LBRY (pronounced “Library”) is a decentralized digital content distribution protocol and a marketplace for the same. It supports a variety of content which includes but not limited to videos, songs, ebooks, etc. LBRY uses blockchain at its core, which enables content to only be controlled by its author/ publisher, not by any third party, effectively eliminating issues like censorship and copyright strikes. Since the code of the LBRY project is open-source, developers can create their own decentralized apps (dApps). Content creators can use these apps to upload their content on the LBRY network and monetize it by setting a fee. LBRY credits or simply LBC is the cryptocurrency created by the LBRY network to fuel its entire digital content market. The LBC coin is required by consumers to access the monetized content on LBRY network. The LBRY platform also allows LBC mining by giving block rewards. Jeremy Kauffman co-founded LBRY Inc. with the vision of a decentralized global content hub, controlled and owned by no one. Currently, Jeremy is the chief executive officer of LBRY Inc. Before working on the LBRY project, Jeremy founded TopScore, a million dollars event and activity registrations startup. There are three other co-founders who serves on different positions in LRBY Inc: Alex Grintsvayg (Chief Technical Officer), Josh Finer (Director of Operations and Analytics), and Jack Robison (Protocol Developer). LBRY provides its own official app, which can be used to store LBC. The LBRY app is available for multiple operating systems such as Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Android and iOS versions are still in development. Other than its official LBRY wallet, users can opt for the Coinomi mobile wallet, which is recommended by LBRY. LBC can only be obtained through exchange. Users can also take advantage of LBC mining and various rewards given in LBC coin by LBRY network to its users. Although the concept behind the LBRY network has a lot of potential for growth, it faces competition directly against the entertainment giants such as YouTube and Netflix, and some of these platforms have been around for more than a decade.
Blue Whale Foundation, The Decentralized Ecosystem for the Self-Employed Blue Whale is set to rock the gig economy’s boat by building a decentralized ecosystem to allow freelancers and the self-employed to reap rewards and employment benefits from their contributions Against the backdrop of technological disruption and offshoring, the “gig/sharing economy” is burgeoning globally. Freelancers will make up a whopping 58% of the US workforce by 2027. Consequently, peer-to-peer booking platforms like AirBnB and Uber have seen a meteoric rise in demand accompanying these shifts in the job market. As the definition of work changes and evolves, the difficulties encountered by freelancers and part-time workers such as the lack of protection, and the insecurity of self-employment will only worsen. This not only affects the growing mass of freelancers, but also ruptures the social contract between workers and governments. Consumer protections have also weakened because of the murky legal relationship between freelancers and their host platforms. This simmering dissatisfaction has created popular backlash, as concerned governments in several countries such as France have begun to crack down on platforms like Uber and AirBnB. Despite these worrying trends, no workable remedy has been proposed - until now. The Blue Whale Foundation’s ICO is set to rock the boat of the gig/sharing economy by leveraging on blockchain as a service to provide freelancers with employment benefits such as paid-time-off, and retirement pensions traditionally available only to salaried employees.