Populous is a peer-to-peer invoice platform founded in 2017 at a high point in the blockchain and cryptocurrency craze. It makes use of blockchain's distributed ledger technology to provide a global trading platform for invoice financing. According to the Populous website, 'invoice finance is a form of funding that instantly unlocks the cash tied up in outstanding sales invoices. Business owners allow invoice buyers to buy invoices at a discounted rate in order to unlock their cash quicker. Once invoices are paid by the invoice debtor, the invoice buyer receives the amount previously agreed upon.' In order to offer funds to invoice sellers, Populous maintains a Liquidity Pool. This is tied in with the Populous cryptocurrency (PPT). An investor securitizes PPT by making an initial purchase. PPT is then held in escrow as collateral throughout the process. Transactions between invoice buyers and sellers take place with Pokens, exchanged for PPT and used as the currency for buying and selling invoices, either drawing from or contributing to the Liquidity Pool in the process. As a result of this built-in liquidity component, Populous at this point requires no transaction fees. In fact, the only fees levied are those associated with late payments. Populous invoice transactions can cover a huge array of industries, including many which are not typically available to traditional financing companies. The PPT tokens not released during the ICO were retained by the founding and development team. PPT can either be held or used as collateral to invest in Populous invoices. In exchange for collateralizing, you’re given an amount of Pokens based on a percentage of market value. Currently it’s the lesser of 50%, or a 30 day market average. These are automatically used to purchase an invoice. If the invoice is repaid, you receive both your PPT investment and Pokens profit.
VeChain is a blockchain-enabled platform that is designed to enhance supply chain management processes. By utilizing tamper-proof and distributed ledger technology, VeChain provides retailers and consumers with the ability to determine the quality and authenticity of products that are bought. From product source materials, to servicing history, and spare part replacements, every single piece of information about the supply chain movement of a product can be recorded and verified to bring about a supply chain management ecosystem that is secure for all participants. VeChain plans to achieve this secure supply chain management ecosystem via the method of asset digitization. VeChain enables manufactures to assign products with unique identities to the platform. This will allow manufacturers, supply chain partners, and even consumers, to track the movement of products through their supply chain. There is also the VeChain Foundation. The Vechain Foundation is a non - profit entity established in Singapore in July 2017 and is responsible for the construction of the network, and technological research and development. The Foundation also plays an important role in business development. The Foundation encourages and supports partnerships with enterprises that may be interested in utilizing blockchain technology as a service. This includes payment services, private key management, smart contract development, and wallet development. There is no doubt that blockchain technology can be an important innovation to supply chain management. With a growing list of business partnerships and technological developments, VeChain is positioning itself to be THE disruptive, and innovative force that reshapes the way we think about supply chain management. The solution of 'hard forking' has made people question the idea of 'de-centering' of Ethereum and even Blockchain. This way of governance is not so much a 'democracy' as an 'anarchy.' VeChain development team highly regards blockchain’s decentralizing nature, yet intends to adopt some traditional corporate governance and thus improve the efficient formulation and implementation of the VeChain development and strategy for the benefit of the community to prevent and avoid serious blockchain design philosophy differences and irreconcilability. Sunny Lu is the CEO of the VeChain Foundation and has already become an important figure in the blockchain space. Before he established VeChain, he co-founded the Chinese Internet start-up which developed Qtum, a very important digital asset in the crypto space. He was previously the CIO and COO of Louis Vuitton China.The team behind VeChain consists of over 90+ employees, most of them being developers. Chief Technology Officer, Gu Jianliang, has over 18 years of experience in areas such as mobile devices and the IoT field, and has created over a 100 patents in several technological fields. Kevin Feng serves as the Chief Operations Officer of the VeChain Foundation. Feng has been actively involved in many technology projects in his 12 years working for VeChain’s partner, PWC, as a consultant and assurance advisor.