As the journey of Bitcoin has illustrated, blockchain technology has the potential to radically revolutionize finance. But the technology underlying Bitcoin is also primed to disrupt other industries, including art, music and other creative sectors.

 

Earning cryptocurrency through writing, artwork or any other creative endeavors is becoming more and more of a possibility. As YouTube and other social networks have de-platformed some individuals, content creators are becoming more aware of the need for censorship resistance and fairer monetization; and this is exactly where blockchain technology becomes useful.

 

The technology can provide immutability – this means the blogs, videos and so on will be stored forever, and cannot be deleted or tampered with. Cryptocurrency could also be used as a reward mechanism, to incentivize good content, community growth and to give content creators a way to monetize their work.

 

BitChute – a platform similar to YouTube – was one of the first projects that used cryptocurrency to reward content creators and cut fees compared to platforms like Patreon. The Brave browser initially wanted to use bitcoin to tip content creators online, but have since created their own ERC-20 token called BAT. And Steemit was one of the first major blockchain platforms that allowed writers and readers to get paid for their work and attention in 2016.

 

Fast forward to today, and there are various platforms that use cryptocurrency to reward content creators. In this article we will outline some of the most interesting platforms that content creators can use to get their hands on some cryptocurrency.

 

Dlive

 

 

Dlive was recently launched as an alternative to the streaming platform Twitch and is based on the Lino blockchain network. The platform is backed by Lino Network, a startup founded in 2017 and based in California. Beijing venture capital firm ZhenFund, along with others, invested $20 million into the startup in 2018.

 

While streamers can earn crypto through Twitch if you have a Coinbase account and Streamlabs account, Dlive offers users the ability to earn LINO points. The cryptocurrency itself is in testnet stages and 1 LINO is valued at a fixed rate to the US Dollar at $0.012. It will be interesting to see if the fixed rate of exchange with the dollar is removed as the cryptocurrency comes out of testnet phase.

 

Dlive is popular with gamers who like to stream their battles on Fortnite as well as other big games like Minecraft, GTA V, and many more. However, there are also music mixes, educational streams and a host of other content. Streamers can earn money through tips from other users in the form of LINO points, as well as through paid subscriptions.

 

The platform has gained a lot of attention since streaming sensation PewDiePie moved to Dlive from YouTube Live in April 2019. YouTube reportedly takes around 45 percent of the revenue that streamers earn and Twitch takes half, while Dlive is much fairer taking a cut of just 9.9 percent. Dlive has a large and growing user base, with PewDiePie managing to bring almost half a million of his followers over form YouTube Live.

 

While it is early days for Dlive, it does look very promising. However, it is mostly focused on gamers and if you are not that good at gaming or new to streaming, then it might not be the best option to earn crypto.

 

Publish0x

 

 

Publish0x is a blogging platform like Medium but one that rewards both readers and writers with cryptocurrency. The main difference between the blockchain blogging platform Steem and Publish0x is that Steem pays out writers in its native coin, STEEM. On the other hand, Publish0x is “crypto agnostic” and doesn’t have a native coin.

 

Bloggers can earn tips for their work and readers can choose how much of a tip to split between the reader as a sort of curation reward and the writer. The tips come at no cost to the user as they are distributed from the pool of Bounty0x tokens (BNTY) which is tradeable on KuCoin. To prevent abuse of manipulation there are restrictions on the number of tips you can give in a certain time and to a certain person. There are also other rules to prevent people from copying the content, submitting low-quality posts and so on.

 

There is also wide support for various ERC-20 tokens such as BAT and DAI and the FAQ page on their website states that support for coins from other chains is planned for the future. Even if your content is not focused on cryptocurrency, you can still use Publish0x to share your articles and earn some crypto.

 

Clearly Publish0x is aimed mainly at writers, so if you are a wordsmith then this platform is one of your best bets.

 

BitTube

 

 

If you have been into cryptocurrency for a while, you may have heard of cryptojacking – for example, where a computer’s CPU is used to mine cryptocurrency through its browser.

 

A large wave of cryptojacking was associated with Monero due to its resistance to specialized mining machines and focus on CPU/GPU mining. As a result, a lot of malicious cases of cryptojacking as well as some charitable causes took advantage of this feature to mine Monero using people’s CPUs.

 

BitTube’s cryptocurrency, TUBE, took this concept and applied it to content creation by introducing a YouTube alternative. Based loosely on the Monero protocol, TUBEs are used to donate to other users and reward viewers for their attention and content creators for their views and aims to distribute rewards in a more egalitarian way as compared to YouTube, balancing the playing field between developed and developing countries. The newest update introduced BitTubers.com, a platform that merges YouTube with a social media platform like Twitter.

 

A big problem with current platforms is that they are based on advertising and the revenues dictate where the rewards go. However, with BitTube there are no advertisements and TUBE is a Proof of Work cryptocurrency where a fixed proportion of the block rewards are allocated to users for payouts.

 

Also, using the AirTime browser extension, you can earn TUBEs for browsing parts of the internet other than BitTubers.com. TUBEs are traded on TradeOgre and Bittrex. While the platform has yet to gain mass appeal, it does seem like a good way to earn crypto if you create video content or browse the web frequently.

