Founder's Story
Can Crypto Solve Real World Problems? Ethical Disruption and the Scotcoin Revolution with Temple Melville | S2 Ep. 174
Wed, 12 Feb 2025
In this episode of Founders Story, we welcome Temple Melville, blockchain and crypto lecturer and CEO of the Scotcoin Project CIC. Temple shares his journey into the world of crypto—from his early days studying mathematics and investing in Bitcoin to founding Scotcoin in 2013. Discover how Scotcoin has evolved, the ethical principles driving its mission, and why crypto is unlike any other financial product—emphasizing community, transparency, and positive global impact. Representing Scotland with pride, Temple explains how Scotcoin’s innovative tokenomics and closed-loop economy are setting a new standard for ethical crypto.Opening & Introduction:Daniel kicks off the episode by sharing his recent experiences at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where crypto was the buzz, and introduces Temple Melville, CEO of the Scotcoin Project CIC and blockchain lecturer with deep roots in mathematics and early Bitcoin investments.Early Journey & Scotcoin’s Genesis:Temple recounts his initial foray into blockchain after reading Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper and discusses the early days of Scotcoin—launched in 2013, facing challenges, and pivoting in 2015/2016.Vision, Mission & Impact:An explanation of Scotcoin’s vision to create tangible token value and drive positive change through ethical applications, including building a closed-loop economy from everyday transactions.Crypto’s Inclusive Nature:A discussion on how crypto differs from traditional finance by being community-driven and inclusive, addressing generational concerns with relatable, simple analogies.Ethical Crypto in Action:Temple defines ethical crypto as “doing good” by helping those in need and preserving our planet, exemplified by Scotcoin’s initiative to purchase surplus clothing from manufacturers to prevent waste and redistribute it via charities.Tokenomics & Long-Term Legacy:An overview of Scotcoin’s tokenomics, detailing the transition to an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network for efficiency and sustainability, along with a discussion on its long-term vision and self-funded, community-driven ethos.Resources Mentioned:Scotcoin Project CIC Website: scotcoinproject.comOur Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://www.avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Kinsta: https://kinsta.com* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Chapter 1: What is Scotcoin and what inspired its creation?
uh coinbase and hear what he had to say and it was very interesting so i'm excited because you are the ceo of scott coin project cic and i want to i want to dive in first to understand what is this project and why are you involved
Chapter 2: How did Temple Melville get into the world of crypto?
Hi, Daniel. Well, it's nice to talk to you today and thank you very much for that. The reason I'm involved is I got involved originally because I knew a bit about the blockchain. And that was because I studied mathematics at university a very long time ago, as you can tell, I'm a very old person. And when Satoshi Nakamoto came up with the white paper that he produced,
a peer-to-peer cashless system, I actually understood a bit about what it was about. And I realized that blockchain was and Bitcoin, which was the result of that, was something special and different and new and potentially world changing. And I always like to tell this story because it shows what a putz I am. I actually bought Bitcoin originally when it was about $50.
and it got to 500 and i knew absolutely knew it would never go any higher and i sold them and i've done that a few times since so there you go however anyway back to scot coin scot coin started officially in 2013. It was on its own blockchain, which had a lot of problems, in fact. And the person who started it all decided to get out in 2015, late 2015, early 2016.
And myself and my partners bought it out at that point. And we've been working since then to A give it a purpose, obviously, and B to make the token valuable and worthwhile and everything else you can think of. So that's really it. That's been our journey, if you like, to make it all work. And we are, as you know, just sort of fast approaching our listing.
And we're looking forward to that very much. It will help us enormously in our mission.
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Chapter 3: Why is crypto considered community-driven and inclusive?
I'd like to understand, but you don't have to answer this question. How many bitcoins do you have when they were $50? What I've noticed with crypto is that it's very, very inclusive
wanting and it's very community driven and i don't think there's any other financial product or anything in finance that i've seen in my time that really is geared towards this ethos or uh you know having this mentality or mindset and it's it's really like a become a culture which i find very fascinating
I think the point about crypto and the community is an interesting one because the whole reason for the blockchain and Bitcoin and other tokens is there is nobody between you and the person you're dealing with. Everywhere else, everywhere else in the world, there is somebody who's a middleman. If it's Visa, if it's MasterCard, if it's your bank, if it's whatever it might be.
The point is there is no community. It's just a straightforward transaction with somebody who is taking some of your money for one reason or another. But Bitcoin and blockchain and other crypto is quite different. It's all kind of, as you say, community driven. And that's a great thing.
Chapter 4: How can older generations engage with crypto?
What do you say to people who are maybe over the age of 40, 50? I think there's a lot of older people who are very interested in it. I think they might be scared. They might not really understand it. I mean, I think we can be real that it's not like the easiest thing to understand when you try to know everything about blockchain and everything, right?
