Theta Crypto: Is It Worth Investing In?

The Theta blockchain is a decentralised video delivery network and cryptocurrency. It aims to solve the problems of poor quality, video re-buffering and high load times in the video streaming industry. The Theta blockchain incentivises users to share their excess bandwidth and computing resources in exchange for token rewards. Users can also use the Theta token to secure the blockchain and reward content creators. The Theta blockchain is also the only end-to-end infrastructure for decentralised video streaming and delivery.

Theta is one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world and has been expanding its decentralised video delivery network. The Theta token has yet to be added to USA-based exchanges, which has prevented many US citizens from purchasing it. However, it has been growing in popularity and has been included on Samsung Galaxy phones, which will give it a worldwide user base.

If you are thinking of investing in Theta, it is recommended that you do your own research and create a diversified portfolio to avoid over-exposing yourself to risky assets.

Theta's utility and function

Theta (THETA) is a cryptocurrency with a decentralised video delivery network that aims to solve the poor quality of video streaming. It wants to create a decentralised peer-to-peer video delivery solution that is efficient, secure, and fast. The Theta blockchain has expanded to process payments and reward users within the Theta ecosystem. It is an open-source blockchain that supports decentralised applications (dApps) and can be run by the network, using the THETA coin.

The Theta ecosystem offers a video delivery network backed by nodes that share bandwidth with users. It provides decentralised video content services to individuals using the platform. The Theta blockchain incentivises users to enjoy the network, use it, and provide help and support to other users. The THETA token is used to secure the entire blockchain and reward content creators. It may also be used to trade a wide range of virtual products and purchase premium content from users working on the Theta network.

Theta is a "dual network" consisting of two complementary subsystems: the Theta Blockchain and the Theta Edge Network. The Theta proof-of-stake blockchain provides payment, reward, staking, and smart contract capabilities, while the Edge Network is responsible for the compute, storage, and delivery of video streams, AI tasks, and other scientific, simulation, and financial modelling use cases. There are two native cryptocurrencies on the Theta blockchain: THETA, the staking and governance token, and TFUEL, used as gas for all transactions and on-chain smart contract interactions.

The Theta Edge Network, with its distributed architecture, reduces the costs of delivering quality video by including a larger number of participants in the blockchain. This allows for more flexibility and innovation in managing revenue streams and content creation. It promotes decentralisation and a better reward distribution system, cutting out intermediaries and allowing viewers to reward content creators directly with tokens.

The Theta Edge Network's distributed architecture also enhances security by making the network more resistant to disruptions in content delivery. It aims to offer streaming quality that challenges existing content delivery networks in terms of consistency.

Real-world use case

Theta Network is a decentralised video delivery network that provides blockchain-enabled solutions to the problems facing the traditional video-streaming sector. It provides high-quality video streaming at a reduced cost compared to traditional service providers.

Theta's video-streaming services rely on a distributed network of users who voluntarily contribute their spare bandwidth and computing resources to run the platform. In exchange, they receive Theta Fuel coin rewards. Theta users can also earn Theta coin rewards for sharing videos with other users via Edgecast, Theta Network’s content transcription and distribution decentralised application (dApp).

Theta has identified multiple ways to deliver tangible end-user value within the rapidly growing global video-streaming industry. Theta Network users enjoy full access to a global infrastructure focused on unrestricted and efficient video content and data delivery. Because Theta Network is powered by tens of thousands of nodes, it is more resistant to potential content-delivery disruptions and digital last-mile delivery issues.

Theta has been developed by Theta Labs, and its team includes media and entertainment professionals based in Silicon Valley and Asia. The platform is also backed by major corporations like Sony, Samsung, and CAA, traditional venture capital firms including DCM and Sierra Ventures Fund, and blockchain-focused institutional investors like Node Capital and DHVC.

Theta has also partnered with other blockchain projects to increase awareness and adoption. For example, Binance’s premier global esports tournament, “The Battle of Asia 2020,” was sponsored by Theta Network. Binance plans to stream all future esports matches through Binance.com and Theta.tv, while integrating its exchange token, Binance Coin (BNB), into a custom-built Theta video player with interactive chat functions.

