The Power of Smart Contracts 智能合约的力量
How Smart Contracts Bring Real-World Improvements? 智能合约如何带来现实世界的改善？
Regardless of scepticism around cryptocurrency, the use case of blockchain within certain industries and for specific processes has gained general acceptance. One of the most popular implementation of blockchain that has attracted much hype is nonetheless, Decentralized Finance (DeFi).
While DeFi adoption has not reached the heady heights of cryptocurrency mainstays such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, there is a steady increase in the financial sector, experimenting and using Ethereum and Dapps (Decentralised App) that are already available to build one or more financial applications.
From small startups to traditional finance institutions like Barclays and J. P. Morgan, DeFi is providing a ready platform for getting things up and running swiftly. This is because it is really simple to engineer an MVP (minimum viable product) using existing source codes of Decentralised Apps and pre-defined smart contracts for core activities like the act of funds being transferred, and only focusing on marketing.
New Opportunities for Small and Medium Businesses
While most banks are locked into huge and cumbrous legacy systems, which make it difficult to transform, DeFi has removed many of the barriers to entry that prevented SMEs and startups from entering the market. While many institutions regard this as a threat, some large banks have had the foresight to rely on the agility of small businesses and run incubators and accelerators to get their blockchain solutions to market.
The first challenge of venturing into DeFi is to select an appropriate offering that will fill a gap in the target market. There are many use cases, ranging from traditional financial models, such as payments, to new instruments that have evolved because of the capabilities of decentralized ledgers, like tokenization and stablecoins.
Borrowing and Lending
Financial markets have traditionally made their money by the differential between interest they pay to investors and savers and the rates at which they lend this money to borrowers. Stringent credit criteria exclude many borrowers from accessing funds or require guarantees in the form of collateral.
DLT allows borrowers who would not qualify for a loan from a traditional financial institution to access funds from one or more investors directly, with a smart contract defining and monitoring the loan. There are a variety of other models who will lend fiat against cryptocurrency collateral and even pay interest, many of them in the mortgage market. This is a rapidly expanding DeFi domain, fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Peer-to-peer Transactions and Payments
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) eliminates the need for intermediaries, like banks and other financial institution. The approvals and processes performed by these traditional players are replaced by smart contracts. We have seen how this reduces costs and complexity of transacting. It may also speed up the transaction, although the high velocity of traditional financial platforms cannot be matched currently due to the mechanics of proving the validity of a transaction. Speed and scalability is still an existing issue for most public blockchain, such as Ethereum.
While most people still maintain fiat accounts, there is a move to using crypto for peer-to-peer payments, especially for cross-border payments, where the costs of money transfers and the time it takes disadvantage both the sender and the recipient. Acceptance of the major cryptocurrencies by traditional retailers is also growing.
The ability to transact without an intermediary has the potential to unlock financial services for the unbanked. More recent figures for how many unbanked exist globally are unavailable, but the World Bank estimated the number of people without a bank account to number 1.7 billion people in 2017. Part of the reason for this is that most of these people also lack an identity, which precludes them access to health and educational services, resulting in their inability to open a bank account.
Digital Identity
The need for every human being to have a unique identity has been mentioned above. The only viable way of providing everyone with an ID in the minimum of time is via a digital ID, rather than conventional methods of issuing identity cards or physical passports. This is why digital identity is an essential component of DeFi.
Supporting and certifying digital identity initiatives are important, and solutions are being developed using blockchain as a platform, but there is still a need for more innovation in the DeFi sector if the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ Target 16.9 is to be achieved.
Digital Marketplaces
The development of open marketplaces that connects buyers and sellers is one of the most popular DeFi use cases, relying on smart contracts to enable direct exchanges without having to go through an intermediary. The scope is very broad, from community-based, localized markets that support small businesses by rewarding customers with tokens for buying local, to markets that give sellers access to global markets without being subject to centralised marketplace like Amazon and eBay. There are also special interest markets for collectors and investors, notably in the art world.
The potential for disruption is not limited to products; services that are themselves relatively new business models, for instance, microtasks/gig platforms Upwork and Fiverr, are seeing blockchain competitors arising. Blockchain platforms do not charge sellers a percentage of their fee and can also support the unbanked in developing countries, as they pay in tokens.
The Energy and Data Marketplace
Although energy and data can be regarded as merely alternate forms of currency, the development of the smart grid and the growing need for data to power communications via mobile and other devices has made this a critical market for consumers, especially in the developing world.
There is also an opportunity for peer-to-peer energy trading and for consumers to sell surplus capacity back to the grid. Providers in this space are generally focused on renewable energy, in deference to the planet’s need for a carbon-neutral future.
