EscrowBytes is a cloud-based service allowing any user to sell self-made videos for bitcoins. It was started a month ago by California-based Digitsy Inc. CoinFox reached out to Alex Solonchev, CEO of Digitsy Inc.:

Coinfox: When did you come across bitcoin and what made you interested in it in the first place?

Alex Solonchev: Reading about Bitcoin a couple of years ago I was fascinated by its clever use of rather well-known cryptography and by the multitude of possible practical applications of the blockchain technology. It was the practical technological side of ready-to-use bitcoin implementations that interested me the most.

That's why I decided to make something simple, usable, which would give people better understanding of bitcoin and help them apply its theoretical advantages in real life. So I came up with EscrowBytes - a reverse digital escrow service allowing people to quickly sell newsworthy videos for bitcoins.

Coinfox: What did bitcoin mean for you when you decided to create EscrowBytes? Were you interested in promoting bitcoin or just chose an efficient payment method?

Alex Solonchev: The interest in bitcoin technology came first, but not as money substitute. It was practical implementation of smart contracts, digital escrow, and irreversible payments that looked very promising but at the same time really challenging. Actually, using bitcoin only as a method of payment can be considered as an evidence of insufficient maturity of the market. Bitcoin can do so much more, but unfortunately existing client apps just don't implement many of these features.

I created EscrowBytes as an answer to this challenge: is it possible to create a digital escrow in an ecosystem where bitcoin wallets do not directly support smart contracts? How to make it work and look simple and trustworthy without going into explanation of all those cryptographical algorithms? How to create a digital escrow and keep the trustless spirit of bitcoin when everything works automatically by design, eliminating subjective human decisions?

So the goal was to utilize promise of blockchain technology as much as it is possible today. EscrowBytes is a real-life implementation of the digital escrow idea which works with existing bitcoin wallets.

Coinfox: Do you believe that EscrowBytes can be the long-awaited bitcoin “killer app”? If not, what kind of app could be the one?

Alex Solonchev: EscrowBytes solves a real problem, in that market where Bitcoin can really compete with traditional forms of payment. The success of the EscrowBytes will depend on our ability to market it across a wider audience.

I think that the search for a "killer app" will succeed in the wider context of the blockchain technology. Many signs point to the future where we all will use blockchains without even knowing that - hidden deep inside banks and corporate systems.

Coinfox: In your press release you speak of uploading “politically charged videos” as one of the possible uses for your platform. However, on your site you forbid people to upload materials that violate any law, statute, or regulation. Are you sure there is no contradiction here?

Alex Solonchev: "Politically charged" doesn't mean illegal or irresponsible. One of the key scenarios we envisioned while building the EscrowBytes was the one where a person is witnessing a civil unrest or a police brutality incident. That could be considered a politically charged news event which deserves to be reported by the media. EscrowBytes allows fast communications between anyone shooting the video and news outlets around the world, as well as it provides incentives for people to participate in news gathering.

Coinfox: What are your future plans in the bitcoin space?

Alex Solonchev: Bitcoin is the most visible implementation of blockchain technology. We are closely monitoring developments in many markets with the emphasis on real-life implementations. For example, we are going to extend EscrowBytes to support escrow and smart contracts scenarios for other types of digital goods.

Alexey Tereshchenko