 

Lapps

 

Lightning Apps, or Lapps for short, are based on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. There are two such Lapps that enable you to monetize your content.

 

Tippin.me

 

 

Tippin.me allows you to tip and receive bitcoin over the Lightning Network (LN) for your tweets. Whether you are a king or queen of memes or you are displaying your art, writing or music on Twitter, be sure to use tippin.me so that you can receive some bitcoins.

 

Tippin.me is based on the LN since this enables fast, micro-payments using bitcoin, so you can tip any amount you want from one satoshi to a couple of dollars.

 

Using tippin.me is straightforward, as all you have to do is download the browser extension. Once the extension has been installed, you will see a lightning bolt icon on every tweet, which allows you to tip that user. To receive tips, you must have a wallet that is compatible with Bitcoin’s Lightning Network; the Eclair wallet and bluewallet are two good choices.

 

The browser extension has made using Lightning easier, as users do not have to run a LN node. While tippin.me is still in beta mode and loss of funds is a small possibility, it is worth experimenting with as this could be a glimpse of the future of micro-payments.

 

Tippin.me is not the only tipping Lapp, as there is also LightningTips and nanotip, both of which can be used on your website. But note both of these options require more time and knowledge to set up.

 

Y’alls

 

 

Y’alls is a Lightning Network-powered publishing platform where you can read and write articles with LN micropayments. It is a bit more complicated for the average person than tippin.me, but building a familiarity with the Lightning Network will no doubt be beneficial to content creators as this technology expands and matures.

 

Created by Lightning Labs developer Alex Bostworth, the platform requires users to pay a small fee to publish content, read an article, and leave a comment or emoji. If you want a payout for your content, you must enter your LN node public key before you publish your article.

 

Once your article is posted, you can then receive tips via the Lightning Network, which bypasses fees through off-chain transactions. According to an article from November 2018, Y’alls processed around 20,000 payments using Lightning in seven months.

 

The platform is populated mainly with blog posts about Y’alls and the Lightning Network, but users can create their own topical groups and start posting content there. The articles that get the most tips are useful guides or contributions to Y’alls or the Lightning Network. As mentioned earlier, getting to grips with Lightning sooner rather than later may be a good investment for a writer, artist or musician.

 

Yours

 

 

Yours is similar to Yalls as described above, but is based on bitcoin SV instead of bitcoin. You can earn bitcoin SV for creating good content, finding good content and liking good content. By creating articles, you can give everyone a preview and Yours creates a paywall so interested readers can purchase your article, where the platform takes a five percent cut.

 

The blogging platform was initially due to use bitcoin but after fees increased during 2017, the platform shifted to litecoin, then to bitcoin cash for its launch in September 2017. Following the in-fighting in the Bitcoin Cash community and the split between Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV, Yours finally chose bitcoin SV as the platform’s cryptocurrency.

 

Ryan X. Charles, the man behind Yours, explained his view that Bitcoin SV is the real Bitcoin is a blog post from 2018 and illustrates why the platform has flip-flopped between different cryptocurrencies. Of course, as a content creator it may not matter to you what his views on cryptocurrency are, but rather that you can use Yours as another outlet for your work.

 

BitBacker

 

 

BitBacker is a Patreon alternative which allows you to support creators using cryptocurrency, where you can accept bitcoin, bitcoin cash or smartcash. Since the platform is based on cryptocurrency, the fees are one percent, while incumbents such as Patreon charge 10 to 30 percent according to BitBacker.

 

You can also link your BitBacker account to BitChute, a crypto-powered YouTube alternative that allows you to monetize video content. You can also link your CoinPayments merchant account to BitChute to receive cryptocurrency payouts. So whether you are a filmmaker or a writer, BitBacker is a promising way to earn some crypto.

 

Brave

 

 

The Brave browser allows users to reward content creators over the web as well as earn the Ethereum-based Basic Attention Token (BAT) by browsing the web and viewing privacy-respecting ads.

 

By cutting out most forms of advertising and making the internet revolve around content, Brave introduced the BAT cryptocurrency so that advertisers needed BAT to “buy” your attention.

 

On the other hand, content creators can earn the ERC-20 token BAT by linking your blog, Twitch/YouTube account or website to the BAT reward system. As users earn BAT, they can tip you for your content, either as a regular amount each month or as a one-off. If you have signed up as a verified content creator, you can manage your rewards in the Creators dashboard.

 

A lot of crypto-enthusiasts use Brave because it is one of the best browsers for blocking ads and respecting privacy. Don’t be shy and let the BAT community know of your blog, Twitch/Youtube account or website if you sign up as a verified content creator.

 

Conclusion

 

The platforms outlined above are just some of the ways blockchain technology is paying off for content creators.

 

While these are new ways to monetize content and may not be as profitable as some may wish, keep in mind that it is still early in the blockchain revolution and any one of these platforms may evolve into something much bigger.

 

Currently, it seems the blogging platforms like Steemit and Publish0x are gaining the most traction, with YouTube alternatives like Dlive and BitTube also catching on. Nevertheless, there is still more room to grow for these platforms and there is plenty of variety for content creators of all sorts to earn some crypto and share their works.