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Tellus Cooperative offers web3 products on the Stellar Blockchain to help connect Latin America with inclusive and sustainable banking. We are using the Stellar Consensus Protocol’s (SCP) decentralized features to enhance local networks of small businesses. Tellus is building a bridge between decentralized finance (DeFi) and sustainable products and programs for its users. Different from other companies, we define ourselves as a “DAO-first” organization. Connecting the benefits of private enterprise to achieve Stellar blockchain adoption, with the cooperative and open-source nature of a decentralized organization. We are motivated by the opportunity to offer a democratic platform for users to channel their needs for a more inclusive economy. As a team, we are working on different projects that will help with the every-day incorporation of cryptocurrency services such as a mobile wallet, a web app voting platform, and an open-source Point of Sale terminal to incentivize people to run their Stellar nodes and connect the customer with new opportunities.
Mission
To foster the adoption of blockchain technology in Chile and Latin America through sustainability and democracy.
Vision
Create a platform for democratic participation that incentivices innovation through cooperation between small businesses, workers, cooperatives, and non-profits.
Communication and community building are essential for an interconnected economy. Our community DAO creates a comprehensive platform for organization, ideation, and discussion. We provide a space for users and developers alike to create industry standards for a sustainable economy. To create inclusive decentralized finance solutions for people, we believe is necessary to incorporate users’ input proactively into the decision-making process. Through this DAO, we will connect people to programs aiming to help meet basic needs in Latin America, increase the use of sustainable technologies and practices, and boost local economies through the use of anchored assets.
Our DAO:
We envision a governance workflow that starts in our official social platforms, as they formalize through the DAO with the following structure:
We use an alphanumeric 4-asset governance token called COOP to cast votes in the Stellar blockchain. Proposals are made available for voting for a limited period. These votes are then categorized, counted, and filtered by fetching their predetermined transaction memos and pin-pointing different accounts related to the proposal. Our design is non-custodial, meaning that the user's keys are always being handled by third-party wallets. Currently, we support Albedo. But we are in the process of incorporating other wallet extensions and our own NFC Card reader.
Chile is in dire need of a wallet for the unbanked and a safe pathway to decentralized finance. Cryptocurrency adoption in Chile is one of the lowest in Latin America. We want to increase cryptocurrency adoption while incentivizing users to participate in their local economies and sustainable programs.
Core Wallet is a secure mobile app for Chile, aimed to provide an on-off ramp for anchored assets and a simple non-custodial Stellar wallet using NFC technology and third-party integrations. We want to make it easier for people to acquire savings accounts and protect their money from inflation. Core Wallet will use NFC technology to encrypt and store private keys while providing the user with the flexibility to import credentials, connect with hardware wallets, and make payments with just a tap.
To achieve this we are building an application that follows the Stellar Ecosystem Proposals (SEPs) for compliant KYC, wallet authentication, and deposits and withdrawals. At the same time, this will ease the communications between our application and the Stellar Blockchain. Our application currently uses Albedo for third-party wallet authentication and the tangem-sdk for NFC key storage.
We are designing an open source and affordable device to connect businesses and customers in real life scenarios. The Coop Node will work similarly to a Point of Sale (PoS) device and will have the technological infrastructure that will allow users to claim reward loyalty tokens through a mobile app using NFC cards or simply by scanning a QR code.
This projects aims to create a cryptocurrency standard to replace coupons and loyalty points, given that these are usually restrictive in nature. A device like this creates the opportunity for any business to reward their customers, implement their own Stellar-based payment gateways, and run their own nodes; allowing interoperability between FIAT and crypto with a use-case scenario widely known by consumers.
Our device is built with:
We are currently using the Stellar Python SDK, AWS serverless, and Kivy for a GUI. As we continue with this project, we are excited to evaluate the incorporation of Rust and Soroban to our software.
Stellar has been an opportunity for our team to learn and grow. Our project has worked solely thanks to the effort of our team. Since our last application we have:
1. Launch our Community Vote Web app (cooperate.telluscoop.com) in the mainnet and pass our first set of on-chain Community Governance Proposals (CGPs) by the end of Q4 2022.
2. Launch Core Wallet in Chile with the MoneyGram third-party extension by the end of Q1 2023.
3. Launch open source documentation for our CoopNode hardware build and smart-contract software by the end of Q2 2023
Find our long-term evaluation as well as our budget breakdown here.
Tellus Cooperative was founded in 2019 to bridge the need for a democratic and sustainable economy using blockchain. Our goals are not motivated by profit, instead, we aim to make finance more inclusive and shift consumer demand towards sustainable goods and services. We have the goal to become the first cooperative of savings and credit using blockchain in Chile to bank the unbanked and educate people on the benefits of participatory democracy and cooperative game theory.
Bastian Alexander Koh (Punkrockerkoh#5660)
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Passionate and committed to innovation, environmental justice, and sustainable development. Experienced Program Manager, UX/UI designer, blockchain enthusiast, self-taught python developer, and aspiring Economist.
Nathan Schmidt (Nate_d3v#8978)
Chief Technological Officer
Industrial engineer turned self-taught developer. Experienced team leader with a firm belief that blockchain will change the course of human history and committed to increasing its adoption in Latin America.
Francisco Vasquez (Pancho#6890)
Chief Financial Officer and Mentor
Civic Engineer in Mining with a Masters's Degree in Finance, with solid career experience in venture evaluation, projective analysis, and entrepreneur coaching.
Nicolás Ortiz (N0rt1z#5381)
Chief Operations Officer
Robotic Process Automation Developer (Kofax-Uipath-Jarvee). Extensive experience in insurance companies analysis and operational processes. Knowledge in software development and industrial civic engineering student
Sofía Borquez (Sofiabv#9163)
Chief Marketing Officer
Designer graduate and social media specialist with a passion for UI design and grassroots marketing. Lover of nature and mindfulness, especially biking Santiago’s hilled landscape.
The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on December 5, 2022 as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on July 5th as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
**The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on December 16, 2021 as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
*The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on September 27, 2021 as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
* The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on the date of transfer as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
*This budget request has not been fully awarded to the project. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
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