Kim DotCom Aims to Bring Bitcoin to the Masses via BitCache and MegaUpload 2.0
Eccentric Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom gave his Twitter followers a first look at his new file-sharing platform that will allow users to charge a small amount of money for their uploaded for which they will receive bitcoin micropayments as payment when it is viewed.
While New Zealand-based Kim Dotcom is still facing extradition to the U.S. for running the illegal file-sharing business MegaUpload, he has been developing BitCache and MegaUpload 2.0 throughout the last few months. Dotcom suggests that once his new file-sharing platform goes live, the price of bitcoin will rally to $2,000 per coin as users will need to buy bitcoin to purchase content on the new platform.
In 2016, Kim Dotcom managed to raise around $1 million to fund the development of MegaUpload 2.0 and BitCache via the bitcoin-focused crowdfunding platform BnkToTheFuture. BitCache, however, goes beyond simply being a payment tool for MegaUpload 2.0. According to Dotcom, BitCache “basically create a payment for any content that you put on the internet. [It] can be either Megaupload or any other file-hosting or streaming site on the internet.”
The preview of BitCache shows a user interface where publishers can upload content and decide on the price point for their content in their desired currency. That amount will then be transferred into a bitcoin amount, which users who want to consume the content will have to pay by sending money using their bitcoin wallets. Users will be able to create bitcoin wallet straight in the BitCache platform to facilitate paying for content while publishers will receive their payments in their BitCache bitcoin wallet.
Dotcom highlights that “the coolest thing about this is the uploader decides the price point,” as it allows users to decide whether to charge two cents, two dollars or $20 for their uploaded content.
To ensure bitcoin’s scalability challenge does not undermine Dotcom’s idea of bitcoin micropayments for file-sharing, he will opt for off-chain bitcoin payments.
The future of BitCache and MegaUpload 2.0, however, is still uncertain. The project was expected to launch in January 2017 but has been pushed back to later in the year due to a failed merger with a Canadian company.
However, if Dotcom can re-engage his previous MegaUpload user base, composed of over 100 million users, to upload content on his new file-sharing platforms and consumers are willing to pay for the uploaded content, then bitcoin could experience a massive boost following the launch of BitCache and MegaUpload 2.0.