What do you say to those people who are hesitant, but I'm sure Scott...
know scott coin project and other projects can be really beneficial for them yeah well i think the first thing to say is you know i have no idea how a phone works uh but i can make a phone call uh you know no problem and the same thing really applies with uh crypto you don't necessarily need to know everything about it it's good to know a little bit of course uh and once you have that it's very very simple uh we have our own uh scott scan app
which is, if you like, the best way for many people to get involved because it hasn't got lots of smart, horrible numbers like 0x557774321. It's got your name. So you could be Daniel at Scott. I'm Tomelko at Scott. So it's very easy to actually transfer backwards and forwards. And there's no cost. It's free and it's instantaneous. So that makes a big difference.
It's a big draw for quite a lot of people. And I think the other thing, too, is that people realize that, you know, if you go back to the Victorian era, lots of people did a great deal of work with charity and helping people, which was very much needed, of course. And we're in the same position today. There's lots of work that needs to be done for lots of people. So what what is blockchain?
So I tell you, I'll tell you. So I'm indebted to somebody who is much smarter than me who said this. But basically, he said, you know, you're a man and a woman. And you tell the woman you love her. And, you know, a couple of weeks later, you decide you don't anymore. So you just say, no, I don't love you anymore. And that's it.
Then the next time you meet up somebody you quite like, you've got a friend with you and you say to the woman, oh, I love you. And he sees that you said, I love you and so on. So if you want to tell the woman, I don't love you anymore, you've got to persuade the friend who didn't see that happening.
Now, if you're involved in blockchain, you're with a woman again in a room with hundreds and hundreds of people who all see you saying, I love you. And that's blockchain, because it's very difficult to then change the name, the minds of all those people that they didn't see you say it. And of course, that's what blockchain does. It makes it sure. And it's a great thing.
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Chapter 5: What does ethical crypto mean to Scotcoin?
I've never heard that analogy before, but I really like how you said that. And I mean, who doesn't like the transparency of blockchain and, you know, all all the things that we can maybe fix or solve that have been something issues in the past, like sending and receiving money with no middleman. So when it comes to ethics in crypto, I find this a really interesting topic.
And I was just hearing some people chatting about this at a really high level, and I thought it was very fascinating. So I'd love to get your opinion. Like, what is ethical crypto or how do you define it?
Well, our view on why we call ourselves an ethical crypto is what we try to do is try to do good. And I know various companies have said that in the past, but in a sense, we've got a slightly easier job because what we are trying to do is to help people who are in need. So in the very simplest thing, we work mostly with clothes, food and accommodation.
Now, I'll give you an example of how we work with clothes. As you know, clothing manufacturers are forever burning clothes and throwing them away and doing all sorts of things with them, which are not good for the planet or for anything else, frankly. And we go along and we talk to them and we do this on a regular basis and say, OK, what are you trying to get rid of?
What are you going to have to burn next week or whatever it is? And we then buy those clothes from them using ScottCoin. Now, we then deliver those clothes to a charity that works with homeless and they deliver them to people who really need something to wear. And what's in it for the people who make the clothes?
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Chapter 6: How is Scotcoin promoting sustainability and community impact?
Well, the answer is the first point is they don't have to pay for burning the clothes. And that's a big plus point for a start. And it's got all sorts of good things that happen means you're not ruining the planet as well. But the other thing is that they tend, and not all of them, but they tend to then use Scotcoin within a closed community loop as far as they're concerned.
And this comes back to what you were saying about community. So if you think of the 10th cup of coffee that's free, the people with the clothes, what they do is you buy a T-shirt, you get 100 Scotcoin, you buy another T-shirt, you get another 100 Scotcoin, and you build it up. And when you've got whatever it might be, a thousand scot coin, you get a free T-shirt.
And that's a really nice closed loop that works very well. And it's non, it's non, what's the word I'm trying to think of? It's a closed loop which works very well for everyone. So that's really what being ethical means. It means doing something good for other people.
Thank you, Temple, for sharing that. And I think we're going to start to see a lot more people with this. I love the ethical crypto, how you can use it to help the planet, help people solve problems among humanity is incredible. I'm wondering if back Satoshi, did he or he, she, they, did they know that this would be how it would be used someday? When you're lecturing,
about crypto, what is the sentiment among multiple different generations or even just ScottCoin in general? What's the sentiment that you're seeing so far among different generations?
Well, it's very interesting you're saying that. I mean, I've been doing this for quite a few years now and I used to start my lectures by saying everybody put their hand up who's heard of Bitcoin and most people did. And then I would say, how many people have heard of blockchain? And only about half that number of people did. They had no idea where it came from.
And that was quite good because it gave me a good opening to start and talk about blockchain. But the point is now I say I don't start with that because everybody knows what it's about. I say, who here owns crypto?
and generally about half the half the people who are at the lectures put their hands up and say yes they do and they the other interesting thing about that is they own them for such diverse reasons uh and you know it's not all about just making money it's about other things and of course the great thing about crypto is or two of the great things about crypto is one is it's you know once you send it it's that's it you can't get it back
or you can only get it back if the other person sends it back. But also you can target it. So for example, and we've done this quite recently actually, we were doing a well in Nigeria and we didn't want anybody to take some money out of it or anything like that. And we used crypto to send it direct to the people who were digging the well or drilling the well. And that's a huge step forward.
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