Theta

Theta Network is the leading video delivery network powered by blockchain technology. Theta allows users to simultaneously watch video content and earn token rewards for relaying video to other users who are also watching the same content. In the same vein as other sharing economy models, users opt-in to volunteering their spare bandwidth and computing resources to relay video to other users and earn token rewards for their contributions. Users can contribute to Theta Network on any PC, mobile device, or smart TV.

For video platforms, integrating Theta into their video delivery stack enables them to reduce their video delivery cost, deepen viewer engagement, and drive incremental revenues. By spending less on video delivery infrastructure, and more on rewarding their users, Theta-enabled video platforms can grow their userbase and gain market share.

The Theta Blockchain is a purpose-built blockchain designed from the ground up for video and data relaying launched in March 2019. Theta’s unique multi-BFT consensus design combines a committee of 20–30 Enterprise Validator Nodes with a second layer of 1000s of community-run Guardian Nodes. Validator Nodes propose and produce new blocks in the chain, while Guardian Nodes seal blocks and act as a check on malicious or otherwise non-functional Validator Nodes. As of December 2020, Enterprise Validator Nodes on Theta are run by Google, Blockchain Ventures, Samsung, Sony Europe, Binance, gumi Cryptos, and Theta Labs, with more major enterprises in the process of joining. After the Theta 2.0 launch in May 2020, Guardian Node counts quickly ramped up. Currently, there are more than 3,000 Guardian nodes run by the Theta community members.

The Theta blockchain mainnet enables the support for Turing-complete smart contracts. Smart contracts open up a whole new set of user experiences and new attribution models for DApps built on the Theta network. For example, leveraging smart contracts on the Theta network could enable fully digitized item ownership, innovative payment-consumption models, transparent royalty distributions, trustless crowdfunding mechanisms, and much more. This provides an additional layer of social and economic interactivity that supplements the core functionality of video and data delivery, and significantly increases the engagement and retention of platform users.

In the Theta blockchain, Validator Nodes propose and produce new blocks in the chain, while Guardian Nodes seal blocks and act as a check on malicious or otherwise non-functional Validator Nodes. Guardian nodes play important roles to protect the security of the Theta blockchain as they form a second layer defense against potential malicious attackers. Staking with Arthur J Goldman Guardian nodes will help secure the Theta blockchain!