Top 4 Web3 platforms bringing decentralization and privacy to the forefront – crypto.news

The rise of blockchain technology has been one of the most revolutionary and exciting innovations of our time. It has grown to influence the internet to a point of bringing a new iteration, the “decentralized internet”. Here are four platforms thriving in the web3 blockchain industry while providing decentralized infrastructure to their users. Let’s dive in:

Livepeer

Livepeer(LPT) is a decentralized infrastructure project that enables live video streaming services. It aims to empower entertainers, streaming service hosts, and app developers to unlock the economic opportunity and social benefits of entertainment for society. Users can interact with each other and manage their networks through the platform.

The support of the video and crypto sectors has continued to grow for Livepeer. The platform has experienced significant growth since it was launched in 2017. It currently has over 70,000 GPU nodes and 12 million LPT tokens in its smart network contracts. 

How does Livepeer work?

The Livepeer network relies on a group of users known as “orchestrators” to handle the needs of developers. These individuals have joined the network and traded their resources, such as their computers’ CPU, GPU, and bandwidth, for the LPT cryptocurrency. These users are referred to as video miners.

Developers who wish to use the Livepeer network to distribute and transcode content must pay for those services using the LPT token. It is also possible for them to become a delegate, which means they can earn a yield from the tokens they hold while helping secure the network.

Through the incentives offered by Livepeer, it aims to create a network capable of delivering low-cost and censorship-resistant transcode and video delivery. The LPT token is the central component of the network’s infrastructure.

Consensus on Livepeer

A pair of consensus mechanisms secure the Livepeer blockchain. One of these is a ledger that is recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. The other is a mechanism that handles the distribution of LPT.

The layer is built on a Delegated Proof-of-Stake(DPoS) model, in which Orchestrators act as validators – nodes perform various roles in the protocol, such as validating transactions and ensuring the security of the token.

Livepeer infrastructure

The infrastructure economics of Livepeer is mainly centered around the various roles involved in its operation. These include orchestrators, transcoders, delegators, and broadcasters.

Orchestrators: These individuals perform the actual work of converting video into a format suitable for broadcast. They are paid by the broadcaster and receive LPT tokens from the Livepeer network. To join the orchestrator node, one has to install software on their computers. Orchestrators must also stake LPT tokens on the platform as collateral to ensure their work is performed properly. If they are found to be behaving badly or cheating, the platform will reduce their stake.

Transcoders: Orchestrators are responsible for running transcoders, devices that take input video and convert it into a format ideal for outputting.

Broadcasters: Orchestrators are usually involved in the broadcasting of videos. They are also responsible for publishing the streams to the broadcaster, who then pays them in Ether. For instance, if Twitch wanted to send a video to an orchestrator before broadcasting it to end users, it would be considered a broadcaster.

Delegators: The delegators are individuals who stake their LPT tokens through an Orchestrator. They can’t participate in the network directly, but they can delegate them to an existing orchestrator to earn rewards.

Developer Tools

Currently, Livepeer offers two products: Video on Demand and Stream API.

By using the Stream API, developers can configure details for a live broadcast, generate playback URLs for viewers, obtain data about the stream session, configure multiple targets for your stream, and more. With the Video on Demand API, creators can upload pre-recorded videos and store their metadata on IPFS, enabling them to mint video NFTs easily.

Theta 

Theta is a content distribution network and decentralized streaming platform. Its major objective is to increase the quality of content and shorten the time it takes for users to load movies. Theta Labs, Inc., a San Francisco-based business, launched the initiative. The team attracted $20 million of the original financing in a token sale in 2017.

How Theta works

The emergence of blockchain technology and the increasing interest in streaming videos have led to the concept of distributed P2P networks. Many problems need to be solved to make these networks successful. 

For example, the quality of videos varies depending on the region they are being watched. In some regions, the content may load poorly. In addition, due to the inefficient delivery of 4K and 8K videos, many people need access to them. In centralized models of video content delivery, such as YouTube, creators and viewers also get a small portion of the revenue.

Theta is working to solve these problems by developing a peer-to-peer service that will reward users for their participation. Users can earn TFUEL tokens for participation and share their unused bandwidth with others.

The decentralized nature of the system allows users to have an advanced experience when it comes to watching videos. It eliminates the need for expensive hardware and makes streaming more cost-effective.

In addition, anyone can use Theta, since it is open-source, to host various types of content, such as music, VR content, and eSport. Developers can also build dApps using the platform’s smart contracts.

Theta blockchain

The Theta platform is built on the Theta blockchain and is based on a multi-level consensus algorithm. The platform supports smart contracts and is designed to allow users to perform transactions with a speed of up to 1,000 transactions per second.

Two main node types support the network by verifying transactions and hosting videos: 

• Enterprise Validator Nodes: There are only around 20–30 enterprise validating nodes in the network, run by various companies such as Google and Binance. These nodes introduce transactions to the network.
• Guardian Nodes: This is the second layer of security on Theta. These nodes perform various functions, such as validating the blocks’ validity and detecting malfunctioning nodes.

