5 decentralized YouTube alternatives

5 decentralized YouTube alternatives In fact, without Twitter, YouTube silently, unnoticed, one by one, removes the videos of blockchain-based content producers or closes their accounts without warning. It uses the phrases as a justification for the sale of harmful or dangerous content or controlled products . However, only this content states these phrases specifically for users. So, no official statement has been made about this. However, YouTube can interpret some items in its own way using the possibilities of a central system.

We don’t know how many creators’ accounts in total YouTube has permanently  closed or how many content has been removed in this way. However, one of the most striking examples of this was the closing of the account of Anthony Pompliano , who has approximately 400 thousand subscribers , in October last year, never to be opened again, even from scratch .

With Antonio’s over 1 million users on Twitter taking action at the time of the incident, YouTube could not stand the pressure and returned the channel to its owner in a short time, saying ‘an employee’s mistake’ . On the subject, a YouTube video shot by Anthony Pompliano after the event reveals more interesting points about how dangerous this action is and how it can affect. 

Unfortunately, Anthony Pompliano isn’t the only creator YouTube is targeting. Chris Dunn is another example. In the last week of 2019, some YouTube-selected crypto-themed videos were removed from Chris Dunn’s channel, which has more than 200 thousand subscribers and more than 7 million views in total.

It is possible to multiply many examples. Although YouTube currently has more than 1.9 billion monthly logged-in users, 1 billion hours of video watched per day, and more than 500 hours of new content uploads per minute, creators, especially those who stream on crypto, are considering moving to decentralized platforms. The fact that YouTube cuts and minimizes more than the income of the content producers in this is at least as important as these censorship events.

In fact, the situation is unpleasant for users. Users are not only from channels they know and trust, but also YouTube’s advertising policy is far from providing an uninterrupted and fluid experience to its users. YouTube Premium ads are also the cherry on the cake.

Let’s take a look at alternative decentralized video sharing platforms that are rising in popularity for both creators and viewers.

LBRY and ODYSEE

LBRY seems to be the biggest alternative to YouTube today with a user base of over 10 million. Being open source and built on its own blockchain, it shows the intent and potential to fix whatever goes wrong with YouTube. The blockchain works with the Proof of Work consensus mechanism.

Actually, we cannot define LBRY as a video sharing platform. The platform positions itself as a platform where all kinds of digital content including music, pictures, games, e-books, codes and applications are shared. So, for example, a software developer can share an application or an API he created on this platform, either for a fee or free of charge. For now, however, the focus is on video sharing.

Technically, we can define LBRY as a platform that uses a peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing network infrastructure built on a decentralized blockchain. Services such as search, content distribution, upload, purchase and download on the platform offer a smooth experience thanks to a well-established technical infrastructure.

With the LBC (LBRY Credits) token on the platform, you can purchase products put up for sale by content creators. For now, since this token is relatively new, the platform; This token rewards activities such as creating an account, viewing content, discovering, inviting and following. You can stake these tokens, reward creators you like, or cash out on a supporting exchange. Or you can create channels with these tokens and start uploading videos up to 4GB. Let’s say that the recommended video size is 720p. LBRY has the potential to be a holistic ecosystem in the long term, such as trading, storage and content security.

Because the platform is blockchain-based, every upload is recorded via the public ledger. Thus, the copyright of the content is protected and it is easier to find copies and accounts that copy. Besides, you can connect your account to YouTube and synchronize your uploaded videos there. (Of course, if YouTube didn’t remove it!) The lack of advertising on the platform is among the advantages that please the users. 

LBRY.TV represents the content you watch when you subscribe to channels. You don’t need to create an account to watch videos that creators post for free. However, for paid videos, you need to be a member and link your wallet.

In the meantime, let’s mention that the application is not on the browser, it is an application installed on your computer. Odysee , which you can access via a browser, is also a popular video sharing platform using LBRY infrastructure. More precisely, we can say that LBRY is focused on video sharing. Their contents are the same but their user interfaces and functions are different. While LBRY has functions such as creating channels and uploading videos, creating an application to pull content from another application, Odysee has more functions on video search and we can think of it as an extension of LBRY with a central interface. Of course, if you have LBC, you can create channels and upload videos.

THETA

THETA , which we have mentioned in detail before, was established as a result of long and deep researches to correct what went wrong in the industry. According to these researches, the platforms pay the price of hosting, which is quite expensive in today’s video sharing platforms, to content producers. In addition, censorship due to its centrality and unfair distribution due to inadequate algorithms are the biggest problems of the sector.

Theta is developing an alternative to this using its own blockchain. In this alternative system, the platform does not provide any hosting service. Instead, users share their unused bandwidth to the system, and in return, they earn THETA tokens in proportion to the bandwidth they share. This system not only allows content producers to earn more than on traditional platforms, but also provides a higher quality video streaming stream.

