Cooperative members in Sweden said they have begun implementing Seeds, taking the country a step closer to the implementation of the world’s first “better than free” digital currency (Seeds).
At its core SEEDS is simply a payment platform, much like PayPal or VISA. A platform where users can send funds anywhere in the world in fractions of a second without any fees. Instead of being charged fees, it rewards users for their participation and gives them a voice in its governance and evolution.
This would be the equivalent of Sweden’s Riksbank or any central bank giving a share of new currency created directly to the account of citizens or organizations based on their contribution of value toward their participation in the economy, or, in the case of SEEDS – the wellbeing of our earth, communities and thrivability.
Beyond this, SEEDS serves as a fully decentralized organizational governance and financial ecosystem that redefines what currency can do for society. Inspired by the mycelial networks that sustain complex ecosystems, SEEDS connects people and organizations in ways that generate and distribute value more effectively, benefiting the long-term well-being of the whole system.
As the Seeds currency comes into circulation it will be used to facilitate everyday banking activities, such as payments, deposits, and withdrawals from an ecosystem of digital wallets accessible as easy as downloading a mobile phone app.
SEEDS serves as a series of smart-contracts that create a semi-autonomous, full-reserve bank where people can trade currencies for Seeds and other financial services. SEEDS is also partnering with leading financial institutions in Sweden to innovate in structured finance and develop hybrid bond products. These innovations are designed to bridge the growing gap resulting from a dependence on an eroding world economic system. SEEDS is owned by the community and manages services to mitigate risk and reduce exposure to currency inflation, while still being able to participate in and gain value from a growing exchange network.
A community member said, “The aim of the project is to showcase how a digital regenerative currency can enable a joint effort that gives value to regeneration, results in restoration of ecological systems, preservation of biodiversity, and the restoration of cultural capital, all while providing a fair and sustainable living to local communities.”
This comes at a time when the central banks of China, US, Britain, the Euro zone, Japan, and Switzerland are joining forces to issuing central bank digital currency (CBDCs) in connection to compliance to vaccination protocols.
CBDCs are traditional money, but in digital form, issued and governed by a country’s central bank. By contrast, central bank currencies whether analog or digital are created out of debt, in which value is determined undemocratically by a handful of unelected individuals, distributed through trickle down economics, and plagued with artificial scarcity which creates an unsustainable imperative for endless growth on a finite planet. As people lose trust in business-as-usual centralized systems the transition towards alternative currencies which are fair, equitable, and 100% transparent is on the rise as people around the globe opt for decentralized models of cooperation and coordination.
As people receive more voice and value, the power structures that keep societies in a state of induced scarcity and under control become redundant.
The sharp decline in the use of cash and competition from corporate currencies, such as Facebook’s Libra, has also prompted sovereign communities around the world to adopt their own electronic currencies.
Customers have stated that making payments in Seeds is “as easy as sending a text.”
Sweden is the least cash-dependent country in the world, making it fertile ground for digital currencies adoption.
Only 1% of Swedish GDP existed in banknotes in 2018, Riksbank data shows, compared with 11% in the Eurozone, 8% in the United States and 4% in Britain.
Decentralized finance for a country with overall low population density like Sweden offers the prospect of a rural renaissance as access to structured finance becomes as easy as downloading an app. This enables the creation of a series of positive feedback loops gamed for growth, ecological regeneration, equality, and the creation of local food systems & resilient communities.
Multiple pilots started in the transition to 2021 and more are scheduled to begin in different regions of the Nordic country. Leveraging transparent blockchain technology to cultivate trust within and between networks of people and organizations, Seeds may well become the currency of choice for the Swedes.