Ulog: Looking for a Crypto-Powered Digital Red Envelope Or "Ang Pao" (利事)

Today is a lazy sunday afternoon and I have not yet started my daily crypto activities (Yes I do this even on Sundays) when I suddenly remembered something that I wanted to write about last year but I was not able to do so since I was too preoccupied making tutorials in Utopian.io. It was around the same time now when I thought of writing about an Idea that came to my mind, while was thinking of creative ways how we can spread cryptocurrency awareness: "Red Envelope" or what we call "Ang Pao." I was wondering if there is a digital version of this and set out to find out today and if these can be a viable use-case for cryptocurrencies.

Image Source

What are these "Red Envelopes" or "Ang Paos?"

Before setting out to find a digital version of "Ang Pao" or Red Envelope I think a short introduction of what it is is in order for the benefit of those who does not know. In our country the Philippines giving out Ang Pao has been a tradition by local citizens of Chinese descent during social gatherings, celebrations or other special events. It is meant to bring good luck or drive away bad spirits. My boyfriend who is of Chinese descent told me that while he loves getting the red envelopes from his parent, relatives and god-parents he never really gave it much thought and he sometimes get the Red Envelope during his birthdays when he was younger. His birthday is on February, perhaps he got it during Chinese New year. To put it simply these are meant to be gifts that will bring good luck.

When I was younger I used to receive "Ang Paos" from my Mom. My mom works as domestic worker in Hong Kong and she might have gotten the Idea from her employers there. During Chrismas and New Years we also give out Ang Paos to other people, apparently my mom believes that it would bring us good luck for the rest of the year. One thing for sure receiving Ang Paos gives a smile on the face of the receiver, well most of the time (Ang Paos are also given out during funerals according to wikipedia.

Where to find Digital Versions of Red Envelopes or "Ang Paos?"

According to wikipedia there are two applications that has digital version of " Ang Paos." One is integrated to the WeChat application and the other is from Alibaba which provided for a similar function to its messaging app. I have tried the WeChat version but it seems that the feature is limited to verified users fo WeChat. A Chinese friend of my boyfriend told me that it seems that for the time being only Chinese verified users are allowed to use this functionality. I cannot assess the Alibaba counterpart as I have not tried personally and no way of knowing if they allows this feature to international users.

Crypto-powered Red Envelopes "Ang Paos"

Here is a thought maybe some developer could create a "digital red envelope" of digital "Ang Pao." They can be creative in ways how they can implement this and would probably attract a sizeable market for this. According to Wikipedia several countries aside from China have a variant of this custom . Maybe this is a result of Chinese mainlanders immigrating to different countries such as The Philippines, Myanmar, Combodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and even South Korea and Japan. While the color of the envelopes are the different how they are used and when they are given follows the same concept as the original Red Envelopes.

Why Use Cryptos?

I think using a Crypto-powered "Ang pao" or Red Envelop makes a lot of sense. First cryptos are lot easier to move around worldwide than fiat money. Technological advancements in cryptocurrencies right now is enough to enable anyone in most part of the world to accept cryptocurrencies and more importantly, services readily available to convert them into local currencies. While some may argue that China has clamped down on cryptocurrencies there is a lot of ways to convert crypto in China using OTC or P2P services. They can also go through one of their territories where Cryptos is still allowed to transact like Hong Kong.

Second, cryptocurrencies are usually borderless meaning they carry the same kind of utility in all parts of the world where it is possible to use crypto as a medium of exchange. In simple terms it is considered money or currency where it is supported. For the first time in the world we have a world currency that is not particularly tied to any sovereign state where it can be use to subjugate or coerce other states to follow their agenda.This is why crypto is sometimes called the emancipation of money as it is a currency that it is very difficult to control by any single entity. This is the very essence of decentralization. With this characteristic I would like to view cryptos as universal currencies, of course we still have a long way to go before it can e achieved this but I honestly believe we are moving towards that path.

Third, it can be considered by the vast majority of consumers as something new or a novel way of giving or getting gifts (red envelopes in this case) and might stir up curiosity of people not into cryptos and make them explore it. The notion of discovering something novel or new got me started with cryptocurrencies. It started with a simple curiosity to understand what is it. The more I learn about it the more I am hooked with the idea of cryptocurrency and its technological underpinnings blockchain. This is very important as learning crypto has a bit of a learning curve therefore it is important to make them very curious and interested and to encourage them to discover what is all the fuzz about cryptos.

lastly, I think there is no developer in the crypto space that is really looking into this very specific use-case. This is an opportunity to integrate cryptocurrencies into long held beliefs and customs in many Asian countries. I believe that by slowly introducing these types of use-cases we can slowly create awareness as well as demand for this burgeoning asset class.

So what do you think guys is a digital Red Envelope something worth looking into? Do you think it is a a very good use-case and promotional material for crypto projects that wants to penetrate the Asian market? I sure do think so.

---

Please support one of the best witnesses out there- @surpassinggoogle founder of Ulogs, Steemgigs and Teardrops SMT. You can vote directly by clicking on the link below.