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.
Gifto as a network protocol, is a brainchild of Andy Tian, the co-founder and CEO of Asia Innovations Group (AIG). The team at AIG comprises of crypto-technology and blockchain enthusiasts. Andy saw potential in designing a decentralized network powered by the Ethereum blockchain to fix the current broken content monetization model with a better model. Most people introduced to the global content industry will identify the following problems with the current model: The Gifto network was launched in December 2017 and has been tested along with AIG’s flagship product, Uplive. Uplive is a live streaming mobile application with over 20 million users. An official Gifto report in February 2018, stated that Gifto featured in the top 10 traded cryptocurrencies by volume. The universal blockchain-based virtual gifting protocol has not only bridged the gap between content creators and the audience but has also introduced a way to acknowledge and reward the content creators. Besides monetizing decentralized content, it has revamped the modern creator-audience relationship. It has already received support from a number of large institutional investors including KPCB and Wicklow Capital. This can only be seen a positive for Gifto as it proves that the idea has been scrutinized and accepted by a fairly large number of people.