It’s official - the world loves videos. Whether it’s laughing babies or cats being scared by cucumbers, as a global population we watch over 1 billion hours of video per day on Youtube alone!
But it isn’t always easy to be a Youtube content creator. The site charges a 45/55% split for video royalty fees, it often blocks channels for erroneous copyright claims, and can act as restrictive gatekeepers between viewers and new content creators, who don’t see any financial return for having a ‘low’ amount of views.
Youtube and other centralized video platforms have brought us many happy memories over the years, but belong very much in the mold of Web 2.0, where users were encouraged to upload their content but didn’t have complete control over how their content was used and monetized.
Theta Network: decentralized video streaming
Now it’s time for a video streaming platform for the age of Web 3.0, and that’s where the Theta network comes in! Launched in 2019, Theta is a video streaming network that is primarily powered by its users, who share bandwidth and computer power on a peer-to-peer basis. This, and a network of thousands of community-run ‘guardian’ nodes, help keep the Theta platform decentralized.
This makes Theta (theoretically) more democratic and accessible for content creators, and more secure for viewers!
Theta Token & Theta Coin staking
The platform is also completely open-source, and holders of the native THETA token can take part in governance by staking THETA, and either contributing to or running their own node.
They are also rewarded for their participation in the network with more THETA tokens.
Theta Fuel TFUEL
The Theta team realized, shortly after they launched, that they also needed a highly liquid token that could eventually facilitate millions of transactions and micropayments each day, and that’s why Theta Fuel, or TFUEL, was created.
The great thing about TFUEL is that you can get paid for watching videos! Advertisers can use TFUEL to reward engagement from viewers, and Theta users can also earn TFUEL by loading up other users’ videos with their spare computational power. TFUEL can then be spent accessing paid streams, rewarding your favorite content creators, or launching smart contracts on the Theta network.
Theta & Ethereum
Theta is built on Ethereum, so it is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, and developers can build on top of the Theta network using the same coding language. And Smart contracts on Theta will help processes like royalty distribution become fairer and more transparent.
First Theta Network dApp: Sliver.tv
The first decentralized application built on Theta was Sliver.tv, a decentralized game and sports streaming platform that millions of viewers use each month, mainly to watch others stream their gaming experience!
Theta NFT News, Theta NFT drop
Also! Theta is extending its streaming use case with ThetaDrop, an NFT marketplace for digital collectibles, but with a focus on increasing creator-fan engagement by live-streaming auctions.
Theta Coin Samsung
The team is also collaborating with Samsung VR, to bring immersive, virtual reality gaming experiences to the world, and to bring Theta’s rewards-for-sharing-bandwith solution across Samsung’s range of VR products.
Samsung also runs one of Theta’s enterprise validator nodes, which will be limited to roughly 10 - 20 places, and are responsible for validating transactions on the network. The 4000+ guardian nodes on the network confirm that the validator nodes are doing their job, honestly.
This combined consensus mechanism is called ‘Multi-level Byzantine Fault Tolerance’. It aims to provide robust security alongside high transaction volume and speed, which is vital for a platform that wishes to provide streaming services and micropayments.
As a validator and Theta backer, Samsung is in good company, with other enterprise validators including Sony, Binance and Google. These working partnerships with huge tech companies will likely stand Theta in good stead for the long run.
The Theta team also has some hugely influential figures on their advisory board, the most pertinent of which being Steve Chen, the co-founder of Youtube, and Justin Kan, the co-founder of Twitch.
Closing: Theta Crypto Future
Theta has some friends in high places, and the platform is already fit for millions of monthly users. Suppose the project can continue with its rate of development. Theta could become a major player in the world of video streaming and virtual reality, with the virtual reality market alone predicted to be worth around 55 billion by the year 2024.
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