Hello Theta followers and all crypto friends! Paradigm is here to tell you some news about Theta Network appeared during these two weeks. Pre-Guardian Node program, an early preview of Guardian Nodes, the second layer of nodes in Theta’s multi-BFT consensus mechanism, is still ongoing! Yesterday the team published an update on third party validator nodes on Theta Network. According to the update, validator node software v1.0.6 released on Monday and implementation in process with first two major enterprise validator nodes on Theta mainnet. After testing, VNs will go live with a public announcement. For information on Theta Guardian Nodes and how to join, see the announcement blog. You can now check out the latest updates on TFUEL integration with SLIVER.tv at the TFUEL streaming roadmap — this will continue to be updated as new features are completed and added to the roadmap. As for the social side, Theta Network’s Timothy Li and Wes Levitt joined the IoTalks podcast to discuss the existing streaming video landscape, how it’s evolving, and how Theta Network can improve the streaming experience. Check out the video on Theta official Youtube channel. Read also Pantera AMA transcript with Wes Levitt in their official subreddit. Network statistics always shows impressive numbers. NASA’s events are streaming on Sliver.tv. Theta community continues to grow. There is a constant slight grows in the number of token holders and subscribers of Theta social media channels. Recently truly breathtaking collaboration took place! Two of the most widely-adopted blockchain projects is joining forces for an advertising partnership — Theta is now a Verified Publisher in the Brave browser, while Brave sponsors SLIVER.tv, running ads alongside their top streamers. This is just the beginning. More to follow!
Development
GitHub metrics:
THETA has 8 public repositories and 15 private repositories. Overall, the Project has frequent commits to the collection of repositories.
Developer activity (from Coinlib.io):
Update on 3rd party validator nodes on Theta Network:
- Validator node software v1.0.6 released Monday
- Implementation in process w/ first 2 major enterprise validator nodes on Theta mainnet
- After testing, VNs will go live w/ public announcement
For information on Theta Guardian Nodes and how to join, see the announcement blog.
Social encounters
IoTalks — Streaming w/ Theta Network (July 19, 2019):
Theta Network’s Timothy Li and Wes Levitt join the IoTalks podcast to discuss the existing streaming video landscape, how it’s evolving, and how Theta Network can improve the streaming experience.
Pantera AMA transcript with Wes — Head of Strategy Theta Labs:
(@ttm07) Can you give some examples of what sort of projects we may see come out of the THETA protocol in the future?
Our first target is video streaming platforms, that feature either livestreamed or Video-on-Demand (VOD) content. But we see the Theta protocol as a generalized data delivery protocol, that can also be used to move operating system updates, game patches, or any other type of file that has the right concurrent user profile (good for peer-to-peer sharing).
We are working with several smart TV groups that have TVs that run on Android, so they can use our Android SDK relatively easily. We’re going to share some early testing results from that in the near future.
2. (@XXwava) A lot of coins are entering the binance Dex. THETA also preparing to get list the binance Dex?
As always, we can’t comment on plans for listing on specific exchanges. That said, we have worked with Binance a lot and we think Binance DEX is a great step forward for exchanges in the crypto space. It could be beneficial to see THETA/TFUEL listed especially if volumes on Binance DEX continue to increase. I personally would much rather trade on a DEX for security reasons, we just need one with enough volume to be worth it! Hopefully Binance can be the one to get it done
3. (@doitryan) I hope that Theta can be used in services such as YouTube, not in real-time streaming services. Do you think it’s possible in the future?
Yes, we are in the middle of working on Video-on-Demand (VOD) support for Theta protocol. This will open up a much broader range of video platforms (and non-video applications) for Theta to integrate with, since many of our partners have majority VOD content and only a smaller amount of livestreaming videos.
4. (@llsd1104) What streaming sites will be the first to use Theta Token besides SLIVER.tv?
We are in development for integrating Theta protocol with several 3rd party platforms including CJ Hello, Samsung VR, and MBN. They are all in various states of integration, and have different challenges associated with them. A main one is that we are working with big companies so there are hurdles in technical, custody of crypto holdings, approval processes, etc. But we are working through those and confident we’ll get there!
We are also working a few other video platforms we haven’t announced, including a very interesting mobile app that’s popular in Asia. That’s still early stages, but If testing goes well and we integrate Theta in their delivery stack, we’ll announce that this fall.