In addition, there are around 130,000 Edge Nodes in the network of Theta that are designed to provide the computing power needed to distribute videos on the platform. They can stay censorship-resistant since, unlike other centralized services, no one can ban or control the content of videos on the network.

Flux

Flux is a blockchain project creating a blockchain-based internet that enables users to manage their assets and computing needs. Users can access various services through its networks, such as development and asset management. The network is also designed to provide a secure environment for developers.

The project’s governance structure is operated through the XDAO, which acts as the central authority for the ecosystem. The global community of FluxNodes is also responsible for powering the network.

Parallel Mining

The FLUX token is available on various blockchains, such as the Flux blockchain. The network has introduced a parallel mining feature to allow anyone to mine the token on other networks.

The FLUX tokens are fully interchangeable with the assets from the main chain. Users can access them through the Fusion app found on the ZelCore wallet.

The FLUX token and its assets are mainly available on blockchains, allowing users to access multiple finance platforms easily. Notably, the goal of the network is to develop ten parallel assets on different chains. Only five different chains are currently working on projects compatible with the FLUX token. These include Ethereum, Binance, Kadena, Solana, and Tron.

FluxOS 

The core of the Flux network is the open-source FluxOS, a distributed computational system that enables developers to create dApps. It is designed to provide a safe and continuous environment for the users of dApps. Unlike other platforms, it does not require a central hub to operate. The global network of nodes, FluxNodes, ensures that the applications and network activities continue regardless of the status of the nodes.

Developers can easily create and run applications on any blockchain using the features of the FluxOS platform. Its interoperability allows them to run their applications on any chain without requiring knowledge of new programming languages. Additionally, they can easily transfer their applications to Web3 without requiring a central hub.

Developers can also create, manage, and deploy globally decentralized applications using the API and UI of the FluxOS platform. It handles the backend requirements of the blockchain, allowing them to focus on the front end of its applications.

FluxNodes

As open-source projects, anyone can run a FluxNode, but they must meet certain requirements to maintain its operation. These include high-end hardware and an adequate level of commitment to the network’s uptime. 

The requirements also depend on the kind of node one wants to operate. Although there are multiple tiers of FluxNodes, they all use the same PoW hash algorithm called “FluxHash.” It is a blend of the ZCash and ZHash algorithms and an ASIC-resistant mechanism that makes it more appealing to GPU miners. That ensures that the network is more decentralized.

ZelCore

One of the most active and fundamental decentralized applications operating on the FluxOS platform is ZelCore. It allows users to store over 380 different cryptocurrencies. It is also a multi-utility platform that can perform various tasks, such as swap exchanges. 

As a free-to-use app, users can easily buy crypto using a regular debit card. ZelCore also utilizes a two-factor authentication process, d2FA, to enhance security.

The FLUX token holders can pay for additional features through a subscription service, ZelCore+. That allows users to access various features, portfolio tracking, and API integrations of major exchanges such as Kraken and Binance. Users can sync their exchange accounts and private keys to their ZelCore lite wallets.

The platform also provides a gateway to various useful applications, such as the Fusion app. This app allows users to easily transfer their native FLUX coins and the parallel FLUX token between different chains. It additionally facilitates the distribution of the token’s rewards and parallel assets.

Presearch

The Presearch platform is a blockchain-based search engine that aims to provide users with a secure and decentralized network. It also rewards users for their contributions to the system. The platform’s main objective is to decentralize the search ecosystem and provide users with a more rewarding experience.

How does Presearch (PRE) work?

Presearch provides users with a decentralized platform where they can search for anything and even earn PRE tokens by searching for anything on the platform. Decentralized nodes, operated by their community members, power the Presearch engine, which runs on a decentralized technology. Currently, they can earn up to 3 PRE tokens per day, and this rate changes depending on the demand and supply of the currency. 

The platform also rewards the network operators for their contributions, and they are required to stake their PRE tokens to provide the server capacity on the network.

A marketing opportunity

Through the Presearch platform, marketers can reach the platform users by displaying ads. Unlike Google Ads, which requires users to create an account and spend money to run ads, Presearch allows advertisers to place their PRE tokens on a keyword and reward them with an ad slot.

A privacy-focused approach

The privacy policy of the Presearch engine is one of its main selling points. According to the platform, it does not collect or store any user information. It claims to be an open-source software and runs on a decentralized network.

Interactive search features

The Presearch engine features a variety of interactive search functions. Users can access the platform’s search bar through various platforms, such as YouTube, Google, DuckDuckGo, Twitter, and CoinMarketCap. Aside from its various search functions, the main engine of the Presearch engine delivers better results than other platforms.

Final thoughts

Unlike other technologies, blockchain doesn’t allow a single person or group to control an ecosystem. Instead, it allows users to exert control by collecting and storing data. This type of technology has a secure and transparent data record and doesn’t have a single supervisor.

Its decentralization allows it to incentivize network participants and penalize bad actors. In addition, users can decide how and when to share their data. As policymakers scramble to address the various issues related to Web 2.0, the next revolution has begun with Web3 platforms at the forefront. DYOR to keep ahead of the curve as this technology unveils.