What Blockchain offers to employers and freelancers? 12 platforms to watch in 2019

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

A study by Upwork shows that there are 57 million freelancers in the United States alone, who generate more than $1.4 trillion a year. Also, a Payoneer survey mentions that there could be more independent workers than full-time workers in that country before 2030 and that 70% of freelancers use online markets to find work.

With online intermediary platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr managing gigs worth of billions of dollars a year, the freelance economy, with technology as its main ally, has taken the world by surprise. But, despite its popularity, these freelance markets are still struggling to solve problems.

Blockchain is already breaking into this industry, looking to offer solutions to both freelancers and employers; with low rates, fast payments and new incentives that make the experience better for everyone. How realistic and sufficient are these promises? How will they finally attract employers and freelancers to the new decentralized way of doing business?

Disruption arrives

There are three ways in which Blockchain promises to improve current services for both freelancers and employers: Faster and more efficient payments with cryptocurrencies. The elimination of the intermediary's fees. The use of tokens and smart contracts to give new incentives towards a better global experience.

A- Cryptocurrency payments

Freelancers want faster payments. This makes sense, since receiving a payment online can be a big headache. With Upwork, you need to first wait for a customer to approve a payment, then another five days, just so funds are available in your account. Afterwards, you have to wait again for the payment to be processed in your bank account. It can take weeks.

Cryptocurrency payments are instantaneous, which is useful for freelancers since the cryptocurrency can be easily exchanged, and funds can be withdrawn as soon as they have been approved.

The cryptocurrencies also open the way to the world population that does not have access to bank accounts. Billions now have access to the Internet, but not to banks.

B- Lower commissions

Blockchain applications are threatening intermediaries throughout the economy. When users can interact directly with each other, through a protocol, instead of a centralized service, the value of the intermediary collapses.

Openbazaar has a 0% commission on all transactions in its online market with Bitcoin, and the new Blockchain platforms for freelancers are already promising rates of 0 to 1% on their platforms.

C- New incentives

One of the biggest problems for employers and freelancers in the current platforms is trust, since some employers do not treat freelancers with justice, and this is dragging the entire system.

Crypto-tokens and smart contracts can be used to encourage everyone to act in a fair and professional manner at all times. Ethearnal is demonstrating reputation, and giving it real market value in its freelance platform; A blow to your reputation is also a blow to your wallet. This is a victory for employers and freelancers who want to use the platform honestly.

Decentralization can also mean a fairer and more distributed dispute solution, leading to better contractual results, more precise qualifications and less centralized authoritarian control.

To overcome problems

Blockchain technology is still immature and usability is a key problem. Decentralized applications are slower and harder to use than their centralized counterparts, and developers need to find ways to solve this.

Other problems facing the new Blockchain applications are a bit more subjective. Getting adequate financial incentives is extremely difficult, and decentralized protocols and smart contracts are difficult or impossible to change on the fly. There is also the issue of community participation and the size of the network.

So, who are looking to solve these problems?

12 Platforms to watch in 2019

The market is new, but there are already some projects that seek to build platforms and protocols that reap the benefits that centralized platforms have not been able to fully exploit. Here are some of the most interesting so far:

1.- Blocklancer

The Austrian startup Blocklancer lives in the new niche of distributed self-employed labor markets, where candidates and employers are automatically matched on the basis of objective metadata.

His final vision is to be a self-regulating Blockchain platform that matches employers with qualified candidates for the job, without intermediaries involved.

Your payments for Ethereum are not subject to restrictions based on the nation of origin of a freelancer, and your system minimizes the problems that arise from the variable exchange rates of the currency. Without users having a bank account or passport, Blocklancer guarantees payments, relatively low fees, and identity protection.

2.- Openbazaar

Launched in 2014, Openbazaar.org is an online market where anyone can sell on an equal footing, all under cryptography. Already Openbazaar has faced many of the same problems we have addressed previously.

Just when launching, Openbazaar had to address the usability problem, says its CEO: "We realized very quickly that doing things in a decentralized way is not always super intuitive for people. You have to design around it. You have to do it very well. "

They also found that building a decentralized network that really works without central control is not a trivial task. For Openbazaar, focusing on privacy and anonymity was the main motivation for using the platform, not usability; and the reasons for success were the support of the community and staff.