Tokenization
Originally, blockchain was all about cryptocurrency, but as the technology matures, the value of blockchain as a platform has been recognized. There are benefits to tokens beyond their use as a form of currency:
- They are fractional. With the current value of Bitcoin in the region of $36,000, a whole coin is beyond the reach of most would-be investors. However, anyone can invest in divisible amount of Bitcoin.
- The design of the token and the purpose it fulfils can be tailored to fit the needs of its market.
- An ICO/IEO/IDO is an alternative way to raise funds for a startup, rather than approaching traditional lenders and markets.
There are still risks attached to cryptocurrencies, notably the volatility of the market. This has given rise to variations of tokens, such as stablecoins, which are linked to major currencies, such as dollars or euros, providing stability against market fluctuations.
Understanding the Risks of Smart Contracts
While the future of blockchain looks very promising and it is expected that many current business models will migrate to the blockchain in the future, it is still a young market. At first glance, DeFi looks like a great opportunity to quickly roll out a new financial product, but a deep understanding of the potential hazards of smart contracts is critical.
These can include:
- Incorrect structuring of the smart contract via inaccurate coding and/or requirements
- Insufficient cybersecurity protection to prevent hacking
- Changes in legislation. Many governments are still working out the legislation to manage the crypto market, and changes can be applied that affect the contract structure.
- Inefficient use of contracts creating unnecessary costs. While Ethereum is not the only platform to offer DeFi, it does have 80% of the market. Smart contracts use “gas” which is due each time a contract executes. This can result in unintended costs which make the DeFi application uneconomical and as a result unattractive to potential customers.
Most organizations that have already implemented blockchain solutions now recognize the value of smart contract audit in mitigating these potential risks. External smart contract auditors helps optimize smart contracts and identify threats and anomalies in the smart contract code.
Disclaimer
Before you buy or invest in Plutus tokens, please take the time to understand the rewards model, as well as the risks involved. All decisions that you make on the Plutus platform will be your sole responsibility.
About Plutus Capital
Plutus Capital is backed by a FinTech system built on a public blockchain, where an individual can enforce greater control of his own funds. The Plutus blockchain and token rely on the tamper-proof nature of ledger as well as smart contract and validation to ensure all processes are safe and secure.
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PlutusSwap
