ICO study episode 1: Civic- security identity platform
Hey guys,
I spent the last couple days reading all I could about Civic and it's ICO set to launch on June 21st. Civic's goal is to create a platform where anyone can register their identity securely and cheaply. Before deciding to invest in a token I do some research to find the problem the project is trying to solve, the demand for such a product and the actual purpose of the token.
what is the purpose of the token? what's problem it wants to resolve?
Something that struck me, during my research, is the seriousness of identity theft. In the U.S 15.4 million adults were victims of identify fraud in 2016 (resulting in $16 billion in losses), while globally it is estimated that 1 billion identities were stolen that year. The type of information stolen ranged from: social security numbers, identification cards and even utility bills.
Civic claims that it'll be an easy, low-cost and secure identify verification platform where anyone in the world will have the chance to register and have a way to prove their identity. It is estimated that over 1.5 billion people, mostly in developing countries, do not have a way of doing this. This is due to a lack of services in their region that arises due to the high cost of current ID verification services. Not being able to prove your identity leads to exclusion, denied access to social services and difficulties to improve your way of life. Bitcoin gave everyone in the developing world access to "bank" accounts to secure and transfer their wealth. Civic will give everyone access to identity verification.
This technology would be great for the internet in general as well. There are simply too many fake, scammy and troll accounts on every user platform these days. Most platforms don't require ID verification because of its high fees. Current ID verification services are expensive because they are inefficient. There isn't a common platform for organizations to access quickly to check the validity of one's identity. Therefore, every time an organization wants to validate an identity, they run through a whole verification process.
"In many cases, companies are paying high fees to verify an individual who was
already verified just hours ago by the same provider, but for a different company."
For instance, let's say you wish to open accounts on facebook, gmail and reddit. If they wanted to offer IDV services they'd each go through a service to validate your identity. Therefore, your identity would be verified 3 times. This inefficiency is what Civic wants to remedy. The civic platform would allow trusted IDV parties to evaluate your identity ,which would then be confirmed and registered on the blockchain by Civic. Then, if other organizations wanted to verify your identity, they could do so, simply by accessing your profile on the civic blockchain, which by the way, can only be accessed if you permit them to do so.
What's the purpose of the token?
The Civic Token (CVC) is intended to be used as the currency for members of the ecosystem to complete the identity-related transactions. These payments will be done automatically according to rules defined by the smart-contract. Using tokens instead of bitcoin or any other currency facilitates this. In addition having a currency designed for a specific platform allows for near instant transactions ( Similar to how transferring steem within the community is free and instant).
Token Sale?
On June 21st a sale will begin. 1 billion tokens will be created. 1/3 of these tokens will be retained by the company. 1/3 will be available for the token sale. 1/3 will be distributed to help stimulate the eco-system. Vinny states his concern on how previous token sales have been dominated by a few big buyers. He wants to avoid this by locking a part of the tokens of the crowd sale for small investors.
Conclusion
I think this is one of the most interesting tokens I have read about and will make a small investment :). If you guys liked this post please let me know and I'll make another one about how to purchase the tokens.
Have a great day guys,
CVL