Kim Dotcom, the controversial web entrepreneur and creation father of the now-defunct file storage platform Megaupload, is making a comeback inside the digital content material enterprise. This time, as a substitute of a platform that permits customers to obtain copyright songs and tv sequence, Dotcom plans to make use of blockchain know-how to create a good digital content material distribution market familiar as Ok.IM.

According to Ok.IM’s white paper, the planned challenge is inclined as a dynamic ecosystem that’s “aimed to become the easiest and the most secure way to generate revenue with digital content.”

The challenge plans to facilitate client and author minutes whereas fade out the intercessor with the assistance of the Kimcoin. Bitfinex, the cryptocurrency alternate in partnership with Dotcom’s platform, has late introduced the sale of the Ok.IM with the relaunch of its preliminary alternate providing (IEO) platform, Toikinex.

Project overview

The Ok.IM challenge has so far raised over $2 million from traders and is deliberate to be dead operational by the third quarter of 2020, in response to the challenge’s street map. Ok.IM says it goals to fill again a content material monetisation hole in a market price over $400 billion.

According to the challenge’s white paper, the infiltration of a number of intermediaries inside the digital content material enterprise has launched an incapacity to supply content material at ultra-low costs. With a enterprise mannequin that offers 95% of gross revenue income to content material creators, the Ok.IM platform will aim to spice up monetisation whereas attracting publishers to take part.

Some of the important matter options of the platform embrace content material pricing and entails the usage of a file encoding service. Users will have the power to invite content material with a spread of cryptocurrencies. However, alone Bitcoin (BTC) and Ok.IM shall be available initially.

Ok.IM will function a utility coin that can enable customers to buy content material, donate or tip on the platform. The challenge’s street map in addition states that Ok.IM shall be issued inside the final quarter of 2019, with a token sale on Bitfinex set to happen on Oct. 22.

While commenting on the challenge’s growth, Dotcom talked about that “combining the net with Bitcoin gives a real chance of achieving the original promise of the net,” shaping that promise as exemption of speech, finance and commerce. He in addition added that his primary motivation for launching the platforms is to “cut out all the middlemen and sell content and digital goods without censorship.” In an e mail dialog, Kim Dotcom sophisticated Cointelegraph:

“K.im will work on policies, designs, and technologies that attempt to address the many complex issues of international copyright compliance for user-generated content intercessor services and related risks.”

Dotcom in addition acknowledged that current technical breakthroughs corresponding to Bitcoin’s Lightning Network have enabled the creation of tokens corresponding to Ok.IM that may be supported on Bitcoin’s blockchain community.

Will Megaupload solid a dark shadow on Ok.IM?

Far from the noble aims of giving customers exemption and entry to digital items, Dotcom’s alleged repute of creating hundreds of thousands of {dollars} by permitting unlawful file sharing on Megaupload still casts a shadow on his new challenge.

For some, it’s a bit shocking {that a} defunct platform whose founder has been secured in a authorized battle with the United States over copyright claims is now spearheading a challenge that can create a good marketplace for content material creators.

In response, Dotcom has replied that the know-how the challenge is constructed upon permits customers to promote their content material with out Ok.IM’s data of what content material they’re promoting. Therefore, content material publishers could have absolute direction of their content material with encrypted file safety.

While speaking to Hard Fork, Dotcom in addition mentioned that the platform goals to “respect the rights of copyright owners by establishing policies in its terms of use.”

He sophisticated Max Keiser from KeiserReport that the platform will implement a content material net hosting platform with a “decentralized structure,” which could have an API that can allow customers so as to add their servers from anyplace throughout the globe. Dotcom in addition added that the platform will “allow users to report” somematter unlawful on the platforms en bloc policing technique.

IEOs as the brand new ICOs

By definition, an IEO entails the partnership between a challenge and an alternate to promote the challenge’s tokens by means of the alternate. IEOs are touted as a much less dangerous different to preliminary coin choices (ICOs). While an ICO includes the promoting of a challenge’s tokens on to the customer, IEO tokens bear a vetting course of that offers purchasers extra confidence.

Also, initiatives corresponding to Ok.IM can outsource their advertising additionally to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance to the alternate platform. This makes it straightforward for challenge managers to navigate by means of varied restrictive necessities.

For this motive, the Ok.IM challenge has partnered with Bitfinex in what Dotcom calls “the perfect partner to help distribute the KIM tokens.”

Given that 75% of IEO tokens have reportedly misplaced greater than 50% of their worth, how will Dotcom’s challenge differentiate its worth proposition for a profitable token sale? Dotcom sophisticated Cointelegraph, “a token sale using Bitfinex was an easy choice.” He added,

“We want to distribute our token as wide as possible amongst the bitcoin community for first and early use of the platform.”

Exploring the area of interest

With the rise of censorship from current content material distribution platforms, there may be arguably a marketplace for a decentralized and impartial platform like Ok.IM that can improve going ahead. The Ok.IM ecosystem can revolutionize the digital content material business with improved monetisation that advantages creators additionally to customers.

This can all be achieved whereas marketing exemption of speech – that’s, if the challenge delivers the guarantees distinct in its white paper. Furthermore, Dotcom confirmed to Cointelegraph that:

“The token piggybacks off cutting edge open-source technology such as the Bitcoin lightning network and its future integration with liquid tokens. In a nutshell, the token aims to leave fast, cheap and well-nigh free micropayments for artists and content creators through the K.im platform.”

Despite the noble aims of the challenge and the selection to go the IEO method, sure drawbacks would possibly set off concern over the challenge’s success. For instance, Bitfinex has been hacked on a number of events. The first occasion in 2015 led to a lack of greater than 1,500 Bitcoins, and a yr later, about 120,000 Bitcoins have been taken from the alternate.

This yr, the alternate has been criticized over its tie with Tether in accomplishable cover-up of over $850 million in misplaced crypto. In addition to Dotcom’s previous controversies, the authorized points correlated Bitfinex may have an effect on Ok.IM’s success.

For now, nevertheless, it corset to be seen whether or not Ok.IM shall be profitable in delivering the promise of the web by means of the blockchain.