Kim Dotcom has embarked on a project to create its own cryptocurrency that will enable direct monetisation by content creators rather than depending on third parties and intermediaries. The digital publishing industry is confronted with the outcry of fraud and poor remuneration for publishers among other vices. The bulk of these problems are blamed on the opaque nature of the industry due its hugely centralized configuration. For an industry where billions of people participate on a daily basis via the internet and the search for content, the existing formation is plagued with a lot of limitations. As a matter of fact, in 2016 Adobe estimated the losses in global ad-revenue to be in the region of US $42 billion. These were losses resulting from ad-blocking acts by users for which the US alone accounted for about 45 million. A Direct Transaction ChannelThe Kim Dotcom ecosystem is focused on enabling a direct and easy process for both publishers and consumers to conduct businesses. According to a whitepaper released by the company, the platform will empower content creators by allowing them to monetise their creations instantly. Other issues that the project promises to resolve include the reduction in risk of fraudulent transactions and identity theft and giving consumers the choice and versatility of content without having to rely on outdated third-parties, wherever they are. In order to achieve the monetisation of digital content, the project’s platform function in such a way that content creators can transform their products into encrypted data. Hence, for consumers to access such content the data will need to be decrypted. That is where actual monetisation comes in. As described in the whitepaper, consumers who may want to access the already encrypted data will have to do so through the K.im Payment Engine. This engine will enable consumers to pay for content with cryptocurrency and therefore authorise the file decryption. This system eliminates the interception by middlemen who currently stand as a barrier for appropriate remuneration as far as publishers are concerned. A Huge MarketplaceThe current trend of how information is consumed reveals an increasing dominance as far as digital content is concerned. In the USA alone, adults spent 5.6 hours a day viewing digital media. Combining other content views such as Youtube and Twitch amounts to an average of 430 billion monthly content views across the internet. This is a staggering market size and revenue opportunity that should not be under the control of a few group of individuals as it is today. By implementing a cryptocurrency powered marketplace, Kim Dotcom claims to initiate a decentralized ecosystem that will benefit everyone involved. These benefits are expected to cover both the quality in service delivery and fix the revenue distribution structure. For consumers, it is expected that the platform will enable them to access the content they have paid for, whenever they want. It is also expected to allow easy monetisation of online content such as blog posts, news articles, YouTube videos,scientific articles, github repositories, Facebook posts, etc for the real content owners. The Power of CryptocurrencyCryptocurrencies as transaction vehicles are beginning to play a huge role in various ecosystems, most especially within the cyberspace. Be it for remittance purposes or regular business transactions, the peer to peer transaction enablement is encouraging lower costs and direct auditable, immutable and secure financial communications. Considering the perceived imbalance that currently exist within the digital content distribution marketplace, this may come as a huge relief to both content creators and publishers who stand to benefit enormously as long as the promised goals are realised. Featured image from Flickr/Ruben Dominguez