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Web3 Video Streaming: The Answer to Censorship

Daniela Kirova
Daniela Kirova
Daniela Kirova
Author:
Daniela Kirova
Writer
Daniela is a writer at Bankless Times, covering the latest news on the cryptocurrency market and blockchain industry. She has over 15 years of experience as a writer, having ghostwritten for several online publications in the financial sector.
April 2nd, 2024

Web3 video streaming, which is a part of the broader Web3 ecosystem leveraging decentralized technologies like blockchain, offers numerous advantages over traditional centralized video streaming. Content hosted on Web3 video streaming platforms is less susceptible to censorship because it’s distributed across a decentralized network of nodes. This means that no single entity has the authority to control or restrict access to content, promoting freedom of expression.

Greater ownership and control

Users have greater ownership and control over their content on Web3 video streaming platforms. Since content is stored on decentralized networks, creators retain full ownership rights and can monetize their content directly without relying on intermediaries. Smart contracts can automate revenue distribution, ensuring fair compensation for creators.

Micropayments and tokenization

Web3 video streaming platforms facilitate micropayments and tokenization, enabling new monetization models. Users can pay for content on a pay-per-view or subscription basis using cryptocurrencies, while creators can tokenize their content or offer exclusive perks to token holders, fostering community engagement and loyalty in the context of web3 video streaming.

Transparency and trust

Blockchain technology underlying Web3 video streaming platforms enables transparent and auditable transactions. Users can verify the integrity of content, view transaction histories, and track royalties in real time, fostering trust among creators, consumers, and platform operators.

Innovations in web3 video streaming

peaq, the blockchain for DePIN and Machine RWAs, announced the expansion of its ecosystem as dTelecom, an innovative DePIN for audio and video conferencing and live streaming, joins in decentralizing real-time communication, including web3 video streaming.

dTelecom will migrate to peaq to leverage it as its layer-1 backbone from the Arbitrum testnet, leveraging the peaq SDK and peaq IDs as part of its infrastructure. It will also deploy its core business logic on peaq and eventually launch its token on the network.

A staple for entertainment

Video streaming has become a staple for the entertainment industry, with Netflix alone counting more than 260 million subscribers globally. The technology is also at the core of platforms such as Twitch, a popular live streaming platform, drawing in some 240 million people per month, and enables the ever-popular video meetings, from business discussions to family calls.

With streamed video so central in our routines, it’s no wonder the market is expected to grow to almost $2.5 trillion by 2032. At the same time, though, its still mostly centralized nature creates a variety of issues, from centralized servers working as effective hacker honeypots to censorship and a lack of transparency. This speaks to the enormous potential of web3 video streaming.

An alternative to centralized streaming

dTelecom is building an alternative to centralized video and audio streaming protocols, putting the power back in the hands of the community. Its DePIN comprises community-operated nodes that enable decentralized distribution of live audio and video flows, working as a live-streaming and real-time communication layer for dApps and apps. The network powers a decentralized open-source Zoom-style video conferencing web app with rewards points for participation. Some of the other use cases it enables include a Web3 video streaming platform and a voice chat for a play-to-earn game.

Implementing decentralized identities for users

As part of its integration with peaq, dTelecom will leverage peaq SDK, a versatile building kit for developers, to implement peaq IDs as the decentralized identities for network nodes and users. It will also migrate its smart contracts from the Arbitrum testnet to peaq, setting up a reward distribution mechanism on the network and enabling the nodes to migrate while onboarding for new nodes on peaq. Finally, it will run its Token Generation Event on peaq, launching natively on layer-1 for DePINs, which provide an effective model for web3 video streaming.

Petr Malyukov, co-founder of dTelecom said:

We are changing the game for a whole variety of services and platforms that leverage audio and video streams with the DePIN model. dTelecom can power anything from a Web3 Discord to a decentralized Netflix, and with peaq as its secure and scalable backbone, we are certain we can disrupt this billions-worth centralized market.

Till Wendler, co-founder of peaq added:

Live streaming is an exciting DePIN use case with a billions-worth potential market reach. We are sure that dTelecom will create a lot of value as part of the peaq ecosystem and are looking forward to seeing it transform live streaming as we know it.

With decentralized web3 video streaming, content is streamed directly from the source to viewers without the need for a central server to handle all requests. Users can upload, share, and stream videos without relying on a centralized platform that controls access and content policies. This decentralization empowers content creators and reduces dependency on centralized intermediaries.

Contributors

Daniela Kirova
Writer
Daniela is a writer at Bankless Times, covering the latest news on the cryptocurrency market and blockchain industry. She has over 15 years of experience as a writer, having ghostwritten for several online publications in the financial sector.