Monetization via Blockchain Distibution
June 19, 2022 ยท View on GitHub
Contributions made by a user to the OSS project by downloading it with a blockchain-based package manager. Will lead to recurring payments - currently in form of crypto tokens that need to be converted into real money.
Requires:
- Package manager that is able to register and distribute OSS (e.g., a MacOS application)
- Might require additional mechanism to convert crypto tokens into money
Variants & Options:
- Download-based: Tokens are distributed based on downloads
- Sponsor-based: Tokens can be bought by users and gifted (or used to "pay" for downloads)
Platforms
- tea.xyz (Blockchain-based package manager; see also their Whitepaper)
Evaluation
| Characteristics | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Effort to set-up | Hours | Registering at the blockchain-based package manager |
| Effort to maintain | Low | Probably only uploading or registering new versions |
| Cost to set-up | None | |
| Cost to maintain | None | |
| One-time Income | N/A | Token system probably causes recurring revenue |
| Recurring Income | Low | Crypto might not be worth much; Depends on need to buy tokens |
| Income Predictability | Medium | If users accept paying it should become stable; Crypto might be very volatile |
| Full income Threshold | ?1000+ | Depends heavily on pricing of the crypto token |
| Recipient | I or C | |
| Additional Work | None | Maybe little extra work to deploy to blockchain registry |
| Visibility | Medium | Might be visible if users need to buy tokens to download |
| Necessity to pay | High | Payment is enforced by using the package manager |
| Entry Threshold | None | Client only pays indirectly via his hoster/cloud for the resources |
| Countervalue | OSS | User pays for downloading & using the OSS |
| Scalability | High | Scales with the number of users |
| Effort for marketing | None | Will make waves but no "sale" is necessary |
| Competitors | None | |
| Software types | Special | Best for tools and libraries |