When Ethereum Classic Makes Social Impact Beyond the Currency
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many corporations and institutions have realized they needed to improve their processes, many of them analog, to avoid the risk of contamination.
From companies managing international deals to doctors handling medical prescriptions on paper — every process should be reviewed and improved.
Many of those processes are so critical that digitizing is not enough. They need the accurate identification of who is authorizing procedures and/or signing the deal.
This is where OriginalMy and Ethereum Classic intersect. Supported by Ethereum Classic Labs, OriginalMy is a platform with a suite of tools for e-Governance to fight bureaucracy and fraud, taking an essential role during the pandemic.
OriginalMy and Ethereum Classic
In 2016, OriginalMy was prototyping a platform to collect signatures on public petitions and draft bills on Ethereum (named Mudamos+), for the Brazillian NGO ITS-Rio. It used the whole framework of digital signatures, identity, and authentication of documents to provide a high level of trust that was needed to have the bills accepted and voted in the House of Representatives.
After the DAO hack, ITS-Rio lawyers’ were hesitant about presenting those critical documents and signatures, authenticated on a media that, at the time, was easily manipulated. The project then pivoted, initially to Bitcoin and then to ETC, just after CriptoKitties owned the Ethereum chain.
Why Ethereum Classic?
Ethereum Classic was born because of the concept of chain immutability. Because OriginalMy works leveraging trust on processes, many of them were previously analog and using some traditional third-party institutions to provide trust, the concept of immutability was critical as part of its business model.
OriginalMy could not put the users at risk in case the tools being used in court proceedings and being contested because the media was manipulated to change the contents. Secondly, the prices for running the smart-contracts (fees) could help to grow as a sustainable company.
Today, everything related to identity, signatures, and document authentication has the support of Ethereum Classic to create the proofs, strong enough and reliable enough to be used in court.
Other tools were created on top of this framework, like Open Prescription — a TOP10 global governance solution in response to COVID-19 crisis, or Hääl — a protocol for secret voting on public blockchains.
One of the essential tools is the PACWeb — a tool for preserving web evidence, which generates a report to be used in court proceedings. People and lawyers mainly use it in cases of online harassment, defamation, cyberbullying, and fake news.
OriginalMy and Ethereum Classic Labs (ETC Labs)
OriginalMy is an ETC Labs portfolio company from Cohort I of the accelerator program. ETC Labs was always supportive and present, working with us on technical issues, protocol, and connecting us with potential investors.
Through the ETC Labs accelerator program, we were able to tap into a vibrant network to further grow the ecosystem around OriginalMy.
Achievements and Recognitions
Due to the social impact aspect of OriginalMy, a UN agency (ITU-T) listed it on a report as a blockchain application that is making an impact in governments and public institutions.
A Court of Appeals judged the evidence preserved as able to prove the existence and the veracity of contents on the internet.
Two bills, proposed by people and with the signatures collected through Mudamos+ app, were voted and approved by the Brazillian government.
Even a same-sex common-law marriage helped two women to make their union, in a moment the government was thinking to revert the same-sex marriage law in the country.
Recently the company was a finalist in the Startup Go!Go! Competition in Japan and was awarded as a Global Champion in Cybersecurity in the most prominent investment event in the world — AIM Annual Investment Meeting in Dubai.
Looking Ahead
OriginalMy officially participated in the last Brazilian elections with the government, running a side-election to show how a digital election can be easy and secure. The government is wondering about running a digital election for the next elections, in two years.
The implementation of the protocol and the platform are fully open-source and being improved to run a massive election at scale.
OriginalMy is validating the Middle-East and Asian markets, as a future expansion plan and will start a fundraising campaign at the beginning of the next year to accelerate the growth and adoption around the world.
For more information on OriginalMy follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube and check out their blog, here.
