Here's an anecdote about why I think Dero is important and exciting as a cryptocurrency.
I was visiting a friend in Munich over this past weekend. I was trying to convince him to invest in the crypto space but he won't (long story: refuses despite in many ways fitting the ideal "profile" of an early investor). We were walking into the underground (U-bahn) system there and as many of your probably know, Germany uses an "honour" system with its public transport: there are no turnstiles, ticket inspectors standing at gates, etc. You buy your own ticket, validate it yourself, and carry it with you as you freely use the system (bus, tram, underground/metro, and suburban train). If you don't do this you are "schwarz fahren", 'travelling black', and carry the risk of being busted by an undercover ticket agent and fined. But in Germany in general rules-based compliance is high among the public (German businesses know this: compliance costs are low compared to other countries) and there are relatively few undercover agents (in all my years of visiting and once for a year living in Germany I have only encountered these agents a tiny handful of times).
The system works, but despite this every now and then (in Munich at least) there is talk of introducing a turnstile system, like you have in London, but the idea never really goes anywhere. Clearly though there is some concern about compliance and its costs, and the costs to the system of those people who use the public transport system without paying.
I remarked to my friend that I could imagine a "smart card" system, where you buy a card and top it up, or get billed after the fact (like with a mobile telephone account), and you only need to carry this card when you use the system. There would be various sensors at entries and exists, and the system would "know" when you rode the system without paying, and you would either get apprehended as you exited a station (or a bus/tram) if you had no card, or your account would automatically be billed as needed. People who kept their account in good standing would never have to worry or even think about the process. There would be various discounts for students, retired people, low-income people, just as you have now. You could be billed per use, or buy a pass, and so on. This "smart card" system would preserve the convenience and friendliness of the current system (no turnstiles), while cutting compliance costs even further.
My friend pointed out that this would be a privacy nightmare: the system (or the government, etc) would be able to track everyone and know exactly the locations of people, their travelling habits, and so on. (An anathema to Germans, in particular.) I immediately shouted: "Bingo: blockchain!". A smart contracts system implemented on an obfuscated blockchain could solve this problem. The system could validate that users had paid for their use of the system, and deduct their account accordingly, without knowing where the entry and exit points, or their times, etc, were (except when somebody travelled without a smart card at all, of course). More importantly, a properly-educated public would know this and have faith that they could use such a smart charging system without having their privacy compromised at all. Indeed, using the smart card system would guarantee their privacy - it is those who tried to travel without paying who would have their privacy compromised (they would get caught).
This is just one example of a potential application of a Dero-type blockchain, that - as I see it - none of the other cryptocurrencies can provide. I think there are tons and tons of examples like this. We really do need a smart contracts system on an obfuscated blockchain. It is a very obvious next step for the crypto space to take, and it is why I am excited about the Dero project. It also needs to be a project that is properly managed, which means properly decentralised, and I think the Dero developers have the vision behind the project on that side too, at least from what I have been able to see.
There are of course versions of the smart card system already in use in public transport systems, e.g. in London. However as far as I know the system is always elective - you can choose a less convenient alternative (and turnstiles are very much used in London) partly because of the privacy issues; you have to choose to give up your privacy in exchange for the convenience of the electronic system, like so much of the high-tech space these days (google/facebook, anyone?). Correct me if I'm wrong, people, but smart contracts over an obfuscated blockchain eliminates this convenience/privacy tradeoff. This is the point of Dero as I see it. The world very much needs it.
Keep up the good work!
This post deserves much more than thank you and sMerit. thank you @fellestreum.
You have expressed the IDEA behind Dero.We hope to create a Blockchain which will affect the entire society from increasing the privacy to daily utilities. Users will have confidence that no copy/access of his data exists on the shops/counters/merchants/agents he has visited since start of the day. He lives a private life and he knows who has access/copy of his data.
This is a very big and huge impacting topic. In parallel to technological development of DERO Blockchain we are also working for practical life example to express the DERO concept.
@fellestreum, You are more than welcome to join forum
https://forum.dero.io/ and visit us on slack.
https://join.slack.com/t/deroproject/shared_invite/enQtMzAwMDc5MDY4NDUzLTAzOWNjYWZmNDgxZTk1YjNiNWFiYjg1OWNiMmQ2MmUxOWRmNjNjOWM3ODAzMzE3M2RhNzBhZjUyZGQxYjQxY2U
All are welcome to improve and suggest.
We are really working hard and dedicating lot to DERO, Hope to develop one of the best Blockchain Technologies.
thanks.
Regards.
Capt. DERO
