The blockchain technology serves as the platform in which a cryptocurrency is built over. The latter asset, in turn, can represent an investment opportunity or have a specific use in a particular ecosystem, which is why it has worldwide acceptance and validity as a valuable commodity. A token, if implemented correctly, has the potential to provide solutions in various fields.
Such is the case of Vienna’s latest initiative. The city is well-known across Europe and the world, being Austria’s capital. It is currently working in the development of a blockchain-based project that involves a token that will be used in an incentive program. The news was reported by Trending Topic, a news portal, on January 28th.
The Vienna University of Economics and Business as an ally
It is not the first time that the digital asset has been mentioned around the industry, as it first came up in December 2018. The coin will be developed by city’s authorities and the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Its name will be the Vienna token.
What can people do to opt for Vienna tokens? According to the Head of the city’s Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics, Shermin Voshmgir, the coin will be given in return for providing feedback about Vienna. In addition, other tasks can also result in Vienna tokens’ issuance, such as prioritizing bikes over vehicles or using an app developed to pay for parking privileges around the city. Voshmgir also stated that the obtained tokens can be traded for exciting things, such as theater tickers, for example.
Quoted by Trending Topics, Voshmgir observed that the Vienna tokens and the incentive program will not be the only way in which tokens will be implemented, and that the idea has been in development since last year.
“We are in a very early design phase in which we are considering together with the City of Vienna what such a Vienna token could look like. It is about understanding how we can generate a token that adds value for the city,” she expressed.
Shermin Voshmgir made it very clear that she thinks the Vienna tokens can represent a “killer application” of the blockchain technology that holds the potential of being behind lots of business models and propositions in the short, medium, and long-term.
Under the Vienna token’s reward model, some of the possible future applications of the technology in Austria can be, according to Voshmgir, art and real estate blockchain ventures. She states that it can be a possibility under a fractional ownership system.
The Austrian Blockchain Center
A multi-purpose and multi-disciplinary organism named as the Austrian Blockchain Center was opened in December 2018 in the country, as a way to research and establish future plans and projects related to the technology. The center’s primary objective is to foster development on the Internet of Things (IoT), finance, energy, logistics and public or governmental applications.
The Vienna token is not the first city-based digital coin in the planet, as the idea has been out there for a while. For example, a project in Calgary (Canada) was materialized last year. The Calgary dollar can help people provide payments for services and items at local stores, or even perform donations.
By Andres Chavez
