Theta Network hits a home run! Pre-Guardian Node program is ongoing! For those who aren’t familiar, the PGN is an early preview of Guardian Nodes, the 2nd layer of nodes in Theta’s multi-BFT consensus mechanism. Theta web wallet now supports all Nano Ledger derivation paths. The team published the new blog post on the critical role of Theta Network and TFUEL in SLIVER.tv in which they dives into how the TFUEL token works to reward users, reduce CDN costs, and create a more engaged userbase for the SLIVER.tv esports platform. Also, you can now 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. Klaytn, the blockchain project launched by Kakao subsidiary GroundX, announced they will partner with SLIVER.tv and Theta Labs to launch SLIVER.tv Korea, a new esports mobile app powered by the Theta video delivery network. SLIVER.tv Korea will join Klaytn blockchain platform as an initial launch partner. The launch of SLIVER.tv Korea expands Theta Network’s footprint in the Korean market, building on partnerships formed with SamsungVR, MBN, CJ Hello, Pandora.tv and KAIST university. As for social encounters, on June 13th Tim Li, Head of Platform at Theta, was speaking at BDMI Media Summit in NYC. BDMI Fund is a key investment arm of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, and investor in Theta Labs. In case you missed the latest Theta AMA with CEO Mitch Liu and Head of Strategy Wes Levitt, you can check out the replay in Theta YouTube channel. Theta community continues to grow. There are a constant slight grows in the number of token holders and subscribers of Theta social media channels. NASA’s events are streaming on Sliver.tv. Network statistics constantly shows impressive numbers. The project gains ground. And last but not least — you can submit your Theta artwork, and win the chance to design the next Theta merchandise! Winners will get 25% cut of their designs’ sales! Deadline is June 25th! Stay tuned!
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):
- Theta Pre-Guardian Node is ongoing!
For information on Theta Guardian Nodes and how to join, see the announcement blog.
If you had trouble accessing your mainnet Theta Tokens via your Nano before, try using one of the alternate derivation paths here.
Social encounters
- In case you missed the latest Theta AMA with CEO Mitch Liu and Head of Strategy Wes Levitt, you can check out the replay here:
- June 13th: Tim Li, Head of Platform at Theta, was speaking at BDMI Media Summit in NYC. BDMI Fund is a key investment arm of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, and investor in Theta Labs. Unfortunately the event isn’t open to public, but the team will post any videos if available!
- The team will be doing monthly live AMAs going forward, and you can vote for who you’d like to see next from Theta team here.
Network Statistics
New publication in Theta Network blog:
In the last blog, the TFUEL Use Case, the Theta team discussed how the TFUEL token works to reward users, reduce CDN costs, and create a more engaged userbase for video platforms. In this second post they dive in to how that works in practice for TFUEL for the SLIVER.tv esports platform.
SLIVER.tv — The first Theta-powered platform
SLIVER.tv is invaluable to the Theta project, as the first implementation of the Theta protocol, the sandbox for further refinements, and the case study for how Theta can improve video platforms. In short, SLIVER is how the team proves to the world that Theta really works!
Since mainnet launch in March, the team’s strategy has been to slowly convert the existing SLIVER channels to run on the Theta Network, allowing users to relay the stream to other users nearby and earn TFUEL. From the very first featured Theta streamer, Dubpace, they’ve expanded to more than 20 streamers and often you’ll see up to 5 Theta channels running concurrently, with each pool of users relaying the stream to each other over the Theta Network.
The amount of traffic (measured in MB) relayed between peers on the Theta Network has continued to grow, which has been from 100% organic traffic. As they enter the next phase of growth this month and start focusing on marketing and user acquisition, they expect significant growth in Theta-powered traffic.
Despite the increased usage, the team is still seeing great improvements in offload %, which is the amount of video traffic that is carried by Theta versus existing content delivery networks (CDNs) for a given day on SLIVER.tv. The average offload has reached 50%, with offload under ideal conditions reaching 80% in some sessions. Theta development team continues to make great strides in optimizing their mesh streaming network, with the goal of achieving a network-wide average of 80% offload. This is critical because it translates into direct cost savings to the CDN bill, just like it will for any other platform using the Theta Network.
TFUEL as the ultimate engagement mechanism
Of course if the network relays video more efficiently, that also means more TFUEL earned by each user, which of course leads to more user engagement! More than any other stat, the teammight be most proud of how long the session times are on Theta streams where users can earn TFUEL, far exceeding session times of Twitch or even the SLIVER.tv channels not using the Theta protocol.
This is the undeniable proof that the Theta model works, and that crypto token incentives can change user experiences. Theta-powered channels blow any other kind out of the water when it comes to the all-important metric of how long users will spend watching the channel. This is how video platforms can create engaged, recurring, and loyal userbases.
TFUEL improves streamer monetization
Much of that TFUEL is donated back to content creators/streamers, which let’s them earn at higher rates per user than competing platforms, and encourages them to switch to Theta-powered platforms. Donations are trending up, with significant amounts donated on high-profile streaming days like esports tournaments, the NASA space shuttle launches, or other live events.
TFUEL leads to other monetization opportunities for streamers on SLIVER.tv as well. In addition to donations, featured streamers also sell their own branded merchandise in the SLIVER.tv store, which users can purchase with TFUEL. Top streamers on SLIVER like Dubpace and Skacle have seen a huge jump in monetization and a 10x increase in viewers by switching to SLIVER.tv.
