• Login
RIPESS Europe
  • fr Français
  • es Español
  • en English
  • Home
  • About us
    • History
    • Vision
    • Goals
    • RIPESS Charter
    • Manifesto
  • Governance
    • Network of Members
    • How to become a member
      • Membership fee payment
    • Coordination Committee
    • Scientific Committee
    • RIPESS Intercontinental Board
    • Rules and Regulations
    • Articles of the Association
    • Privacy Policy
  • Activities
    • General Assemblies
      • 1st GA – Barcelona 2011
        • Presentation
        • Media and Documents
      • 2nd GA – Lille 2013
        • Presentation
        • Media and Documents
      • 3rd GA – Villarceaux 2014
        • Presentation
        • Media and Documents
      • 4th GA – Berlin 2015
        • Presentation
        • Media and Documents
      • 5th GA – Villarceaux 2016
        • Online registration
        • How to get to La Bergerie
        • GA 2016: Programme
        • GA2016: Documentation and results
        • GA 2016 Workshops
          • W1: Inter-cooperation and co-construction
          • W2: Rethinking the economy
          • W3: Impact & social audit
          • W4: Panorama on SSE in Europe
          • W5: Solidarity Economy, Agroecology and Food Sovereignty
          • W6: European public policies and SSE
      • 6th GA – Athens 2017
        • Online Registration
        • Agenda of 6th General Assembly
        • Forum to prepare GA Athens 2017
      • 7th GA – Zagreb 2018
        • Agenda of the 7th General Assembly
      • 8th GA – Lyon 2019
        • Online registration
        • Agenda GA 2019 – Lyon
          • Cities and SSE: policies and practices to transform the economy
        • GA 2019 Documents
      • 9th GA – Online 2020
        • GA 2020 Online registration
        • Agenda GA 2020
        • GA2020 – Documents
    • Working Areas and Projects
      • BUSSE – Building Up SSE
      • SSE VET 2
      • IVET AND SSE
    • Webinars: Public policies and SSE
    • Meetings
      • EFSSE 2016 (European Forum on Social and Solidarity Economy)
    • Activity Reports
  • Networking
    • 2020 thematic groups, our members collaborate !
    • Alternative Media and SSE
      • 2nd Independent media & SSE Meeting (Feb 2018)
        • 2nd Independant media and SSE Meeting Agenda
      • Alternative media network participants
      • Alternative media mapping
    • Panorama of SSE in Europe
      • Survey: Panorama on Social Solidarity Economy in Europe
      • History of the Panorama of SSE in Europe
    • Mapping
    • Forums
    • Working Groups
  • News
    • Solidarity and pandemic crisis
      • France
      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Switzerland
      • Italy
      • Greece
      • Poland
      • International
    • SSE European Agenda
    • Latest news
    • Newsletters
      • Subscribe
  • WSFTE
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Socioeco.org, the resource website on SSE
    • Resource documents
    • Sitography
    • Videos
    • Photos
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About us
    • History
    • Vision
    • Goals
    • RIPESS Charter
    • Manifesto
  • Governance
    • Network of Members
    • How to become a member
      • Membership fee payment
    • Coordination Committee
    • Scientific Committee
    • RIPESS Intercontinental Board
    • Rules and Regulations
    • Articles of the Association
    • Privacy Policy
  • Activities
    • General Assemblies
      • 1st GA – Barcelona 2011
        • Presentation
        • Media and Documents
      • 2nd GA – Lille 2013
        • Presentation
        • Media and Documents
      • 3rd GA – Villarceaux 2014
        • Presentation
        • Media and Documents
      • 4th GA – Berlin 2015
        • Presentation
        • Media and Documents
      • 5th GA – Villarceaux 2016
        • Online registration
        • How to get to La Bergerie
        • GA 2016: Programme
        • GA2016: Documentation and results
        • GA 2016 Workshops
          • W1: Inter-cooperation and co-construction
          • W2: Rethinking the economy
          • W3: Impact & social audit
          • W4: Panorama on SSE in Europe
          • W5: Solidarity Economy, Agroecology and Food Sovereignty
          • W6: European public policies and SSE
      • 6th GA – Athens 2017
        • Online Registration
        • Agenda of 6th General Assembly
        • Forum to prepare GA Athens 2017
      • 7th GA – Zagreb 2018
        • Agenda of the 7th General Assembly
      • 8th GA – Lyon 2019
        • Online registration
        • Agenda GA 2019 – Lyon
          • Cities and SSE: policies and practices to transform the economy
        • GA 2019 Documents
      • 9th GA – Online 2020
        • GA 2020 Online registration
        • Agenda GA 2020
        • GA2020 – Documents
    • Working Areas and Projects
      • BUSSE – Building Up SSE
      • SSE VET 2
      • IVET AND SSE
    • Webinars: Public policies and SSE
    • Meetings
      • EFSSE 2016 (European Forum on Social and Solidarity Economy)
    • Activity Reports
  • Networking
    • 2020 thematic groups, our members collaborate !
    • Alternative Media and SSE
      • 2nd Independent media & SSE Meeting (Feb 2018)
        • 2nd Independant media and SSE Meeting Agenda
      • Alternative media network participants
      • Alternative media mapping
    • Panorama of SSE in Europe
      • Survey: Panorama on Social Solidarity Economy in Europe
      • History of the Panorama of SSE in Europe
    • Mapping
    • Forums
    • Working Groups
  • News
    • Solidarity and pandemic crisis
      • France
      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Switzerland
      • Italy
      • Greece
      • Poland
      • International
    • SSE European Agenda
    • Latest news
    • Newsletters
      • Subscribe
  • WSFTE
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Socioeco.org, the resource website on SSE
    • Resource documents
    • Sitography
    • Videos
    • Photos
No Result
View All Result
RIPESS Europe
No Result
View All Result
Home News

