SBIR Phase II: International Blockchain-Backed Financial Transactions in Low-Bandwidth Environments

SBIR 第二阶段：低带宽环境中国际区块链支持的金融交易

• 批准号: 2112021
• 负责人: Nathaniel Robinson
• 金额: $ 85.54万
• 依托单位: LEAF GLOBAL FINTECH CORPORATION
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-02-01 至 2024-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2112021&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; International; Blockchain

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to facilitate access to banking services through use of blockchain/distributed ledger technology, even with limited internet access. The proposed technology can make transfers more affordable and convenient. Digitizing transfers increases speed, reduces exchange and transfer fees, and lowers the risk associated with carrying cash.  This proposed technology enables access for the 13 million people currently underserved by the financial industry. If successful, this technology could improve efficiency and resilience of transfers worldwide. The project's anticipated results include 60% cost reduction compared to traditional transfer systems, 30 second transaction completions, and an anticipated 0% fraud rate.This SBIR Phase II project proposes to research and develop a blockchain-based solution to store, send, and make transfers without a smartphone or internet. The proposed core technology includes a blockchain back-end that powers an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) front-end, allowing mobile devices to securely send and receive data without an internet connection. This project’s intellectual merit lies in (1) developing the first-of-its-kind blockchain-based system for international transactions with access even in low bandwidth/no bandwidth environments; (2) creating a digital identity protocol that is distributed, accessible offline, and usable by any entity without exposing personally identifiable information (PII); and (3) developing the first machine learning-based microlending algorithms using offline behaviors to predict, prompt, and automate actions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这一小企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是通过使用区块链/分布式分类账技术促进对银行服务的访问，即使互联网接入有限。拟议的技术可以使转移更负担得起和更方便。数字化转账提高了速度，减少了兑换和转账费用，并降低了与携带现金相关的风险。*这项拟议的技术使目前金融业服务不足的1300万人能够获得服务。如果成功，这项技术可以提高全球转移的效率和弹性。该项目的预期结果包括与传统的传输系统相比降低60%的成本，30秒的交易完成，以及预期的0%的欺诈率。这个SBIR第二阶段项目建议研究和开发一个基于区块链的解决方案，在没有智能手机或互联网的情况下存储、发送和进行传输。拟议的核心技术包括一个区块链后端，为非结构化补充服务数据(USSD)前端提供动力，允许移动设备在没有互联网连接的情况下安全地发送和接收数据。该项目的智力价值在于(1)开发了首个基于区块链的系统，即使在低带宽/无带宽环境下也可以访问国际交易；(2)创建了一个数字身份协议，该协议可以分发、离线访问，任何实体都可以使用，而不会暴露个人身份信息(PII)；以及(3)开发了第一个基于机器学习的小额贷款算法，使用离线行为来预测、提示和自动化行动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。