BitVM developers propose a decentralized file hosting protocol BitStream incentivized by Bitcoin payments

ChainCatcher message, ZeroSync project leader and BitVM developer Robin Linus published "BitStream: A Decentralized File Hosting Incentive Protocol Powered by Bitcoin Payments," proposing a decentralized file hosting incentive protocol called BitStream, which offers a sustainable alternative. For example, a user might upload a video only once, incurring a one-time fee, but if the video becomes very popular and is downloaded 100,000 times, the server's bandwidth costs could far exceed the initial upload revenue.

BitStream's pay-per-download method provides a solution: it allows servers to charge for each download, ensuring that revenue scales with the media's popularity and demand, thereby creating a balanced and profitable ecosystem. There is no need to rely on trust or heavyweight cryptography. Clients and servers use an optimistic protocol to execute the coin atomic exchange of files. The server responds with a file that is claimed to be correctly encrypted. The client pays for the decryption key via the Lightning Network, and if the file cannot be decrypted correctly, the client can economically punish the cheating server, which strongly incentivizes the server to act honestly.