E-leman: a local blockchain currency in Switzerland and beyond

by
16/10/2018
in News
0
E-leman: a local blockchain currency in Switzerland and beyond

[By Jean Rossiaud, Chambre de l’ESS de Géneve]

The Leman is the local currency of the economic life basin that develops around the Geneva Lake (called Lac léman in French), the largest lake in Europe, crossed from end to end by a border. Geneva is at the end of the lake, and the canton of Geneva shares 90% of its border with France (Haute-Savoie and Ain) and 10% with Switzerland (Canton de Vaud).

The Leman currency is complementary to both the euro and the Swiss franc, on which it is based. The currency was launched in Geneva in September 2015, after 4 years of reflection within a group of about 50 people, composed of Swiss and French residents. A little over 3 years after its launch, 560 companies and businesses and several thousand consumers used the Leman. With the switch to electronic money almost a year ago, the leman is giving itself the opportunity to significantly increase its “payments community”.

The Leman stands out in several ways from other local citizen currencies. First of all, its local and cross-border nature makes it practically a rarity on the planet. Secondly, the fact that it combines paper and electronic cryptocurrency (under blockchain technology) also makes it unique. The new Leman banknotes are all loaded on the blockchain, they all carry a QR-code that allows users to check the validity and cash value of the banknote by scanning it. The π-léman (value 3.14 Leman) and the 1 Leman note, easily split into two 50 cts denominations of Leman, are also innovations.

In addition, the Leman is one of the very few complementary currencies to value the combination of pledge (for the BtoC) and mutual credit (for the BtoB), by stimulating the payment of a portion of salaries in Lemans. Finally, it is part of the trans-localist movement, which advocates the ecological and social transition (it is based on an ethical charter for the continuous improvement of business practices) from the local to the global level, by systematically building international networks in a collaborative spirit (peer-to-peer).

Although there are thousands of complementary currencies around the world, the Leman has an originality: it was created in Geneva, Switzerland, in one of the historic centres of globalized finance. The Chamber of the Social and Solidarity Economy of Geneva (APRES-GE), a member of RIPESS Europe, has had and still has a key role in the establishment and development of the local currency. The Leman Charter was inspired by the APRES-GE Charter, and the founding and key companies of the Chamber are very involved in it. In return, the Leman is a perfect tool for APRES-Ge, for three reasons: it makes it possible to increase trade between the Chamber’s businesses, strengthening each of them and the network as a whole; since it is not reserved for the Chamber, it also makes it possible to open the network to non-member companies that share the same ethics; finally, as it is cross-border, the Leman opens the network to a wider economic area than the Geneva area.