THETA is an open source application. This makes THETA network transparent and reliable. At the same time, content providers and other video platforms can use these source codes to build customized decentralized applications (Dapps) for their audiences.

D.TUBE

DTube prefers a design similar to YouTube in particular. Thus, it strengthens its chances of becoming a decentralized alternative to YouTube. Although the login process may seem a bit complicated for security reasons, it takes time to get used to it. Apart from this, DTube seems to have done its best to ensure that users do not have difficulty in adapting. In fact, this method must have worked, as it managed to attract over 2 million monthly viewers. It should also be noted that the vast majority of these viewers come from the USA.

According to their site, DTube is the world’s first crypto-based video sharing platform built on a decentralized system. The system uses the Avalon blockchain and peer-to-peer IPFS network.

Users earn DTC tokens when they upload, comment, watch and share videos on the system. This allows the system to be maintained ad-free. Although the absence of ads seems to mean that you cannot earn more revenue from the videos you upload, you can actually make your own ads within the video. These ads, which look more sincere, will not disturb the viewers either. 

Another interesting point about DTube is that it is a censorship-protected system. It can be said that since it is a decentralized system on the blockchain, isn’t it directly resistant to censorship? Of course. But DTube takes this one step further. First of all, it does not impose any restrictions on the content shared in the content guide – as long as it is legal. Viewers decide whether to censor a piece of content or not. How Does? With thumbs down or thumbs up votes!

This voting system is important not only in terms of censorship, but also in determining how algorithms will work. While almost all applications on Web2 organize their algorithms according to certain interaction or viewing rates, DTube provides equal opportunity for everyone. Let’s also remind you that YouTube has hidden the thumbs down votes a short time ago. 

The DTube algorithm works like this: The more upvotes a video gets, the higher it moves up in its category. Downvoted content is automatically rendered invisible. What can we say, a fully democratic system!

You need DTC token to be able to vote on DTube. When you hold a DTC token, you earn 1 VP (voting power) per DTC every hour. As you spend your earnings, make comments, upload videos, watch… in short, you earn and spend DTC as you become active in the system. Another interesting point is that you can advertise your videos by burning DTC. When the DTC is burned, it is out of circulation forever and the token becomes more valuable. In this way, the system is prevented from entering a vicious circle.

BitChute

BitChute , like its other blockchain-based counterparts, prioritizes the fight against censorship. On the other hand, the difference of this platform from others is that it is financially supported by the community. The community can do this through a monthly subscription or with the help of crypto money. The platform, which accepts Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum as crypto, has a very easy and understandable interface.

One of the highlights of BitChute is that it has a fairly large category base for videos. There are many categories from finance to anime, education to travel, technology. Thus, you can find the videos you are looking for much more easily.

You need to be a member to upload videos to BitChute, but there are no requirements to watch. Content producers can still generate income through donations. Another difference of Bitchute is that it has no attitude towards advertising. In fact, the Bitchute team, which states that they are currently testing ads with several accounts, differs from its counterparts by not using a specific token on its platform.

DLIVE

DLive is a platform that emerged as a necessity with the initiative of a group of content producers in order to eliminate problems such as high demands, unfair content display algorithms, censorship and rising platform fees that make it difficult for the industry’s content producers to generate income.

Following a community-based approach, DLive, as the name suggests, is a platform that focuses more on live broadcasts. Like other platforms built on the blockchain, DLive rewards both creators and users when they chat, watch videos, and send gifts to creators.

The tokens in DLive’s ecosystem are divided into 2 units as LEMON and BTT Stake. But the ecosystem basically revolves around LEMON. LEMON is a virtual reward token and users can purchase it by choosing the payment method they want on the system. With LEMON, you can only donate to content producers and become a member of channels. Viewers cannot redeem this token. However, content producers can receive payment from the system in exchange for LEMON. DLive receives 20 percent of all payments for development costs, while a 5 percent pool is used to distribute daily to BTT stake holders. Thus, while content producers receive 75 percent of the payments, premium members who connect their wallets with BTT to the system receive daily passive income at the rate of the token they stake.

Its features that make it popular among users are its stance against censorship and its fair algorithm for all publishers. 

As well as all these, there are platforms such as Verasity and LivePeer that offer API support to other platforms . These APIs are the kind that will pave the way for other video hosting and sharing platforms to sprout. In the light of this information, we can say that centralized video sharing platforms such as YouTube, which make money from users and content producers, have been so frequent both viewers and content producers that with the advent of blockchain technology, people have tended to look for new channels. Who do you think will be the next giant after YouTube?