BiFroest

Over recent years, cash transfer programming (CTP) has increasingly become the chosen method of aid delivery within the humanitarian sector. In 2016 alone, it has been estimated that $2.8bn was disbursed through cash and vouchers.

The term “cash transfer programming” describes all the various mechanisms of cash transfers, including cash-for-work and vouchers, used to implement programs. While cash transfer is a methodology used to achieve program goals – not a program aim itself – the term “cash transfer programming” has been widely adopted as the overall description for any use of these mechanisms in field programs.

Since the advent of Bitcoin in 2008, social innovators have striven to leverage cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies to develop faster, cheaper remittances, new solutions in micro-finance, and a whole host of CTP solutions. However, there is little unity across the social sector to scale these solutions in real experiments and best determine which can affect the most positive change.

The Bifröst Initiative, initially developed by ConsenSys Social Impact, MakerDao, and Dether, is a nonprofit consortium of blockchain companies and NGOs seeking to affect positive change in the evolution of cash transfer programming by using cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The initiative works across blockchain ecosystems and is always open to partnership and grant inquiries.