Bit.Tube is a revolutionary, decentralized video streaming platform that puts the power back in the hands of creators and viewers. Creators and viewers of content are paid in the cryptocurrency TUBE as the machine of the viewer mines coins during the watch time of content. Bit.Tube added a means of incentive to the ecosystem called Airtime Extension. I interviewed the Bit.Tube team to learn about what the Airtime Extension is and how it benefits users.
Could you explain what the Airtime Extension is?
See https://bittubeapp.com and https://kb.bittubeapp.com/category/57-how-does-it-work
BitTube’s monetization model is called AirTime. It is an ad-free solution paying users and publishers based on the time spent watching content. This system is currently live on the bit.tube video platform.
This extension enables AirTime to run anywhere on the web. It pays TUBEs to users and publishers (websites, social accounts, merchants etc.) based on the time spent on any webpage. It includes (among other things) an integrated wallet, ad blocker and referral system.
The extension has special support for popular platforms, allowing users to monetize their own social accounts such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. It embeds instant donation buttons on these platforms to tip users with a single click. The system generates wallets for every new publisher automatically, and informs them about their earnings from AirTime and donations. Additionally, webmasters will be able to monetize their website with a module that tracks their guests session times (who of course do not have the extension). Finally, next year the extension will allow you to buy TUBEs via directly at market price, having no dependence on a crypto exchange to buy into the ecosystem.
The goal of BitTube is mainstream adoption across the Internet and making TUBE a recognized, highly utilized Internet currency. Mainstream adoption is reached through simplicity, accessibility and ease of use. The TUBE currency is the lifeblood of the ecosystem. As with any currency, it is only valuable through utility, making distribution, demand and use cases all vital to reach this goal.
Distribution is handled by the extension, spreading TUBEs in millions of hands worldwide. Users will always carry a nonzero balance, which can be spent anywhere TUBE is accepted. Through the extension, TUBE is turned into a perpetual source of liquidity for shopping discounts and donations.
Demand is fundamental so TUBE does not succumb to its own inflation. Its price must grow according to its utility. Besides marketing, the real technical solution is a payment gateway. When choosing to make a TUBE payment, a credit card gateway will allow users to top off any insufficient balance automatically during checkout. The additional coin is bought at market price and used to settle full payment in TUBE. This creates buy pressure on the market. For example, buying a $100 Christmas gift using $20 worth of TUBE from AirTime creates $80 worth of buy pressure. This is demand by design.
Lastly, AirTime creates vast utility for TUBE, not just on the web but for games and mobile apps as well. We will fund developers to integrate AirTime and TUBE. For example, we are confident it has the potential as a universal, cross-platform in-app currency used for in-game purchases and microtransactions. Of course, every cryptocurrency likes to have these aims. However, not one solves distribution, demand and ease of use in one package; we do.
How does the Airtime Extension benefit users?
As per the previous questions, summarized:
The extension rewards you for web browsing anywhere.
You can link your social accounts with your BitTube account. This way, other users with the extension will generate revenue for you when they visit your account (for example by visiting your YouTube channel).
It blocks ads, includes all functionalities like filters and rules.
You can donate instantly to other users, websites, publishers, social accounts etc.
With the integrated local wallet, you do not need the offline GUI wallet to manage funds.
Next year you will be able to buy TUBEs without needing an exchange (we had PayPal for this until last week, but they changed their TOS).
With the referral system, you can earn 5 TUBEs per each verified sign up.
On what platforms does the Airtime Extension work?
The goal is to launch Airtime Extension on every important platform, first on desktop and mobile early next year. Currently it is available on the Chrome and Brave. Opera and Firefox submissions are in review, Safari next. Twitter, YouTube, Twitch and other Social Media platforms are all integrated. This means viewers of content can reward creators by tipping easily via the extension.
What updates and additions can we expect in the future from Bit.Tube and the Airtime Extension?
Almost too many to count. Check out our latest announcements on our medium https://medium.com/@Bit.Tube and reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/BitTube. Note, our Medium was suddenly suspended without warning and we’re trying to get it fixed. In the meantime, we’re working on setting up our own blog, but due to holidays there could be some delay.
Noteworthy mentions, the latter half still in idea/planning stages:
AirTime activation in the browser extension.
Support for Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, and then mobile.
Hard fork (January): change reward distribution (see latest medium update)
o Migration of the current bit.tube platform to the new BitTube platform.
Major AirTime upgrades to reflect real usage and prevent bots.
Debit card (Mastercard)
Important mobile wallet integrations.
Idea/planning stages (feedback always welcome):
Staking to unlock platform features and AirTime levels.
Borrowing and lending options between users and big stakers (investors) in return for AirTime.
Hosting persistent video nodes (IPFS+torrent): selectively host videos in return for a share of their AirTime.
Fundamental features for the new platform, decentralized moderation system (for rewards), account progression/reputation system.
Prize pools for top creators, investors and referrals.
More :)
Thank you for reading. I have a lot of fun learning about new projects. I hope you have read the interview with pleasure and learned something from it. Feel free to share it on social media. If you want to learn more, click on the links in the article.