AI Summary:
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Renaming and Restructuring: The Trump administration plans to rename the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as the US International Humanitarian Assistance (IHA) and place it under the Secretary of State.
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Use of Blockchain: A memo suggests leveraging blockchain technology in USAID’s procurement process, aiming to enhance security, transparency, and traceability in aid distribution.
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Criticisms of Blockchain Use:
- Experts argue blockchain often doesn’t offer significant advantages over existing tools for humanitarian work.
- Concerns exist about added burdens and costs for small NGOs using new systems.
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Examples of Blockchain in Humanitarian Efforts:
- Past projects, such as UNHCR’s pilot for cash assistance in stablecoins, showed some success.
- Critics note limited large-scale use in the sector and question its necessity.
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Budget and Operational Changes: The proposal emphasizes tying funding to outcomes and results, prompting debates about its feasibility and fairness in dynamic environments like disaster zones.
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Broader Context: The plan follows prior workforce cuts and criticisms of inefficiency within USAID, drawing mixed reactions from staff and experts.
What if critical suppliers aren’t accepting their crypto coin, or can they force everyone to accept it?
If you want humanitarian aid or be a government supplier, you’ll probably accept it. But I imagine it’d need to be something like USDC
I don’t expect to see the government paying aid recipients or suppliers with ethereum or something similar directly.
You can still get all the blockchain tracking and smart contract stuff with USDC.