Governed by yPLT token holders, PlutusSwap is built by the Plutus Capital dev community. Other than earning rewards on PlutusSwap, yPLT token holders have the right to vote on proposals and decide on future development within our ecosystem. PlutusSwap believes that the key to unlocking economic equality, prosperity and financial freedom lies in developing strong Fintech use-cases on cutting-edge DLT. Most importantly, PlutusSwap is neither a chef nor food. PlutusSwap aspires to bank the unbanked, bringing fundamental financial rights to billions of individuals across the globe. We want to unbank the banked, stripping away the financial prison that many in the first world are enslaved to.
We, are the followers of the great god of wealth, Plutus.
不管人们对加密货币持怀疑态度，在某些行业和特定流程中使用区块链的用例都得到了普遍认可。然而，引起广泛炒作的最受欢迎的区块链实施之一是去中心化金融（DeFi）。
尽管DeFi的采用尚未达到比特币和以太坊等加密货币主流的顶峰，但金融领域正在稳步增长，尝试并使用已经可以用于构建一个或多个金融应用程序的以太坊和Dapps（去中心化应用程序）。
从小型初创公司到巴克莱和J. P. Morgan等传统金融机构，DeFi为迅速启动和运行提供了现成的平台。这是因为使用去中心化应用程序的现有源代码和预定义的智能合约来设计诸如核心资金活动之类的核心活动的MVP（最低可行产品）确实非常简单。
中小企业的新机会
尽管大多数银行都陷入了庞大而繁琐的遗留系统中，这使其难以转型，但DeFi消除了许多阻碍中小企业和初创企业进入市场的进入壁垒。尽管许多机构将其视为威胁，但一些大型银行具有远见卓识，依靠小型企业的敏捷性将其区块链解决方案推向市场。
进入DeFi的第一个挑战是选择合适的产品来填补目标市场的空白。有很多用例，从传统的财务模型（如付款）到新的工具（由于去中心化分类账的功能而不断发展）（如令牌化和稳定币），都有很多用例。
借贷
传统上，金融市场通过向投资者和储户支付的利息与向借款人贷款的利率之间的差额来赚钱。严格的信贷标准使许多借款人无法获得资金或需要抵押形式的担保。
分布式分类帐技术允许没有资格从传统金融机构获得贷款的借款人，通过智能合约定义和监控贷款，直接从一个或多个投资者那里获取资金。还有许多其他模型可以对加密货币抵押品提供担保，甚至还可以支付利息，其中许多是在抵押市场上。在Covid-19大流行的推动下，这是一个快速扩展的DeFi领域。
对等交易和付款
分布式分类帐技术（DLT）消除了对中介机构（如银行和其他金融机构）的需求。这些传统参与者的批准和流程已被智能合约所取代。我们已经看到了如何减少交易的成本和复杂性。尽管由于证明交易有效性的机制目前无法与传统金融平台相提并论，但它也可能加快交易速度。对于大多数以太坊等公共区块链来说，速度和可扩展性仍然是一个问题。
虽然大多数人仍然拥有法定帐户，但人们已经开始使用加密技术进行点对点付款，尤其是跨境付款，在这种情况下，汇款的成本和花费时间都不利于发送者和接收者。传统零售商对主要加密货币的接受程度也在增长。
在没有中介的情况下进行交易的能力有可能为无银行账户的人解锁金融服务。目前尚无关于全球没有银行账户的最新数据，但世界银行估计，2017年没有银行账户的人数为17亿。部分原因是，这些人大多数还缺乏身份，这使他们无法获得保健和教育服务，从而导致他们无法开设银行帐户。
数字身份
上面已经提到了每个人都有唯一身份的需要。在最短的时间内为每个人提供ID的唯一可行方法是通过数字ID，而不是传统的发行身份证或实物护照的方法。这就是为什么数字身份是DeFi的重要组成部分的原因。
支持和认证数字身份举措非常重要，并且正在使用区块链作为平台来开发解决方案，但是如果要实现联合国可持续发展目标的目标16.9，则在DeFi领域仍然需要更多的创新。
数字市场
连接买卖双方的开放市场的开发是最受欢迎的DeFi用例之一，它依靠智能合约实现直接交易而无需通过中介。范围非常广泛，从通过奖励购买本地令牌的客户奖励小企业来支持小型企业的基于社区的本地化市场，到允许卖方访问全球市场而不受诸如亚马逊和eBay等集中市场约束的市场。对于收藏家和投资者，还有特别的兴趣市场，尤其是在艺术界。
创新性不仅限于产品；微任务平台Upwork和Fiverr等本身就是相对较新的业务模型的服务，正在看到区块链竞争对手的出现。区块链平台不向卖方收取一定比例的费用，还可以支持发展中国家的无银行账户，因为他们使用代币支付。
能源和数据市场
尽管能源和数据仅被视为货币的替代形式，但智能电网的发展以及对数据通过移动设备和其他设备进行通信的需求不断增长，这已使该市场成为消费者尤其是发展中国家的重要市场。
点对点能源交易以及消费者将剩余容量卖回电网的机会也很大。该领域的提供商通常专注于可再生能源，以适应地球对碳中和未来的需求。
代币化
最初，区块链只与加密货币有关，但是随着技术的成熟，区块链作为平台的价值已得到认可。令牌除了作为一种货币使用之外，还有很多好处：
- 它们是分数。鉴于比特币的当前价值约为36,000美元，整枚硬币超出了大多数准投资者的承受能力。但是，任何人都可以投资可分割数量的比特币。
- 令牌的设计及其实现的目的可以进行调整，以适应其市场需求。
- ICO / IEO / IDO是为初创公司筹集资金的另一种方式，而不是接触传统的市场。
加密货币仍然存在风险，尤其是市场的波动性。这导致代币（例如稳定币）的变化，这些代币与主要货币（例如美元或欧元）相关联，从而提供了抵御市场波动的稳定性。
了解智能合约的风险
虽然区块链的未来看起来非常有前途，并且预计许多当前的商业模式将在未来迁移到区块链，但它仍然是一个年轻的市场。乍一看，DeFi似乎是快速推出新金融产品的绝佳机会，但深入了解智能合约的潜在危害至关重要。
这些可以包括：
- 由于编码和/或要求不正确，导致智能合约的结构不正确
- 网络安全保护不足，无法防止黑客入侵
- 立法变更。许多政府仍在制定法律来管理加密货币市场，并且可以应用影响合同结构的变更。
合同使用效率低下，造成不必要的成本。虽然以太坊不是唯一提供DeFi的平台，但它确实拥有80％的市场。智能合约使用“ gas”，这在每次合约执行时到期。这可能会导致意想不到的成本，从而使DeFi应用程序变得不经济，从而对潜在客户没有吸引力。
大多数已经实施了区块链解决方案的组织现在都认识到智能合约审计在缓解这些潜在风险方面的价值。外部智能合约审核员可帮助优化智能合约并识别智能合约代码中的威胁和异常。
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在购买或投资P币之前，请花时间了解奖励模式以及所涉及的风险。您在普利拓斯平台上做出的所有决定将由您全权负责。
普利拓斯资本介绍
普利拓斯资本由建立在公共区块链上的金融科技系统作为后盾，在这个系统中，个人可以对自己的资金实施更大的控制。普利拓斯区块链和代币依赖账本的防篡改性质以及智能合约和验证，以确保所有流程安全可靠。
