Blockchain projects suggest that decentralized alternatives to current services allow users to collect a fair share of the revenue they earn by participating in online ecosystems. It’s an attractive proposition because users don’t have to do much more than they already do: send emails, visit websites, watch ads, turn on computers, etc.
But what exactly do you get from making money with your online resources and how affordable and reliable are your earnings? Here’s what you need to know.
How can you take advantage of resource monetization?
A few blockchain platforms make it possible to rent out unused storage space, unused CPU cycles, and Internet bandwidth to those who need it. The principle is simple: you list the features in the application with payment terms and you get paid with the application’s own crypto token when others use it. Purchases are arranged, executed and paid for using peer-to-peer smart contracts, pieces of code that run on the blockchain without a centralized application server.
Other examples include Golem and iExec, two decentralized computing power marketplaces. The platform’s cryptocurrencies, GNT and RLC tokens respectively, are a users’ main reward as they rent out their CPU cycles to developers and users who want to run applications online.
Storj and Filecoin are two similar decentralized storage networks where users can earn crypto tokens by sharing their free hard drive space with the network. Both platforms are developed to provide infrastructure for various applications such as web hosting and streaming services. Gladius, a decentralized content delivery network (CDN) and DDoS mitigation solution, allows users to monetize Internet bandwidth to deliver content to websites and online services.
These applications offer a good opportunity to convert the hours you use the computer at home or in the office into additional income.
There are other blockchain apps that allow you to monetize your data. An example is Datum, a decentralized marketplace for user data. Datum allows users to earn DAT tokens by sharing them with other organizations. Other players in the industry include Streamr, a real-time data sharing platform focused on the Internet of Things (IoT). Streamr allows users to earn DATAcoins by sharing data generated by connected devices with other devices that need it to perform their functions, and with companies that use it for analysis and research.
Data is a huge market currently dominated by a few big players like Google and Facebook. These companies collect user data in their closed warehouses and use it to make huge profits. Blockchain platforms give users the choice and the right to claim their share of this market by giving them back ownership of their data.
Why should you try resource monetization?
As blockchain and the promise of a decentralized web mature, opportunities for online users and businesses to monetize more efficiently will increase. The era of the heavily monopolized tech industry may be over, and some of the world’s brightest minds are working day and night to empower the world’s more than 5 billion internet users to take control of their data, time and content, redefining the scales and bringing value back to the Internet. Let’s explore them one at a time:
- Resource-sharing projects on top of the blockchain allow users to control and profit from their own data. In most cases, you’ve already paid for the resources you’ll be sharing on the blockchain, whether it’s your hard drive space, your CPU or your bandwidth. Why not try to make a profit out of these resources you already acquired? Monetizing your resources in the crypto era allows you to take complete charge of your future, making it an easy and accessible method to gain some extra income, whether it be by fiat money, cryptocurrencies, tokens, stablecoins and so on.
- You can resettle the scales, offering a complete new meaning to investing. If in a centralized market you and your assets still depend on an institution that controls them and you at the same time, in decentralized markets such as blockchain or crypto in general you become your own “boss”. In a sense, you can rest assured your resources are used only in the way you want to, thus resettling the scales between you and the market.
- Bringing fair value back on the internet can be a big motivator if you’re thinking of monetizing your resources. Think about all the waste the internet produces – from physical to emotional and digital. What you would be doing if you monetize your resources is give back to this technology and help toward creating an equitable virtual space for billions of users around the world.
All in all, the level of decentralization on upcoming crypto projects is poised to increase soon. That said, the crypto ecosystem is still in its infant stages and may take a little longer before stakeholders fully understand the value proposition in resource monetization.