3.- Canya.io

CanYa is an independent platform based on Blockchain, with "decentralized payments, decentralized governance, decentralized storage and, finally, decentralized computers". Even more ambitious than Upwork, digital and domestic services are available in Canya, and hiring a plumber is the main use case.

The main arguments of CanYa are:

Simplicity You can find, reserve and qualify service providers.

CanYaCoin, a cryptocurrency that can be used to buy real-world services.

Trustless, a decentralized escrow service (arbiter) with a hedge against the volatility of the cryptocurrency.

Low rates About 1%, some of which become rewards to encourage growth and desired user behavior.

His ICO took place in November 2017 and the application is partially available. Its worldwide launch, according to the source, was in March 2018. Currently, CanYa claims to have 10,000 users and 46,000 service providers.

4.- Ethearnal

Ethearnal is currently in alpha, and the ICO is still underway, but promises to be the most complete and disruptive platform in the near future. It is looking to be the decentralized Upwork, with all the specific Blockchain functionalities that we have discussed.

Ethearnal is leading the way in that regard. Its white paper suggests that it is the first Blockchain project that seeks to monetize and monetize the reputation, the most valuable asset in the independent economy. The transaction costs are from 0 to 1%, which will be returned to the system to "align the initiatives of all the parties involved".

Ethearnal's ICO is state-of-the-art. It was one of the first companies to announce the use of the DAICO model by Vitalik Buterin.

These four are, let's say, the most relevant so far, but there are eight others that are breaking out and can not be overlooked:

5.- Talao

The freelancer users of Talao create curricula of their skills and experience, which are validated and stored in the Blockchain.

Users can also apply for selective talent positions, gaining access to broader job opportunities at no additional cost.

6.- Storm

The Storm platform gamify microtareas for users around the world in search of cryptocurrency rewards. An economy of gigs throughout, Storm allows users to conduct surveys, test new products, watch videos and complete other tasks on a small scale. In return, they can receive the token of Storm, Bitcoin or Ethereum, for their time and effort.

The quiz games are simple and attractive, and the more time users spend in Storm, the more cryptocurrencies they will win.

7.- Teller

Teller is a banking solution compatible with Blockchain, adaptable to anyone who maintains their own accounting systems. Teller is a complete financial resource, which includes checking and savings accounts, a Visa debit card, and liability protection. You can predict your future income and expenses in a way that is safe and resistant to hackers.

It also offers a 5 percent interest to users of the Teller savings account, and discounts on user fees when a worker goes on vacation, something similar to "paid time off".

8.- Mentat

Based in San Francisco, Mentat is a market driven by Blockchain for job seekers. The platform allows people to find professional partners through intelligent contracts of type query-response (query-response). Their automated matching systems eliminate many of the inefficiencies of other freelance markets, ensuring that workers are paid only when the tasks are complete.

The distributed ledger of the platform also searches and tracks the verified skills of the applicants to make it match the best possible work.

9.- Fragment

Fragment is another micro-boot platform enabled for Blockchain. It allows users to earn cryptocurrencies by completing simple tasks such as questionnaires and surveys. Developers can also earn crypto by creating new microtare applications. Smart contracts work to ensure that everyone receives the payment they expect.

10.- Coinnect

Coinnect, based in Switzerland, is building an economic exchange platform that specializes in real-time training and performance. Users can search, employ and qualify services such as remote Information Technology assistance or an English lesson. They can also take advantage of live features such as videoconferences and micropayments in real time using the Coinnect token.

Instant messaging, zero percent commission payments, and the ability to use the platform by those without a bank account, are some of the advantages that Coinnect offers over the original freelance platforms.

11.- Bounties Network

Bounties Network trains users to self-incentivize and self-organize everything from independent work to grassroots social action. It is not a traditional human resources approach, but its smart contracts can organize tasks and contracting jobs such as research, content translation and video production.

Bounties Network aims to help users create projects, collaborate and receive a payment for doing a job of any kind.

12.- Blue Whale

Blue Whale maintains a decentralized space for freelancers to create and charge.

In the Blue Whale network, independent workers can create networks, advertise and market themselves, and make a profit.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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