Since its introduction in September 2015, the Leman currency has been working to strengthen the economic fabric of the region, by creating and enhancing economic links between professionals, as well as between consumers and businesses, united around its values. The Leman has undergone geographical expansion, with the creation of around ten local groups in the Lake Leman region, but also a diversification of the economic fabric: it is now possible to access with the Leman to a wide range of goods and services, spread over some twenty sectors of activity, visible on our geo-referenced map.

The growth in the number of members is to be compared with the densification of the network. Even if the circulation is not yet very satisfactory, the professionals of the lake have less and less difficulty in finding ways to reinject the received Lemans. The increase in the volume of trade is also noteworthy. With more than 165,000 Lemans currently in circulation, we are seeing a continuously growing money supply. With their QR-codes, the new banknotes allow traceability, and the blockchain makes it possible to better estimate the speed of circulation, which is the indicator of local wealth production.

Strengthening links with public authorities is a priority. Three cities already officially support the Leman currency and accept it as a means of payment (the mayor accepts it as a percentage of his salary). Others will join them soon. At the same time, the association is mandated by local authorities to strengthen the municipal economic fabric through the development of the local currency on the territory. Finally, it is necessary to testify to the media coverage and notoriety of the Leman since its launch: while the currency was welcomed with a certain distrust in the beginning, it has now become rare that a person does not yet know this currency in Geneva and more and more professionals are inclined to join the network. The release of the film “Demain” a few months after the launch of the lake gave a second boost, allowing the local currency to circulate beyond the circle of the first convinced. The arrival of Rob Hopkins, founder and facilitator of the Network Transition Towns, for the launch of the electronic Leman in March 2017, gave a new impetus. It was awarded the Geneva Bourse for Sustainable Development in 2017 and is one of the experiences highlighted in the film Demain-Geneva.

We estimated that volunteer investment in all business and technology activities, both locally/regionally and in international networks, amounted to approximately CHF 1.2 million (€1.1 million). The current objective is to “stabilize” a team of IT and commercial developers who, until now, have worked in a very innovative way, completely on a voluntary basis.

The Biletujo electronic wallet (wallet inEsperanto ) is a crypto-currency based on our specific blockchain, ComChain (for “blockchain of commons”), based on ethereum technology, (but without the use of the “ether” currency); it is non-speculative (mining is unpaid) and therefore very low in energy consumption, which distinguishes it from almost all other crypto-currencies. It is open, in a spirit of collaboration and consortium, to all complementary currencies that would like to benefit from this technology while collaborating in the extension and resilience of the network.

In this newsletter, I propose that we open a “local currency” section, dedicated to explaining the advantages and challenges of this tool in the service of the social and solidarity economy and the issues that arise both locally and internationally in its development. Your comments and questions will guide the content of future articles.

* B2C or BtoC: relationship between a Business and its Customers
** B2B or BtoB: relationship between companies (from Business to Business)

This post is also available in / aussi en: French Spanish

Tags: 1018-ENblockchaincomplementary currencieslocal currency
Previous Post

WSF of Transformative economies 2019-2020: update about the process

Next Post

Russia: in Saint Petersburg, building solidarities with local initiatives

Next Post
Saint Petersburg

Russia: in Saint Petersburg, building solidarities with local initiatives

Join the agenda of Transformative Economies !

World Social Forum of Transformative Economies

RIPESS EU on FB

European Agenda

Solidarity Economy events in Europe

iCalRSSSubscribe

Receive new events notifications in your email.

Thanks for subscribing.
All fields are required.
04/03/2021
...
  • iCal
All Day

What Next Summit

Online meeting
Webinar

The What Next? Summit will build community power across the UK by bringing together hundreds of community activists already making change happen, so together we can have a bigger impact. It will be a space to empower us to create our own future, tap into our imagination, make new connections and share knowledge to build a stronger movement. Hosted by Transition Network and CTRLShift the summit will run from 3rd-20th of March, to enable people to dip in and out as they wish and to make space for learning, reflection, the building of relationships and concrete pathways of action. More information : https://transition-bounceforward.org/what-next-summit/
Read More
28/01/2021
...
  • iCal
28/01/2021 to 11/03/2021All working days 12:00 am UTC+1

3rd Sustainable Food Conference (France)

Webinar

Welcome to the 3rd Sustainable Food Conference! Created to encourage the sharing of experiences and inspiring initiatives, the Meetings will this year have the particular objective of strengthening the actions and collaborations of the actors who cultivate the next world. In the difficult context of the crises we are going through, it is urgent that we organize ourselves collectively to accelerate transitions towards sustainable, just and resilient food systems.

