Can Blockchain Curb the Growing Health Crisis?

The world is in a state of medical turmoil. The population is amid an ongoing pandemic, navigating through yet another dangerous disease, global obesity forecasts have reached astronomical highs, and the world is falling into a recession – likely to affect people’s health and well-being. It is fair to say that we have entered a health crisis. It is hard to have a positive outlook on the world when these problems have become so ever-present. 

With the global struggle to keep people alive and well getting harder and harder, many industries have begun redirecting their efforts to offer solutions. One of those industries is the blockchain sector. Within the last couple of years, there have been several fascinating developments in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency technology, some of which have been built specifically to aid the globe in its most petrifying crisis. Here are two fascinating areas in this industry that are helping to ease this struggle. 

Research DAOs

Decentralized science (or DeSci) is an area in the web3 space focused on managing scientific tools and projects from a decentralized setting. Usually, scientific research is handled behind closed doors, with the public waiting a long time before results are published and released. DeSci aims to change this by offering more open and transparent methods of handling scientific data.

One particular aspect of the DeSci space is that it allows global communities to vote on what type of research they want to conduct and help fund that research themselves. This happens through the use of DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) that are set up expressly to give the public a voice, ensuring that scientific research is handled by the people to whom it matters most. 

One project leading the charge on this is The Science DAO– the idea behind it is to ensure the public can choose which scientific ideas should get precedence and funding. In a time when the global state of health is collapsing, projects like this are critical as they ensure that research is directed to the most pressing of matters. DAOs like this allow medical research to be treated as paramount as they are in the public interest. 

Fitness Incentive Projects

Another significant development is the emergence of financially backed fitness incentives. These are blockchain-based projects that give people monetary rewards for working out. They are known as move-to-earn programs and have gained significant traction in the health and web3 sectors. They encourage people to exercise by giving them cryptocurrency-based returns, connecting their desire to improve health with the satisfaction of earning money alongside.

This is precisely what FitBurn is doing; a cutting-edge web3 organization that incentivizes people to lose weight by providing earnings relative to the number of calories they have lost through working out. Users earn CAL, the native cryptocurrency token for FitBurn, for every calorie they have burned, encouraging cardio-style activity. For instance, if participants go on a 20-minute walk, they will burn around 100 calories. They will simultaneously be rewarded in CAL tokens for every calorie burnt, which can then be traded for legal tender, or spent at shops that accept crypto.

Projects like this have the potential to improve heart health, decrease risks of respiratory complications, lower global obesity rates, and even offer financial help to those suffering through the recession. These projects are changing the fitness industry and are poised to alter the entire health sector, offering some solace to our current crisis. 

A Technological Saving Grace

People who think of blockchain technology usually envision an offshoot of the FinTech sphere. But blockchain tech is far more versatile than that. This is not just an industry for investors; it also can offer world-changing help. For example, funding, research aid, and financial fitness incentives are the perfect tools for the current health crisis. 

The ideas and projects discussed here only scratch the surface of what can be done. Just as tech helped develop our COVID vaccines, blockchain tech will help re-stabilize our globe through its health-related developments. Expect other tools and protocols of this nature to gain traction in the future as more and more developers and programmers turn their efforts toward medicine and well-being. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.