Mass Network to Offer Bitcoin-Based Solution to Online Advertising

A recent press release reveals that a group of cryptography experts, advertisers and industry executives have formed what they call “The Mass Network.” This project aims to provide a blockchain-based solution to the problems of online advertising, such as pop-ups and exploitative practices.

Also read: ‘Bitcoin Browser’ Brave Raises $4.5M, Readies for 1.0 Launch

Mass Network Aims to End the Advertising Industry’s Exploitative Practices

Created by a “Bitcoin Super Team,” the Mass Network focuses on restoring the balance of power between the advertising industry and users. Data tracking and invasive advertisements have become a way of life while surfing the Internet, and the organization wants to put an end to those practices.

The Mass Network team is composed of leading innovators from businesses such as Colu, Mycelium, Evernote, BitFury Capital, Deutsche Bank and IBM. According to the press release, two more large Bitcoin firms are in talks about collaborating with the project.

During the launch, Mass Network developers say they will create a method of exchange. Colu will provide an asset protocol, while Mycelium provides a wallet interface. Users of the Mass Network will be paid in Mass Coin for browsing sites using the network and for watching advertisements.

Dmitry “Rassah” Murashchik of Mycelium states that Mass Coin will live on top of the Bitcoin blockchain and provide the same “transparency, fluidity, and security of Bitcoin without the dramatic price volatility.”

The Mass platform is a similar project to AdBlock Plus or the Brave Platform, as evidenced by the goals listed on its website:

Mass is software for consumers, webmasters, advertisers, and data management platforms. The founding goal is to create a convenient marketplace for all. This platform incorporates a frictionless, secure, and verifiable payment system based on the blockchain. Mass makes every internet user an interested party in these relations and improves consumer attitudes towards ads and publishers. This will make advertising much more efficient to the benefit of all parties involved.

Mass looks to bring monetization to Internet browsing, with the goal of creating a better bond between consumers, brands and publishers, says Rassah.

The team believes its blockchain-based platform will be an efficient solution to data harvesting and exploits, which pop up nearly every day. The organization says the creation of Mass is part of the trend “towards true democratization of the internet.”

Platforms like AdBlock Plus and others have paved the way for a better online user experience, but the Mass Network claims it will provide a more sustainable model than its predecessors. Ad-blocking software, a native currency, and user compensation will replace irrelevant ads and invasive data harvesting, developers say.

Mass believes its service will differ from both AdBlock Plus and Brave’s recent ad-blocking model by adhering to the principle of “everybody makes fair money and no data abuse.”

‘The Blockchain Is Bitcoin’

The Mass Network believes using the Bitcoin blockchain is the only logical decision for the platform as they prepare to launch the project. The prospectus explains its choice compared to other blockchains:

Strictly speaking, there are no other fully functioning blockchains apart from Bitcoin; therefore, the Blockchain is Bitcoin. The only alternative to Bitcoin worth mentioning is Ethereum, and it is many orders of magnitude less secure yet, so it is mentioned here only anecdotally. ‘Smart contracts’ – the idea Ethereum boasts adding to the blockchain world – are not “legally binding contracts” in any part of the world, and will probably not be before long.

The Mass Network has also unveiled its ICO prospectus, where people can participate in funding the project. The initial offering will allow the purchase of Mass Coin, a once-issued virtual currency that uses the blockchain as transport.

What do you think about the Mass Network? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of the Mass Network.

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