Know The Coin: Dentacoin's Co-Founder and Core Developer Jeremias Grenzebach
Hey there, and welcome to another episode of ChangeNOW’s Know The Coin! Today’s guest is Jeremias Grenzebach, the Co-Founder and Lead Developer of the Dentacoin Foundation, the first and only blockchain solution for the global dental industry!
Elevator pitch. ELI5 about Dentacoin a couple of sentences.
Dentacoin is the first and only blockchain solution for the global dental industry. It is composed of various applications that serve as a smart patient loyalty program, a dental assurance model based on direct contracts between patients and dentists, and a cryptocurrency used as a means of payment primarily by but not limited to patients, dentists, suppliers, manufacturers, service providers.
Would you mind telling the readers a couple words about yourself, your background, and your team?
My name is Jeremias Grenzebach and I am a Co-Founder and Core Developer at Dentacoin Foundation. I have a background in the IT field, mainly as a web developer, IT trainer, contributor to various blockchain projects.
As for the Dentacoin team, we are an interesting mixture between developers, dental specialists and marketing experts from different countries that are willing to apply blockchain to make a change towards preventive dental care.
How did Dentacoin come to fruition? How did the idea of dental care on a blockchain come into your head and who was the initiator?
A few years ago, I found myself in a small work group of dentists and business developers where we discussed current challenges faced by dental professionals worldwide. That somehow naturally led to a discussion about applying blockchain solutions for better patient engagement, improved efficiency and seamless international transactions.
How many core contributors to the project are there?
The core team plus advisors consists of around 20 professionals. Additionally, we have hundreds of community members that have been helping us with different tasks and we consider them as part of the team as well.
Could you tell our readers a bit about the existing apps developed by Dentacoin?
Gladly. We have currently developed the following apps:
- Dentacoin Trusted Reviews - the first blockchain-based platform for genuine, rewarded and very detailed patient feedback where the relation dentist-patient is verified.
- DentaVox Surveys - a webapp surveying users on various dental health topics and providing key dental stats to the public.
- Dentacare App - a mobile app teaching users how to develop and maintain proper oral hygiene routine through a 90-day gamified challenge.
- Dentacoin Wallet dApp - a web-based wallet application allowing people to easily create a wallet, buy, send, and store their Dentacoin tokens. A mobile wallet app is in the pipeline.
- Dentacoin Assurance - the first dental assurance program based on smart contract between patients and dentists which entitles patients to lifelong preventive care against affordable monthly fees in DCN.
A game version of Dentacare for kids is currently under development, as well as a decentralized database for patient records.
What can you tell us about the adoption of Dentacoin? How many users do you have?
Around 90,000+ users and 1,800+ dentists are using our applications. Additionally, more than 90 organisations globally officially accept Dentacoin payments. Among those we have dental offices, laboratories, suppliers, manufacturers, service providers (web developers, recruiters).
Let’s say I’m in need of urgent dental care. Would I be able to pay for, say, a root canal filling with DCN in a dental clinic?
Certainly. We are developing a growing network of dentists that are not only using our application, but also accepting DCN as an official means of payment for their products and services.
Are there any other applications for DCN, aside from paying for dental care?
There is a common misinterpretation that Dentacoin is solely a “coin for dentists”. Yes, the main focus of our tools is to serve the needs of dentists and patients worldwide, but just as any other functioning currency, DCN has multiple other use cases as well.
Aside from paying for dental care, Dentacoin can be used for:
- Buying dental supplies, equipment, web development and dental marketing services by dentists;
- Covering monthly Dentacoin Assurance fees;
- Spending it on various goods and services (from coffee and pizza, through books and clothes, to flight and hotel bookings) - thanks to Bidali gift cards;
- Trading it against other cryptocurrencies or exchanging it to traditional currencies;
- Holding it for later use and/or value multiplication.
How does DCN distribution work? Your Fact Sheet says it’s rather sophisticated - how exactly?
To begin with, the total supply of Dentacoin is hardcoded limited, meaning that no further coin issuance is possible. This makes the currency deflationary. Around 75% of the total supply is locked in TimeLock contracts and will be gradually released following a long-term schedule (until 2042 and beyond).
Now about the most interesting part: How are people getting DCN? Except for the obvious option to buy Dentacoin on exchange platforms (we even enabled 0%-fee purchases via bank card), people can earn DCN through various activities. For example, they can take different surveys on DentaVox, submit detailed feedback to their dentist on Dentacoin Trusted Reviews, fulfill the 90-day oral hygiene challenge on the Dentacare app and thus, they will be rewarded with Dentacoin. Additionally, dentists are also rewarded with DCN for their willingness to become partners, for testing and overall contribution.
Dentacoin is being spread among more and more people though their contribution to the Dentacoin Ecosystem. The more people are using the currency, the higher its value is expected to grow (“network effect”).
Now, let’s talk about the market for a bit. What do you think is happening right now - do you think the bull market is upon us? Maybe there are any services or projects you have faith in, as in those that will be seen as further market acceleration points?
In my opinion the market has been on the way to maturing for the last year or so. The development of an international regulatory framework is also an important step forward. I believe after this period of let’s call it a “natural selection”, only projects with real use cases and long-term orientation will survive.
What do you think about Dentacoin’s situation? What are your hopes for the future? Maybe, any further expansion plans?
I’d prefer to talk about goals and plans rather than hopes and expectations. We are gradually developing a solid user and partner base across the globe and this year is about improving all our current products and spreading them so they can serve the industry needs better. Pushing the Dentacoin Assurance program to the public, developing Dentacare Kids Game and working on the decentralized patient records database are also key milestones on the roadmap.
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Thank you so much for reading – stay tuned for more Know The Coin episodes by ChangeNOW soon!
