Could it deliver additional benefits compared a centralised blockchain loyalty program with a decentralised cryptotoken?
Firstly, it’s important to clarify what is meant by a decentralised program. In a paper titled The General Theory of Decentralized Applications, dApps, by Johnston et al1, a decentralised application must meet four key criteria:
1. It must be completely open source, operate autonomously and with no entity controlling the token majority. Changes to the application must be adopted by consensus.
2. Data must be cryptographically stored in a distributed blockchain to avoid central failure points.
3. The application must use a cryptographic token for access to the application and as a reward to network supporters.
4. The application must generate tokens according to an algorithm that values contributions to the system.
For a loyalty program using a hybrid solution comprised of a non-blockchain loyalty platform connected to a blockchain platform, the application is clearly not decentralised. While a cryptographic token is used to reward supporters (for their engagement) and the application generates tokens that value contributions to the system (such as retail partner transactions), the loyalty program code isn’t open source, it doesn’t operate autonomously.
The best article found to read about this matter is
https://www.blockchainloyalty.io/2018/08/27/decentralisation-and-its-impacts-on-blockchain-loyalty-2/