Recently, a number of coin-based content publishing platforms have been accused of running Ponzi-like token distribution schemes. The long-awaited media network Yours offers its own way to solve the issue.
Yours, a startup led by the bitcoin developer Ryan X. Charles, is attempting to overturn the cryptocurrency community’s negative impression of micropayments-based content publishing platforms by integrating bitcoin. In fact, it is the first serious attempt at a blockchain social media that would allow digital content providers to monetise their creation using the cryptocurrency. The bitcoin community has long awaited for the launch of the network but the technical difficulties of integrating bitcoin as the core currency of the entire platform has been pushing back its scheduled release.
In an interview with Epicenter Bitcoin, a podcast hosted by Eris Industries Head of Business Development, Yours founder Ryan X. Charles spoke about the technical components of the network and the underlying infrastructure of the consumer platform.
Development Phase
To make it truly consumer-focused, Charles and the rest of the Yours development team write most of the platform’s code in JavaScript. This coding language allows Yours to be more user-friendly and responsive, which is crucial for mobile and web-based applications. The compatibility of JavaScript with both mobile operating systems and web browsers enables the company to build a finalised platform at a lower cost.
“We’re writing everything in JavaScript,” explained Charles. “The reason for this is, this is the best way for us to reach consumers. Because at the end of the day, we’re making a consumer app and we don’t want to implement things twice. It is the most cost efficient way of making an app.”
On top of the JavaScript-based platform, Yours development team integrated bitcoin to provide the normal micropayment functionality so that users would not have to leave the platform to initiate an external transaction.
The private keys of each user are stored in a local database of the user’s web browser which is called the Indexed DB. Utilising this database, which is integrated into most modern browsers, the Yours team has developed the platform’s in-built bitcoin wallet application.
The only component that is currently missing from the platform is the integration of bitcoin micropayments. The Yours developers are basing the entire platform off the Lightning Network. The team has read and evaluated all the papers and have been ready for the integration. However, Charles explains that the development of the Lightning Network itself is not finished yet. Thus, considering the importance of micropayments in the Yours network, the project cannot be launched unless the Lightning network is fully active.
While in theory the platform could adopt local tokens or other crypto assets , Charles and his team are devoted in building a completely decentralised and peer-to-peer network where users can fund and incentivise content providers without financial and technical limitations.
Once the Yours platform is launched, Charles believes that it will set a positive precedent for other companies and startups utilising bitcoin micropayments.
Joseph Young
