What Is Theta? THETA Review 2022
Streaming and video sharing platforms represent a big share of internet traffic. However, corporations and services like YouTube are those who take most of the profits — but not the content makers who are actually behind the streaming services’ growth. Is there a chance to create a fairer system?
Theta aims to solve this problem by introducing a decentralized video streaming network. The platform distributes rewards between content creators, viewers, and everyone who helps promote it. All users who help democratize the online video industry can profit from Theta.
How Does Theta Revolutionize Video Streaming?
Theta is a decentralized streaming platform and a content delivery network. Its main goal is to improve the quality of delivered content and reduce the time that it takes the viewers to load videos. The project was founded in San Francisco by the company Theta Labs, Inc. In a 2017 token sale, the team attracted $20 million of the initial investment.
Theta emerged at the intersection of blockchain technology and streaming at the moment when it became clear: the interest in distributed P2P networks is growing, and video platforms have problems that need to be solved. Here are the main of them:
- The quality of videos depends on what part of the world you are in. Many regions suffer from re-buffering and troubles with loading the content.
- There is a demand for 4K and 8K videos, but many users can’t access them because of inefficient delivery.
- In centralized models of content delivery such as YouTube, content creators and viewers get a small share of benefits from their activity.
Theta aims to resolve these issues with a decentralized peer-to-peer service that will incentivize users, including content creators and viewers, by the following:
- Consumers will be rewarded with a TFUEL token for using the platform. If they have some unused bandwidth, they can share it with the others and also earn TFUEL.
- Since the system is decentralized, all users globally will have equal access to content and the same video loading time.
- This model of streaming costs much less since there’s no need for expensive hardware that powers streaming.
Theta is an open-source platform that anyone can use for live streaming, hosting VR content, eSport, and music. Developers can build their dApps on Theta since the platform supports smart contracts.
What Is the Team Behind Theta?
Theta was co-founded by Mitch Liu, CEO, and Jieyi Long, CTO. Together, they have come up with an idea to rethink video streaming so that it runs in a decentralized network. Theta team includes 21 developers, engineers, and managers. The platform is supported by dozens of investors, including large venture funds and tech companies such as Sony and Samsung.
Theta boasts an impressive panel of advisors including top professionals from Microsoft, Sony, Verizon, and Twitch. The most notable Theta supporter is Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube. He believes that the platform will successfully revolutionize the video industry thanks to better image quality as well as lower costs of content delivery.
Theta also has a strong partner network including such companies as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, NASA, and celebrities like Katy Perry.
Theta Roadmap
Theta has an extensive roadmap published on its official website. As for 2021, the most remarkable achievements include the launch of an NFT marketplace ThetaDrop (in beta) and the integration with Ledger — the wallet added support for the THETA token.
The plans of Theta for Q1 2022 include:
- The launch of TDROP — a new token that will promote NFT liquidity mining and decentralized governance.
- A cross-chain bridge with Ethereum is planned to go live. It will allow the Theta- and Ethereum-based dApps, decentralized exchanges, and NFTs to interoperate.
- Elite Edge Nodes will get the opportunity to store NFTs.
And here are the plans for Q2:
- An NFT platform for peer-to-peer video sharing will be launched in beta.
- A Live experience video streaming platform will be introduced to users.
- Edge Streaming Nodes will undergo major improvements.
Theta Blockchain
Theta blockchain is the backbone of the decentralized video sharing platform. It supports smart contracts and NFTs and is based on the Multi-level Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus algorithm allowing for 1,000 transactions per second.
There are two main node types that support the network by verifying transactions and hosting videos:
- Enterprise Validator Nodes. There are only 20–30 nodes of this type, and they are run by such mastodons as Google, Binance, and Theta Labs. Enterprise Validator Nodes put transactions into blocks and introduce them to the network.
- Guardian Nodes. This is the second layer of security in the Theta blockchain: Guardian Nodes seal the blocks, check their validity, and serve as guardians who detect malfunctioning nodes.
There are also 130,000 Edge Nodes in Theta that provide the computing power to relay video streams on the platform through the EdgeCast service and get rewarded in TFUEL tokens. Edge Nodes help the network stay censorship-resistant: since Theta is decentralized, no one can control or ban videos like on centralized services.
How does Theta deliver a good quality of videos?
Traditional video streaming services operate by broadcasting videos from their data servers. You can enjoy a good quality of the image if you live in a big city with good infrastructure. However, this level is inaccessible in many regions of the world including poor countries and remote areas like forests and deserts.
