Theta Blockchain Breakdown: Does It Have Potential?
Mike Harry
Jun 2023
7 min read
Fact checked
Summary: The article offers a deep dive into Theta blockchain, a decentralized video delivery network that aims to change the streaming industry. We explore how Theta empowers content creators and viewers alike and how it aims to enhance user engagement and create a fairer monetization system!
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Theta History
Theta is a decentralized video delivery network that aims to revolutionize the way video content is streamed and delivered over the internet. The project was founded in 2017 by Mitch Liu and Jieyi Long, who have extensive experience in the video streaming and blockchain industries.
Theta website
Before founding Theta, Mitch Liu was the co-founder and CEO of Tapjoy, a mobile advertising and monetization platform that reached 500 million monthly active users. Jieyi Long has a background in computer science and previously worked as a software engineer at Google.
The idea for Theta came about when Liu and Long recognized the limitations and inefficiencies of the current centralized video streaming infrastructure.
They saw an opportunity to leverage blockchain technology to create a peer-to-peer content delivery network that would reduce buffering, improve quality, and lower costs for both content creators and viewers.
In 2018, the Theta team released the Theta Network, a decentralized delivery network powered by its native cryptocurrency called Theta.
The network allows users to share their idle bandwidth and computing resources in exchange for THETA rewards, which can be used to access premium content or traded on cryptocurrency exchanges.
One of Theta's major achievements was its partnership with Samsung VR, a leading virtual reality content platform, in 2019.
This partnership enabled Samsung VR users to stream high-quality 360-degree videos using Theta's decentralized network, enhancing the overall viewing experience.
What is Theta?
Theta is a decentralized video delivery network that is designed to address the challenges faced by the traditional Content Delivery Network (CDN) infrastructure.
At its core, Theta is a peer-to-peer network that leverages the power of blockchain incentivize users to share their excess computing resources in order to create a decentralized video delivery infrastructure.
The project’s main objective is to reduce the reliance on traditional CDNs by tapping into the untapped resources of individual users, thereby creating a more resilient network with a wider distribution.
Since its inception, Theta has successfully raised a total of $20 million in funding from a variety of investors. Some notable investors include Sony Innovation Fund, Samsung NEXT, DHVC, and Blockchain Capital.
At the time of writing, the Theta Network has over 5 million users globally with content creators from various industries, including gaming, entertainment, and education.
How does Theta work?
Theta works by using a two-tier architecture consisting of “Edge Nodes” and “Guardian Nodes”.
Edge Nodes are individual participants who share their bandwidth and computing resources in exchange for Theta tokens, the native cryptocurrency of the Theta network. They act as relays for video streams, receiving video content from the publisher and forwarding it to other users.
Guardian Nodes on the other hand are specially selected validators that ensure the correct delivery of video content and validate transactions on the Theta blockchain.
The Theta Mainnet is being developed to provide faster transaction speeds, lower fees, and additional features specifically tailored for video streaming and content delivery.
Theta also features a virtual machine called Theta Virtual Machine (TVM), which is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
In terms of scaling solutions, Theta implements a hybrid approach combining both on-chain and off-chain techniques.
The project utilizes off-chain micropayment channels, similar to the Lightning Network, to enable fast and low-cost transactions between users.
Additionally, Theta plans to implement a second-layer sidechain called the Elite Edge Network (EEN) to further improve scalability and throughput.
Theta Coin (THETA)
The THETA token is used as a medium of exchange within the platform. The token is used to reward users to share their resources, rewarding users for consuming and engaging with content, and allowing stakeholders to participate in the governance of the network.
With the THETA token, content creators and providers can earn rewards for their contributions to the network. Users who consume and engage with content can also earn THETA tokens as rewards.
Theta has gained significant attention and partnerships in the video streaming industry. Notable partnerships include collaborations with Samsung and Sony, where Theta's technology is integrated into certain smart TV models.
Theta has also introduced Theta Fuel (TFUEL), a second cryptocurrency in the Theta ecosystem. TFUEL acts as a utility token within the network and is used to pay for services and transactions.
TFUEL can be earned by users who share their bandwidth and resources, and it can also be staked to participate in the governance of the network.
Theta Tokenomics
THETA is the governance token of the THETA blockchain and it used for staking to produce blocks, validate transactions, and participate in the network's governance by voting on key protocol parameters.
The total supply of THETA tokens is fixed at 1 billion and these tokens were all issued at the genesis block of the THETA blockchain.
TFUEL is the operational token of the THETA blockchain. It's used for transaction fees and for deploying and interacting with smart contracts. TFUEL is also earned by users who share their redundant computing power and bandwidth resources as caching or relay nodes for video streams.
Unlike THETA, TFUEL has an inflationary supply model. Initially, 5 billion TFUEL were issued at the genesis block and new TFUEL tokens are minted with every new block.
At the time of writing, the total supply of the THETA token has been distributed and has a price of $0.73 dollars for a fully diluted marketcap of $730 million.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal.
Author
Mike Harry
Mike is a passionate crypto enthusiast who bought his first Bitcoin in 2016. With a natural curiosity and a love for learning and tinkering, Mike is always trying out new DeFi applications. Mike excels at breaking down difficult concepts into easy-to-read guides for beginners.
