Ripio Credit Network (RCN) is a global peer-to-peer credit network based on cosigned smart contracts that facilitates connections between lenders and borrowers across the world, on any currency. It enables people across the globe to access credit, and to provide loans. The RCN token is a typical ERC-20 token. This protocol has the smart contract technology embedded into the Ethereum blockchain which facilitates peer-to-peer lending without the hefty transaction fees that are charged in traditional banking processes. The RCN token functions at the core of the system. The inherent value of the token is directly correlated to the demand for its use in the network. Based in Argentina, Latin America, Ripio was launched at the TechCrunch Disrupt in May 2016. Sebastian Serrano, founder and CEO of the Ripio Credit Network is a technology enthusiast. He along with his team of technology experts, analysts and developers have designed an impressive concept along with the website, whitepaper and its implementation within the last 2 years. The team comprises of David Garcia (SVP & Board Member), Eugenio Cocimano (Data Scientist), Antonio Ceraso (CTO & Lead Blockchain developer) and Agustin Aguilar (Smart Contracts Developer) among many others. Ripio started off with a primary objective - to democratize the digital economy in Latin America, by offering digital payment alternatives within everyone's reach in a region where 65% remain unbanked. The smart contract is an integral part of the underlying technology of the Ripio Credit Network. It is generated by the Wallet Provider and executed when it is matched by the Credit Exchange. This smart contract contains information like the relevant credit terms, borrower obligations, events of default along with the signatures or verifications from all other agents. RCN tokens facilitate interaction with the smart contracts among different agents within the RCN. Every credit flow starts when the Borrower makes a credit request. The Borrower performs the request from its Wallet Provider, which has already integrated into the RCN protocol. Post this, the Borrower waits for an approval before any further action can be performed.
Steem is a cryptocurrency that rewards users for community building by posting and upvoting valuable content for others. Steem was inspired from the success of Reddit where the community helped enrich the shareholders. Steem aims to help distribute the rewards to the community members who help create the community in the first place. Steem aims to provide various services to its members such as a source of curated news, Q&A, job boards etc. The founders of Steem came from BitShares with Dan Larimer involved as well. Steem’s main platform, called Steemit, is a social media network built on top of the Steem blockchain. Steemit is similar to popular content-driven social networks like Reddit and Medium, but it rewards users with cryptocurrency for their participation. Fundamentally, the more value a particular piece of content provides to a greater number of people, the more the individuals responsible for creating and curating that content can earn. Users cast votes, creating a hierarchy of content. The more upvotes a post gets, the more it will earn. The platform also allows for downvotes, giving participants more flexibility when it comes to rating content. Steemit is meritocratic, meaning users that hold more currency can cast votes with greater influence. The Steemit community even has another service to offer to its customers. D.tube, which is considered to be very similar to YouTube, is Blockchain based and the users can realize the difference between the traditional video publishing websites and D.tube, as the amount of money earned is also displayed beside the post apart from likes shares and comments. The Steemit community is accused of posting plagiarize contents on their publishing website. The irony seems to be reaching highest levels when the original content doesn’t receive much appreciation and income than the copied versions of it.'