types of participants in the Akropolis ecosystem:
End User
End users are usually only interested in investing money in an autonomous financial organization in order to receive a return on their investments. They are also interested in accessing cheap credits.
AFOs
AFOs provide access to low-cost loans and motivate other AFOs to join the network. As more AFOs join the network, the greater the volume of successfully repaid loans. This in turn would lead to lower borrowing costs. The Guilt Concept allows AFOs to form independent associations, which are self-managing, in order to strengthen the trust between AFOs and their members, which is a problem for traditional AFOs today.
Private AFOs
Private AFOs work with the savings of the users. However, these are openly mapped on the protocol, which ensures transparency. If a private AFO starts to defraud its participants, this is noticed very quickly, and the participants can easily leave the AFO and switch to another one. This encourages private AFOs to work properly.
Capital Providers
Capital providers guarantee that loans can be taken out. Token staking mechanisms protect them from complete payment default.
Network Keepers
Network Keepers maximize the stability fee through accurate risk assessments, for which they get rewarded in tokens.
Target users
There are over a billion potential Akropolis users in the world, because these people have one thing in common:
They do not have a bank account and therefore no access to the financial system. But even governments that want to fight corruption can benefit from Akropolis because it saves a lot of money that would normally have vanished in the depths of corruption and embezzlement. Entire countries could gain enormous growth overnight! However, even for people who want to found an AFO, Akropolis could be interesting, because the protocol makes the creation of an AFO much easier.
Tokenomics
The supply of AKRO Tokens is four billion. Holders of AKRO Tokens receive governance rights for Akropolis products such as Sparta (Lending + Community Bank), Delphi (DCA/Savings/Investments), and Stealth (fixed interest perp-bonds).
AKRO Tokens are a reward for providing liquidity to the network. These tokens can also be staked to obtain ADEL, which is a special governance token from Delphi.
AKRO Tokens are tradable on Uniswap, Balancer, KuCoin, and on many more exchanges.
Conclusion
The Akropolis Protocol deals with a global problem that has many social consequences. However, it is necessary to solve this problem to prevent further crises. Innovations like Akropolis could make countries, which are among the poorest in the world today, significantly more prosperous and close the economic and financial gap to many Western and Asian countries. However, whether or not AKRO Tokens are a good investment, is something that everyone must decide for themselves. Nevertheless, we at DEFI WORLD are convinced of the concept and recommend everyone to take a closer look at Akropolis.
All information presented above is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.