The days are counting down to the 1st November, when Ribbit.me is set to begin their Global Airdrop of 200,000,000 RibbitRewards™, with a Bonus Drop auction to follow. They are the first of their kind, a rewards program utilizing blockchain technology, backed by their own marketplace. The founding partners have a clear and well defined idea prior to launch, and they are set to hit the market with a bang.
When Gregory Simon met Sean Dennis, who would have known they would soon embark on such a unique project. Sean Dennis facilitated Gregory Simon’s Bitcoin purchase of 0.3 acres of land in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, and later introduced Levi Barker. Given the nature of the purchase, Bitcoin became a hot topic. Discussions over time, between the three soon to be founding partners, set the wheels in motion for what is now Ribbit.me.
The North American Loyalty market is estimated at a whopping $54 billion USD and is growing by 20% each year. These rewards programs are purposed for roping in and keeping customers. As a result the average household in the U.S. has 22 loyalty memberships. These high figures are certainly something to chew on and need a little disruption.
By incorporating bitcoin technology, such figures could be brought down significantly.
“It [RibbitRewards] doesn’t cost the provider any money, it doesn’t cost any party anywhere anything. Both buyer and seller get paid, so it doesn't cost the merchant anything, the merchant will actually get paid as well as part of the reward.” – Sean Dennis, CEO and co-founder Ribbit.me
This is a massive incentive for these large companies, collectively spending billions, to come on board. As a result the potential for wide scale adoption is apparent and without requiring a deep understanding of blockchain technology.
“Get paid to buy, sell and give with RibbitRewards (patent pending) the world’s cash back rewards program. It lets you earn while you spend!”
Ribbit.me
In order to attract these companies, the founding partners decided that Proof Of Identity (POI) would be required. Although some may view this as contrary to the Bitcoin protocol, it must be remembered that Ribbit.me is a reward program aiming to attract everyday shoppers globally.
“Bitcoin is great and we love it. But Bitcoin faces the challenge of requiring people to change their behaviour, i.e., the person has to go shopping using Bitcoin instead of dollars [...] Getting people to change their behaviour is difficult, especially when it comes to trusting a new currency.” Gregory Simon, CFO and co-founder of Ribbit.me
The POI is facilitated via social networks. Dennis advises that when a new user signs up for a passport (wallet) on Ribbit.me they will be required to link their passport to their social networks to verify their identity. The term ‘passport’ was selected for this very reason. It can be viewed as the ID for exploring the Ribbit.me world rather than just a wallet.
With the anticipation of rapid growth, the founding partners want to ensure that people earning RibbitRewards™ immediately have a market to spend them on. “That is why we are building our own marketplace, RibbitRewards Marketplace™. Here, individual people or merchants can buy and sell new and used goods, offer services or give to charity in RibbitRewards™, Bitcoin, alt-coins, or fiat.” – Simon.
The RibbitRewards Marketplace™sounds similar to the concept of Amazon or ebay, but with some key differences:
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Their marketplace will have the capacity to accept more fiat and digital currencies than any other marketplace in the world.
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It operates using blockchain technology and is 100% built by the Ribbit team, to facilitate the required POI.
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5% of every purchase goes to charities chosen by community consensus, whilst ensuring the donations are significant enough to make a difference.
Dennis comments on the last point saying, “I like the fact that it takes one of the most selfish acts in the world of buying yourself something and turns it into charity.”
That’s not all that’s charitable about Ribbit.me either. The 200,000,000 Global Airdrop of RibbitRewards™ is free. The Ribbit.me team believe in the utility and future value of RibbitRewards and want their customers to also gain financially alongside them. “This way, if the value goes up we gain together. Our success is tied to the RibbitRewards success, the way it should be.” Ribbit.Me
The 200,000,000 RibbitRewards™ will be spread evenly amongst all who sign up. For those that want to get their hand on a few more, there are two options. Notify friends on social networks and for each referral an additional 10% will be added to your passport.
The second is the Bonus Airdrop auctions of an additional 200,000,000 rewards. Ribbit.me will have the ability to accept payments from auction winners in a variety of means. “We have partnered with Paypal to allow people to bid with fiat currency and credit cards using their existing Paypal account, and Zipzap Inc to allow people to bid with cash or bank transfer. Of course they will be able to bid with Bitcoin and other digital currencies too, most likely the top ten or so digital currencies by marketcap.” – Simon
So all this considered, one must wonder how Ribbit.me intends to make any profit on such a lofty business idea. The founding partners believe so strongly in their product, they decided their profits will come from receiving small amounts of RibbitRewards™ that generate over time. “If people value our rewards program, we benefit. This is a strong incentive for us to build a rewards program that people value!” – Simon
Could Ribbit.me be the next BigDoor, which powers the rewards programs of companies such as Starbucks and the NFL? With their altruistic attitude and diversity, here’s hoping so.
B.Holmes, author of The Range of Illusion and The Private Key instalments, is currently located in Thailand, researching and writing about crypto. You can follow B.Holmes on twitter @BanteringB, or contact via email: [email protected]
[UPDATE, 9th October]
Ribbit.me announces Dr. Michael Frank and Beverly K. Thorne have joined their Advisory Board.
“Dr. Frank’s interest in digital currencies goes back 20 years and more recently his focus has turned to developing novel blockchain applications,” said Sean Dennis, Ribbit.me CEO. “Given his technological expertise and academic credentials, I’m confident he will make enormous contributions to Ribbit.me as we prepare to launch our RibbitRewards program and marketplace this quarter.” Frank is an instructor at Florida State University and holds a B.S. from Stanford and a Ph.D. from MIT.
With more than 25 years of experience transforming companies into industry leaders, Thorne is an icon in the marketing profession globally. She most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer at Century 21 Real Estate and holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
“We are very eager to leverage Bev’s competitive intelligence and analytical skills to help us meet our aggressive customer acquisition goals,” said Dennis. “As a new company, we are also counting on her to help guide us in building brand equity and awareness at a rapid pace in a very competitive environment. Our team has a great working relationship with Bev and we look forward to adding her to our world-class Advisory Board.”