Theta has also been working with Samsung’s Visual Display group to help bring Theta Network’s content-streaming services to their smart TV lineup. Samsung in particular has helped advance Theta’s adoption, and the platform’s main esports streaming dApp, Theta.tv, will be included in future Galaxy S20 smartphones shipped to the U.S.—thereby expanding Theta’s potential user base by 75 million.

Team and major partnerships

Theta has a very strong founding team, led by CEO Mitch Liu and CTO Jieyi Long. Liu has a long history in media and entertainment, dating back to his undergraduate research at the MIT Media Lab. He later cofounded mobile ad company Tapjoy, which he grew to $100 million in annual revenues, as well as Gameview Studios, which was acquired by Japanese gaming company DeNA. Long was previously cofounder and CTO of MadSkill Game Studios and was an R&D engineer at Synopsys software security company. Prior to that, he received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Northwestern, studying distributed systems, among other areas.

Theta and its parent company SLIVER.tv are backed by leading investors in the corporate, media, and crypto sectors, including Sony, Samsung, BDMI, CAA, FBG, Node Capital, and DHVC. The Samsung relationship, in particular, has been critical for the adoption of the Theta Network. Samsung NEXT, the VC arm of Samsung that invested in SLIVER.tv, has introduced the team to many business groups within Samsung and helped them understand where best to integrate.

Theta has partnered with two major Korean conglomerates, MBN and CJ Hello, the American equivalents to Time Warner and Comcast. They also partnered with Samsung VR for their testnet run of their VR streaming capability and currently run a channel on Theta’s Mainnet via Sliver.tv.

The Theta team has been transparent about their growth within different Samsung subsidiaries. They are working with the “Visual Display Group” on integrating the Theta protocol within Tizen OS, Samsung’s Smart TV operating system (which also has the largest market share). The Theta team also partnered with a top tech graduate school in Korea, equivalent to Stanford or MIT, to teach a blockchain course and help foster the next generation of blockchain developers.

Theta's decentralised video delivery network

The Theta blockchain is expanding as a decentralised video delivery network, aiming to solve the issue of poor-quality video streaming. The Theta network will be a decentralised, peer-to-peer video delivery solution that is efficient, secure, and fast.

The Theta blockchain is powered by Theta Labs, a subsidiary of SLIVER.tv, a leading VR live streaming company. The Theta network will allow for vertical decentralised apps (DApps) to be built on top of the platform to enable esports, music, TV/movies, education, enterprise conferencing, and more.

The core of the network enables users worldwide with unutilised PC bandwidth and resources to cache and relay video streams to others in the network and, in turn, mine Theta tokens. This peer-to-peer decentralised network will allow for much more efficient, high-quality streaming. Publishers and content creators will no longer need to develop expensive infrastructure, empowering original content creation and novel business models.

Theta's blockchain technology enables media and entertainment companies to improve video delivery at lower costs, while expanding their reach, boosting views, and increasing user engagement through token incentives. This changes video and content consumption from a one-way relationship into a two-way relationship, where users are participating in the network just by watching a video.

Theta's competitors

When considering investing in a cryptocurrency, it is important to research its competitors. Here is some information about Theta's competitors:

Livepeer (LPT) is a decentralised video transcoding network built on Ethereum. It is a direct competitor to Theta and, although it is currently more difficult to set up for the average user, it has the potential to emerge as a leading platform.

VideoCoin, the 468th largest cryptocurrency in the market, also offers support and infrastructure to the video content and streaming industries. While VideoCoin has the potential to grow, it is not yet a true competitor to Theta.

Other competitors by default include Ethereum, Polkadot, Cosmos, and Cardano, as Theta now offers smart contracts and the ability to create tokens. ThetaSwap, a decentralised exchange (DEX) recently launched on the Theta network, could also make other exchanges competitors.

AIOZ is another alternative to Theta, as it offers similar services, including AIOZ Tube, live streaming, and TV channels.

One Six Solutions, Net Solutions, iOLAP, Appinop, Affirma, Mercury Development, Centric Consulting, Chop Dawg, and Optimum are also listed as top alternatives and competitors to Theta, although it is unclear if these are direct competitors in the blockchain streaming space or in other areas.

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