Startup Wants to Bring Blockchain Remake For Webcam Sex Industry
While webcam modeling has quickly become the go-to money-making option when much of the pornography business eroded by the avalanche of free online sexual content, it’s certainly not flawless.
Most models only see 20-40 percent of their earnings, if they see any of it, as many service providers have a minimal required sum, usually about $50, to be gathered before issuing out their payment. This standard policy scares away most first-timers. Cashing out your hard-earned money as a model can also be delayed up to a month due to the payment regulations of these sites and three to five business days rule of traditional bank transfers. And as for the clients, some websites still wall you off until you provide your credit card which makes it pretty hard to remain anonymous.
Traditional platforms will often store all sorts of information like ID numbers, geolocations or even private chats, just to name a few which could be alluring data for hackers to steal. These systems are most likely not open source and thus, no one can ensure it completely the data will be encrypted and will be deleted after a while.
Blockchain solution
Comes Live Stars into the picture. The startup company is one of the front-runners in this multi-billion industry to solve these problems by introducing Blockchain technology to the webcam business. Apart from crypto economic efficiency, thanks to Blockchain technology they promise to deliver more privacy, security, control and independence than ever before not only for models but clients as well.
Their concept is simple. With the use of Blockchain, their platform will become decentralized helping to cryptographically protect both clients’ and models’ data from fraud. Regarding transactions, Blockchain will also facilitate payment transfers for clients.
By issuing their own Blockchain token, named LIVE which is an ERC20 utility token, the company will speed up payments, minimize transactional error and protect clients’ data. This will eliminate third-party payment costs (and time) almost entirely, and thus give their models a much fairer revenue rate of 70-80 percent compared to traditional platforms. Earnings will be accessible to cash out immediately and even models new to the industry can benefit from the start as there is no minimal required sum.
As far as anonymity goes, Live Stars will only accept Bitcoins or Ethereum for LIVE tokens during their ICO crowdsale (starting from Jan. 15). The company has managed to raise around $1,250,000 so far at their token presale. If they manage to fully launch their service, the focus will remain on using cryptocurrencies to ensure anonymity. But for those users still unfamiliar with the digital gold, they will still leave a door open and let people buy LIVE tokens with fiat currencies using third-party services.
Private video chats and text chats will use webRTC based on one-to-one principle, independently of servers and admins. Another step Live Stars took on their mission to ensure clients can fully hide their identity.
A self-conscious choice
Although, this is not the first time the crypto economy mingled with the adult entertainment world but Live Stars and a few other similar startups really try to take the technology behind cryptocurrencies and apply the advantages of Blockchains to the porn industry. They aim to bring a more bottom-up approach and provide a transparent, fair and more secure trade for sex-workers.
Yet, while the world frantically, at least on the Internet, talks about the revolutionary aspect of cryptocurrencies, most people still don’t really understand what Bitcoins are and why they seem to be so good for us. And if your average person shies away from buying digital cash, so will models likely to hesitate to enter a webcam business where their income will depend on it.
However, according to Live Stars, they have already managed to vow over a number of models to their pre-launched Alpha platform streaming 24/7. This might be the sign the time is ripe for a new Blockchain-savvy generation of sex-workers who will be able to overcome the downsides of the traditional sex industry.
And with its global application, Live Stars might be the one paving the way for this much awaited financial and technical innovation for both the adult industry and its digital geishas.
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