What Is Substratum?
Substratum, found online at Substratum.net, is an open-source network that wants to be the foundation of the decentralized web.
The network lets you earn cryptocurrency by renting out your computer as a hosting server. You can also pay the network to rent someone else’s computer as a hosting server.
Want to make money from your unused bandwidth and storage space? Substratum is one way to do that. You can make money while you sleep.
The overall goal of Substratum is to develop “an open-source foundation for the decentralized web, providing free and unrestricted access to content for a new Web 3.0.” The platform aims to solve major problems with the centralized internet – like high costs, barriers to entry, and lack of easy international availability.
How Does Substratum Work?
The Substratum Network is based on a worldwide collection of nodes. That network uses cryptography to deliver secure content anywhere without the need for VPNs or Tor.
The company also plans to revolutionize the hosting industry with per-request billing via microtransactions. Microtransactions are facilitated by blockchain technology and artificial intelligence.
With Substratum, anyone can become a web host on the decentralized internet. Unlike many technologies based on the blockchain, SubstratumNode emphasizes an intuitive user experience – so even if you have no experience running nodes, you can still earn money through Substratum. Anyone can earn substrate (SUB) by turning their computer into a host. All you need is a web browser and a few clicks.
By turning your system into a node, you can earn money while you sleep. Your node will run using minimal system resources during active hours. Then, when you sign off for the day, the node will kick into high gear.
For each request your node serves, you’re paid a microtransaction from the host in Substrate (SUB). You earn passive income, and the user gets a host.
Everything can be customized through the Substratum settings application. You can change how hard your machine works day and night, for example.
What’s the point of all of this? Well, Substratum wants to solve crucial problems with today’s centralized internet. Today, our internet is slow, costly, and centralized. Centralized systems pose a tempting target to hackers. International barriers prevent people in certain countries from accessing certain online content. Companies need to run servers and pay for the high overhead costs of that space. For all of these reasons, Substratum aims to introduce the benefits of a decentralized web to the world.
Substratum Benefits
Some of the key advertised benefits of Substratum include:
Ease Of Use:
Currently, nearly everything that has to do with cryptocurrency or the blockchain is difficult for average users to do. It requires in-depth technical knowledge. Substratum aims to use its 10+ years of experience working with companies like Apple to emphasize a better user experience. A better user experience spurs more adoption and a bigger decentralized internet.
Serving Up Of Decentralized Content:
Substratum creates a platform for serving decentralized content through a Mac, Windows, or Linux application. That application is easy to install and run and requires no technical experience.
Incentivizing Users To Serve The Content:
Substratum will incentivize users to run the Substratum Network client on their machine, then reward them with Substratum Coin for doing so. The coin is issued to the host through micro-transactions.
Privacy, Security, And Encryption:
Millions of Substratum network users can serve content on the platform in a secure and encrypted way. Substratum uses advanced cryptography algorithms rooted in artificial intelligence to ensure all data remains secure.
Storage And Serving Of Content:
Substratum uses custom-developed advanced compression algorithms and machine learning to geolocate the right Substratum Network machine to serve up content to the appropriate user based on geolocation.
DNS (Domain Name System):
The first version of SubstratumDNS will be a complex, AI-enabled DNS server that will receive DNS requests along with the geolocation of the requestor, then find the closest available SubstratumNode based off that information.
Development Tools:
Substratum has an API and SDK to spur development on the decentralized web.
Net Neutrality:
All websites and applications will have equal ability to be broadcast in an equal and fair manner on the decentralized internet.
No International Barriers:
Countries like China have strict barriers on internet access. Substratum removes the need for internet users in certain countries to use Tor and other special software. With Substratum, anyone can install the desktop client and begin accessing the decentralized internet.
Lower Hosting Costs:
Substratum uses microtransactions to only charge for each request that is processed. With conventional payment processing technologies, this doesn’t make sense. With blockchain technology, microtransactions become easy.
Substratum Features
Here are some of the key features of the underlying technology behind Substratum:
SubstratumNode: Network members that run the Substratum broadcast software will receive SUB coins by serving requests. This is the process mentioned above, where the node can run in the background to earn passive income from system resources. You get paid in microtransactions every time someone serves a request to your node.
CryptoPay: All sites on the Substratum network can process cryptocurrency transactions using any publicly-traded coin.
SubstratumHost: Businesses or entities that wish to host sites, databases, and applications on the network use SUB coins to pay network members.
Artificial Intelligence: Substratum has machine learning functionality that geolocates the right Substratum Network machine to serve up content with the fastest possible load times. In other words, Substratum finds the closest node to your location.
Easy to Use Software: Substratum claims its software can setup a node in one click.
Cryptography: Advanced cryptography algorithms rooted in artificial intelligence ensure all data on the Substratum Network remains secure.
Developer Tools: Substratum provides an API and SDK that can be used to develop tools on the network. These tools should accelerate growth of the decentralized web.
Compression Algorithms: Custom-developed advanced compression algorithms ensure low latency and fast load times for content.
Who’s Behind Substratum?
The team behind Substratum is a US-based software development firm. Over the past 10 years, that firm has built and deployed software for Fortune 100 companies like Apple, Facebook, Disney, HP, and others.
The team consists of 22 developers, designers, architects, and project managers who have been working together for 13 years. Key members of the team include project leads Justin Tabb, Abram Cookson, Jason Wollam, and Kevin Marois.
The Substratum Token Sale
Substratum runs on Substrate and Atoms. Essentially, these are the dollars and cents of the Substrate cryptocurrency.
Substrate acts as a fuel that powers the Substratum Network. Businesses can purchase Substrate using other cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, then host their site on the decentralized internet. Substartum network members who run nodes will receive payments in Substrate. Furthermore, when a shopper checks out using CryptoPay, the payment method they use is converted to the payment method the vendor desires using Substrate as the conversion currency.
The ICO will sell a minimum of 5 million Substrate and a maximum of 500 million Substrate. One of the unique things about Substrate is that the founders receive no shares until the first version of Substratum is released at the end of 2017.
Substratum Conclusion
Substratum is a decentralized internet that makes it easy for anyone to run their own node supporting the decentralized internet. Each host makes money based on the amount of bandwidth they provide to the decentralized internet, and website owners can pay hosts based on the specific amount of bandwidth used. The system is fueled by microtransactions based on the Substrate currency.