More info: https://rencontres-alimentation-durable.fr/le-programme/

Read More
05/03/2021
...
  • iCal
All Day

What Next Summit

Online meeting
Webinar

The What Next? Summit will build community power across the UK by bringing together hundreds of community activists already making change happen, so together we can have a bigger impact. It will be a space to empower us to create our own future, tap into our imagination, make new connections and share knowledge to build a stronger movement. Hosted by Transition Network and CTRLShift the summit will run from 3rd-20th of March, to enable people to dip in and out as they wish and to make space for learning, reflection, the building of relationships and concrete pathways of action. More information : https://transition-bounceforward.org/what-next-summit/
Read More
06/03/2021
...
  • iCal
All Day

What Next Summit

Online meeting
Webinar

The What Next? Summit will build community power across the UK by bringing together hundreds of community activists already making change happen, so together we can have a bigger impact. It will be a space to empower us to create our own future, tap into our imagination, make new connections and share knowledge to build a stronger movement. Hosted by Transition Network and CTRLShift the summit will run from 3rd-20th of March, to enable people to dip in and out as they wish and to make space for learning, reflection, the building of relationships and concrete pathways of action. More information : https://transition-bounceforward.org/what-next-summit/
Read More

RSS RIPESS Intercontinental

  • SSE as an alternative model of development according to the UN 26/02/2021
  • Pathways to Asia’s Transformative & Solidarity Economy through ASEAN People’s Forum 2020 05/02/2021

RSS Socioeco news

  • L’ESS entre développement social et développement durable. L’exemple de la métropole grenobloise. 02/03/2021
  • Ressourc’ESS : le Portail de l’économie sociale et solidaire à l’école 02/03/2021

Ressources

Facebook Twitter

Copyleft 2020 Solidarity Economy Europe

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About us
    • History
    • Vision
    • Goals
    • RIPESS Charter
    • Manifesto
  • Governance
    • Network of Members
    • How to become a member
      • Membership fee payment
    • Coordination Committee
    • Scientific Committee
    • RIPESS Intercontinental Board
    • Rules and Regulations
    • Articles of the Association
    • Privacy Policy
  • Activities
    • General Assemblies
      • 1st GA – Barcelona 2011
      • 2nd GA – Lille 2013
      • 3rd GA – Villarceaux 2014
      • 4th GA – Berlin 2015
      • 5th GA – Villarceaux 2016
      • 6th GA – Athens 2017
      • 7th GA – Zagreb 2018
      • 8th GA – Lyon 2019
      • 9th GA – Online 2020
    • Working Areas and Projects
      • BUSSE – Building Up SSE
      • SSE VET 2
      • IVET AND SSE
    • Webinars: Public policies and SSE
    • Meetings
      • EFSSE 2016 (European Forum on Social and Solidarity Economy)
    • Activity Reports
  • Networking
    • 2020 thematic groups, our members collaborate !
    • Alternative Media and SSE
      • 2nd Independent media & SSE Meeting (Feb 2018)
      • Alternative media network participants
      • Alternative media mapping
    • Panorama of SSE in Europe
      • Survey: Panorama on Social Solidarity Economy in Europe
      • History of the Panorama of SSE in Europe
    • Mapping
    • Forums
    • Working Groups
  • News
    • Solidarity and pandemic crisis
      • France
      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Switzerland
      • Italy
      • Greece
      • Poland
      • International
    • SSE European Agenda
    • Latest news
    • Newsletters
      • Subscribe
  • WSFTE
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Socioeco.org, the resource website on SSE
    • Resource documents
    • Sitography
    • Videos
    • Photos

Copyleft 2020 Solidarity Economy Europe

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
7ads6x98y
  • English
  • Français (French)
  • Español (Spanish)

Insert/edit link

Enter the destination URL

Or link to existing content

    No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item.

      Multilingual WordPress with WPML

      Skip to toolbar
      • About WordPress
        • About WordPress
        • WordPress.org
        • Documentation
        • Support
        • Feedback
      • Log In