5. (@syncw) Company was established in USA whereas founders are deemed to be Chinese. How do you reckon yourself as either American company or Chinese company?
We’re proud to be based in San Francisco / Silicon Valley where we all live, but we consider ourselves a global company mostly. Our leadership team was born in U.S., mainland China, Taiwan, and Brazil. Our greatest success as a project so far has come in Korea and we are in talks to open a Seoul office. So just like the blockchain space as a whole, it’s a global company and we intend for Theta protocol to be successful globally.
6. (@syncw) At this question, I want you to speak frankly. Do you really need blockchain technology to overcome these challenges? or You did that just because of raising funds easily.
We do think blockchain is necessary if you want to create a global, decentralized protocol for relaying video and other data. Our goal is for the protocol to be governed by diverse stakeholders, not just Theta Labs. Blockchain permits these protocols to be governed, and for users to be rewarded, in a decentralized manner without any central party like Theta Labs. Over time, our role in governance will diminish.
If you just want 1 company to run the protocol forever, then sure maybe you don’t need a blockchain at all, that’s the status quo after all. But that’s not our long-term vision for Theta.
7. (@llsd1104) Having good skills does not necessarily succeed. How the theta project will secure users?
Our go-to-market strategy involves partnering with existing video platforms with their own userbases. Unlike many blockchain projects starting from 0 users, we are allowing our technology to be used by platforms that already have millions of users.
We think this is key for blockchain tech to break through to mainstream usage, and by introducing blockchain to many “casual” users, it can help educate them and open the door for other blockchain use cases.
8. (@alwaysbeauty) Compared to tfuels, theta token use is limited. Would you like to expand your role in the future?
It’s true that THETA is not as visible to the average end user as TFUEL, but it’s just as important because THETA is used to stake and govern the network. Once Guardian Nodes (the nodes that finalize blocks and can be run by 100s of community members) go live in Q3, you will need THETA to stake and run a node.
The governance aspect is critical and we are close to announcing the first two enterprise partners that will be staking and running Validator Nodes (the limited set of strategic partners that produce blocks) on the Theta Network. We are working with their engineers to set up the nodes now, then will undergo testing, then announce to our community shortly.
9. (@Gab_2) What is the long-term purpose of the theta project? Are you guys planning to partner with the video streaming company which do not use blockchain technology?
Our long term goal is to create a global network of users that are relaying video and other data to create a more efficient system of data delivery. Incorporating cryptoassets provides the economic incentive for users to actually contribute their resources, in a way that doesn’t need to be controlled by a single company or entity.
We do see an enormous market for integration with companies that don’t use blockchain yet, though that can be challenging and take time if it’s their first exposure to blockchain tech.
10. (@herberre) Do you like the minebuu community manager? How much has it helped shape theta price? I want to know if community build-in level is satisfactory
We think minebuu has done an excellent job as community manager! I can’t say how that affects price exactly, but I do think it’s important for projects to embrace their communities and build them up, and a good community manager helps do that. I am in the English Telegram channel almost every day answering questions, and I know Minebuu is as well and shares a lot of our discussions in the Korean Theta channel
11. (@ayoung2) How does Theta plan to address censorship problem?? many videos on YouTube are taken down due to copyright
Since Theta is a video delivery protocol, not a video platform, it is content-agnostic and will not take down any videos, just like Akamai or Amazon do not take down videos. That will remain up to the individual platforms that choose to incorporate Theta protocol for video delivery. I would like to see at least a few decentralized video platforms that are censorship-resistant adopt Theta protocol
12. (@xowls2338) What is a weak point of theta? and How will you make up for it?
One challenge is that legacy video platforms often are not familiar with blockchain technology, so it takes a lot of education and development on our part to get integration to work. We try to fight that by working with companies that see value in blockchain and are taking it seriously, like Samsung. But it’s a long-term process and we don’t expect the world and enterprise business to adopt blockchain overnight. It will take lots of time and effort
13. (@hdkimhd) Tell us how you can use the theta token in the near future.
Later in Q3, Guardian Node functionality will go live and you’ll be able to stake THETA and participate in protocol governance and block finalization. We have seen great participation already with our “Pre-Guardian Node” (PGN) onboarding program, which has more than 100M THETA included already, so we’re hopeful to see a high staking level in the community.
14. (@Han2ayo) Theta joined Kakao Claytn relatively recently. Please explain in detail what you came to joined claytn?
