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Young IB student starts a block chain company

Primary Years Programme (PYP) student in Thailand creates a ‘KID coin’, which incentivizes chores and encourages children to read.

Not many people can make sense of blockchain and cryptocurrency, but Primary Years Programme (PYP) student Kaede Takenaka has created her own blockchain start-up. With the help of her mother Laura, Kaede established KIDLetCoin, which enables children to earn ‘KID coins’ for chores or reaching new learning goals in reading and mathematics, allowing them to buy things online.

Blockchain technology enables the existence of cryptocurrency, which is a digital medium of monetary exchange, such as the US dollar. It uses encryption techniques to verify the transfer of funds.

“Technology is getting better and better and soon we won’t use physical or paper money any more.”

Kaede, a student at KIS International School in Bangkok, Thailand, was studying the PYP unit of inquiry about entrepreneurship, which required all students to start a business. She has always had a fascination for cryptocurrencies, and when she overheard Laura – who works for a Blockchain platform called NEM –  discussing how easy it is to make digital tokens,  KIDLetCoin was the perfect idea.

“Technology is getting better and better and soon we won’t use physical or paper money anymore. There shouldn’t be any barriers to who can access financial instruments. Plus, if we don’t use paper money, we can stop cutting trees and using water for the dye. Some trees will be saved,” says Kaede.

Kaede gave a presentation on cryptocurrencies to around one thousand delegates at the Techsauce Global Summit in Thailand. “I was nervous, but felt confident after a while to share what we have been doing. The room was so packed that they had to turn some people away.”

She says this project has encouraged her to be a risk-taker, caring and open minded. “I care that children can learn about blockchain and cryptocurrencies just like adults. They should, as it is our future and this technology will be soon be ours ” says Kaede. “I’m open minded because technology doesn’t scare me. I can spot new ways to use blockchain and cryptocurrencies to help children learn.”

Next, Kaede and Laura plan to establish an educational curriculum for children to learn and build on blockchain. “We really want to partner with schools that want to teach blockchain to their students, and show them that it is not that scary. There is a plan to work with some schools around the ASEAN region so stay tuned.”

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