This constant cycle of development and improvement on SLIVER.tv is critical as the team prepares their first partners to join the mainnet, like Samsung VR, CJ Hello, and MBN. By learning what works on SLIVER.tv, they can adapt the model to fit different content and monetization strategies, whether it’s short-form movies sold à la carte on Samsung VR, advertising-based news channels on MBN, or premium content on the CJ Viewing set-top TV boxes. Before each mainnet partner launch, they’ll do a deep dive blog on how their business models work and are strengthened by TFUEL and the Theta Network.
Sliver.tv statistics (June 21st, 2019):
The information is taken from Similarweb.com.
Roadmap
Q2 2019:
- Beta release universal edge cacher client
- Launch 3rd party Validator partner program
- Enhance Mesh Streaming Network scalability
- Enhance Blockchain scalability
- Launch Developer tools for Theta mainnet integration
- Beta release Android mobile SDK integration with initial partners
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):
Partnerships and team members
Klaytn blockchain partners with SLIVER.tv and Theta Labs to launch SLIVER.tv Korea mobile app:
SLIVER.tv Korea mobile esports platform will be powered by Theta decentralized video delivery network, with users earning TFUEL and Klaytn app-level engagement token
Klaytn, the blockchain project launched by Kakao subsidiary GroundX, announced they will partner with SLIVER.tv and Theta Labs to launch SLIVER.tv Korea, a new esports mobile app powered by the Theta video delivery network. SLIVER.tv Korea will join Klaytn blockchain platform as an initial launch partner.
SLIVER.tv Korea will be the world’s first end-to-end mobile esports experience, powered by the Theta blockchain and the new native Klaytn token. Users will be able to share their excess bandwidth to relay SLIVER.tv Korea video streams over the Theta Network, earning Theta Fuel (TFUEL) tokens in the process. At the same time, users will be able to earn app-level Klaytn blockchain tokens for daily login bonus, participating in chat, donating virtual items and various other engagement actions. The launch of SLIVER.tv Korea expands Theta Network’s footprint in the Korean market, building on partnerships formed with SamsungVR, MBN, CJ Hello, Pandora.tv and KAIST university.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with SLIVER.tv and Theta Labs to launch the SLIVER.tv Korea esports platform in the Korea market,” said Chase Choi, Head of Business Development at GroundX. “SLIVER.tv has built an impressive global game streaming platform with over 3 million users and we believe we can help them become successful in the Korea market while driving significant adoption and usage of our Klaytn blockchain.”
“SLIVER.tv is positioned to take advantage of the cutting edge innovation happening in Korea, from pioneering mobile gaming, to its embrace of blockchain technology and early market leadership and adoption of 5G wireless,” said Mitch Liu, CEO of SLIVER.tv and Theta Labs, Inc. “The convergence of these trends presents a unique opportunity to build the first ever mobile-to-mobile esports platform powered by blockchain rewards from Theta and Klaytn native chains.”
About Klaytn and GroundX
The Klaytn blockchain project is being developed by GroundX, the blockchain unit of Korean tech conglomerate Kakao. Klaytn is an enterprise-grade, service-centric platform that combines the best features of both public blockchains (decentralized data & control, distributed governance) and private blockchains (low latency, high scalability) via an efficient ‘hybrid’ design. GroundX has reported raised $90M (107B KRW) in funding for the Klaytn project in a private token sale, with an additional funding round currently underway.
Rumors
Twitter:
- @Theta_Network on June 14th, 2019 on Conglomerates’ Deep Pockets Continue Blockchain Growth in South Korea Despite Crypto Ban Coin Telegraph article:
Props to Samsung for leading the way with investments in Theta Labs, Ledger, Dapper Labs, and more!
Reddit discussions:
Other:
We’ve seen lots of awesome community-designed Theta art in the past two years, and now it’s time to take it to the next level! the team wants the best artists in Theta community to design the next round of Theta gear. The top 3 submissions will have their designs featured as custom merchandise in the SLIVER.tv store (including t-shirts, hats, hoodies, mugs, etc.) — and if your design wins, you’ll earn 25% of the sales of your items! Example: if your design wins and your Theta shirt sells for $25 in the SLIVER.tv store, you’ll earn $6.25 from each shirt sold.
Here’s how it works: send the team your best Theta Network / TFUEL-related designs in the form of desktop/mobile backgrounds and social media assets. Here are the different formats and sizes they’re looking for:
iPhone and Android wallpaper: 1080x1920
PC wallpaper: 1920x1080
Mac Retina wallpaper: 2560 x 1440
Social media assets: 1:1 square aspect ratio, 1024x1024 dimensions
Other than that, the team encourages you to take your Theta vision in any direction you want — get creative! To help get you started, here are a variety of Theta/TFUEL assets you can use for your designs.
To submit your designs, email them to support@thetatoken.org, and be sure to share them on social media too with #thetanetwork! The deadline for submissions is June 25th. The team will pick the three best designs, and in the days following they’ll announce the winners on this blog. As a runner up prize, they’ll also pick 10 users who submit designs to get a free Theta t-shirt of their choice. Please note, the team does reserve the right to use any submissions during and after this contest, though only for the purposes of marketing and promoting the Theta project. Good luck!
- Be aware of scammers! Admins of Official Theta Telegram chat will never DM you or ask for private info / keys / seed phrases!
New reviews on Theta:
- What Is Theta Network? Introduction to THETA and TFUEL Tokens on Cryptobriefing.com
Social media metrics
Social media activity:
Social media dynamics:
Theta community continues to grow. There is a slight increase in the number of subscribers of Theta social media channels these weeks.
Theta subreddit has moved to Theta_network. And telegram chat moved to ThetaNetwork.
Official Telegram group — Discussions on testnet, 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. Last publication — on May 30th, 2019.
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.