We are partnering with Klaytn to build the SLIVER.tv Korea esports mobile app because we believe Klaytn will be an industry leader in blockchain, especially in the Korean market. They have the resources and the relationships to build a world-class network (just look at the list of their validator partners!). We think it’s a great chance to introduce to Korea a brand new type of mobile esports experience, and at the same time expose Theta protocol and video relaying to a larger audience.
Upcoming events:
No updates.
Roadmap
Theta Network — 2019 Roadmap
Q3 2019:
Launch support for video on demand (VoD) in Theta Mesh Streaming Network
Launch guardian node functionality and onboard initial group of community-run guardian nodes
Beta release support for Android-based set-top boxes and smart TVs
Introduce guardian nodes into the validator node set on rotating basis
Launch smart contract support
Q4 2019:
Expand Theta content delivery beyond video to support all forms of data (e.g. file updates, game patches, video ads, audio/music, etc)
Check out the latest updates on TFUEL integration with SLIVER.tv at the new TFUEL streaming roadmap — this will continue to be updated as new features are completed and added to roadmap.
Recently Released:
Streamer can update game and stream title
Streamline going live on Theta or Twitch
Mobile Notifications of Followed Channels
Streamer Earns TFuel Based on Viewer Sharing
Streamer Merch available for TFuel
Streamers can post messages to their followers
Quality & Sound Controls on Video Player
TFuel Earnings Widget Improvement
History of mod actions listed in chat panel
List of present users in chat panel
Near Term (Month or Less):
Improved navigation and discovery of streams
Partnerships and team members
SLIVER.tv / Theta Network announces advertising partnership with Brave browser:
Two of the most widely-adopted blockchain projects will be joining forces for an advertising partnership: Brave and SLIVER.tv / Theta Network! SLIVER.tv / Theta will become a Verified Publisher in the Brave browser, while Brave will become a sponsor on SLIVER.tv, running ads alongside the top streamers.
Brave is an innovative privacy browser combined with a blockchain based digital advertising platform with 7 million monthly active users. The Brave browser rewards its users for opting into privacy-preserving ads by giving them 70% of the ad revenue share in Basic Attention Tokens (BAT), a utility token built on top of Ethereum. SLIVER.tv has 3 million monthly active users, and the team is excited to join forces to promote great content and drive utility token adoption.
In phase 1, the team wll begin with a joint marketing campaign, with ads for the Brave browser appearing on SLIVER.tv, as well as SLIVER.tv/Theta Network ads featured in the Brave browser for users who opt into Brave Rewards. This is a great user acquisition opportunity for both projects; when a Brave user gets a notification to “tune into SLIVER.tv and earn TFUEL for relaying video streams”, the team knows it’s going to a user who is already familiar with blockchain technology, and is an ideal person to introduce to the Theta Network. Similarly, a user who is already on SLIVER.tv earning TFUEL understand the concept and value of earning tokens for contributing their resources to a network, so will be more likely to adopt the Brave browser.
The Brave browser will also become an officially supported browser for relaying video on the Theta Network. Users can earn BAT rewards for consenting to viewing ads in the Brave browser, while at the same time earning TFUEL for relaying video on the Theta Network.
In the coming weeks, stay tuned for a live AMA with the executive teams of Brave and SLIVER.tv / Theta to discuss future integrations within the Theta Network and Brave platform.
Rumors
Twitter:
Theta Network @Theta_Network on Jul 31:
Theta Network @Theta_Network on Jul 23:
Other:
- Sliver.tv and Theta Network partner with Brave browser on Coinrivet.com
- Be aware of scammers! Admins of Official Theta Telegram chat will never DM you or ask for private info / keys / seed phrases!
Social media metrics
Social media activity:
Social media dynamics:
Theta community continues to grow. However, there is a slight fluctuation in the number of subscribers of Theta social media channels these weeks.
Official Telegram group — Discussions on price, possible partnerships, etc.
Facebook — 15–25 likes per publication, 1–5 shares.
Twitter — Average number of retweets is 35–40 for one post.
Bitcointalk.org — since November 23rd, 2017. Discussion on mainnet launch, price, roadmap.
There is a slight growth in Theta community over time. The graph above shows the dynamics of changes in the number of Theta Reddit subscribers, Twitter followers, and Facebook likes. The information is taken from Coingecko.com.