Since there are little to no servers in these areas, users located there experience constant lags and low quality of streaming. Building infrastructure in such regions is expensive. Theta offers an alternative: it incentivizes users to share their bandwidth and computational power through the Global Cache program.
This is how streaming starts working well even in remote areas. It becomes independent from centralized servers and goes peer-to-peer: users watch videos shared with them by other Theta users. To enjoy the content, you have to pay some Theta tokens and become a host yourself — but that will pay off when in turn, someone sends you tokens for your streaming.
The Dual Token System
There are two tokens in the Theta ecosystem:
- THETA is a staking token that ensures the security of the network and decentralized governance. Its maximum supply is 1 billion tokens.
- TFUEL is a token used for paying transaction fees, rewarding stakers, and powering smart contracts. It has a max supply of 5 billion. TFUEL is deflationary — the gas fees paid in it are burned. This helps keep the token price at a higher level.
Can I Mine THETA and TFUEL?
You can’t mine THETA and TFUEL, but you can stake them in Theta Web Wallet. The minimum amount for THETA staking is 1,000 tokens, which allows you to become a Guardian node. There are no specific hardware requirements — the node can run on a PC or a mobile phone. Rewards are paid out in TFUEL and depend on the amount of tokens that you are staking. The stake can be withdrawn at any time. Once you claim it, the funds will reach your wallet within 48 hours.
Staking is also available for Edge nodes who host and relay videos on Theta and earn TFUEL. They can stake this token and become Elite Edge Nodes. The minimum for TFUEL staking is 10,000 tokens, and the maximum is 500,000. If an Edge node unstakes the tokens, they will come back within 60 hours.
THETA and TFUEL 2022 Price Prediction
Since THETA was listed on major crypto exchanges, its ROI has surged all the way up to 1,800%. The coin price rose from $2 on January 1, 2021, to $14.3 in just 4 months, reaching the all-time high in April 2021. In March 2022, the token was trading at $3.
Most platforms have a bullish view on THETA. TradingBeasts believes that the token will gain 18% by the end of 2022, reaching $3.5. The platform expects that by 2025, THETA will demonstrate a 100% ROI and will be trading between $5.7 and $6.6. CryptoGround gives THETA $5.6 in just a year from now. The service forecasts the token will cost $3.9 in 6 months and $20 in 5 years.
TFUEL is also seen by many as a potentially good investment. Currently, the token price is $0.17, and it also surged from $0.04 in January 2021 to $0.58 that same year. The overall ROI of TFUEL stands at 890%. Wallet Investor expects the token to cost $0.19 in a year and $0.27 in 5 years. GOV Capital gives TFUEL $0.69 in a year, and it supposes the token will cross the $1 mark in 2024, hitting $4.38 in 5 years.
Best THETA and TFUEL Wallets
For private and secure storage of THETA and TFUEL in a user-friendly interface, use NOW Wallet. This non-custodial mobile app is available for iOS and Android. In NOW Wallet, you can enjoy built-in crypto swaps, exchange Theta tokens with hundreds of cryptocurrencies, and store them together with 350+ other digital assets. You can buy THETA and TFUEL with a credit card right in NOW Wallet.
If you want to make the most of the Theta ecosystem, download the official Theta Wallet. It’s available as a web interface and a mobile app, and it also allows you to use it with hardware wallets such as Ledger and Trezor. However, note that Ledger only supports THETA, and Trezor only keeps TFUEL.
How Can I Buy THETA and TFUEL?
You can buy THETA and TFUEL without registration and KYC on ChangeNOW with 350+ cryptocurrencies. All the fees are already included in the estimated rate: no hidden charges apply. You can swap the tokens in a classic rate flow (the rate can slightly fluctuate during the exchange) or a fixed rate flow (protects you from market volatility and helps you eliminate risk — you will get exactly as much as you see).
Summary
Theta is a platform that enables peer-to-peer video streaming where content makers are rewarded for their content and users get paid for sharing it with other viewers. The videos cannot be censored or deleted by any centralized entity and are available in the same quality at any place in the world thanks to network decentralization.
THETA is the primary staking coin allowing decentralized governance, and TFUEL is used to distribute rewards and pay transaction fees. The Theta Network is supported by top crypto industry companies and professionals, it has a robust roadmap. These facts affect its price dynamic positively and inspire experts to make bullish price predictions. You can buy THETA and TFUEL on ChangeNOW without registration and store the tokens in a secure lightweight mobile NOW Wallet.
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