NEW HORIZONS

BY JANE ZHANG

In April 2018, ShellPay helped lay the technical foundation layer for the Special Economic Zone in Yongbang to issue digital coins and e-citizenship.

The SEZ is a dedicated area to test new economic models without the constraint and bloat of bureaucracies. Yongbang will be a grand social experiment, which not only tests the promise of blockchain technology but creates a new peer-to-peer based society. Its human-centred mechanism design aims to give a voice to the countless undocumented refugees who have no voice or visibility in the public forum.

There will be a phased process over the coming years. There are two parallel, interconnected streams of development: digital economy that is effectively borderless and the physically-based economy which is tied to the digital application. The e-citizenship program will allow global participants (all are welcome to join) to create a near-instant economy online. E-citizenship entitles citizens to create businesses and issue coins within the ecosystem. The digital activity will filter down to the physically-based economy through locally focused programs and projects, such as education, jobs and infrastructure to ensure the development of the local economy. All citizens will participate in approving projects, coin issuances and jurisdictional governance via digitallybased voting mechanisms.

The Yongbang blockchain and the Yongbang coin has been created and deployed, and is now live. Not dissimilar to Satoshi’s vision and the creation of Bitcoin, what happens now with Yongbang has been turned over to the hands of the collective community. All eyes are on Yongbang as its citizens forge new paths in a bright economic future.