The Basic Attention Token + Livepeer

Brendan Eich, creator of Javascript and Firefox, is working on the Brave Browser which is a great integration of browsing, ad/tracker blocker, and cryptocurrency. I’m really excited that they just introduced the Basic Attention Token as a potential incentive mechanism for creating a positive feedback loop between publishers, users, and advertisers. Watch this 3 minute video on the token. It’s awesome!

For Livepeer to work as a live streaming solution for existing and future streamers and broadcasters, it needs to fulfill all the needs of streamers. While we’re focused on transcoding and distribution of video initially, other requirements such as DVR, closed captioning, analytics, and (of course) advertising and monetization also need to be met.

One of the great benefits of building on Ethereum are the network effects you get from all other tokens, smart contracts, and DApps that are interoperable via one on chain call. I’ve long said that we expect other service providers to be able to fulfill some of the needs of the live streaming ecosystem far better than one single platform, and The Basic Attention Token is a great example of a project that can plug in to aid in the content/advertising relationship between viewers, streamers, and publishers.

The nature of the project, as a decentralized solution with user opt-in, makes it a great fit for Livepeer. Users can remain in control of their own data and information if they choose, and can make their own decision about the tradeoffs of paying for premium content, versus sharing information in exchange for token in support of their favorite streamer or publisher.

I look forward to exploring ways to use solutions like the Basic Attention Token as part of the Livepeer platform further on down the roadmap.