Blockchain Social Network Minds Is Migrating to Ethereum for Launch

Blockchain-based social network Minds is migrating its platform to the ethereum network, the startup announced Monday.

After roughly four-and-a-half months on its Rinkeby test network, the startup will be moving to ethereum for its full live launch. The firm claims to provide a censorship-resistant, accessible social network for users, especially those in potentially authoritarian nations, according to a press release.

The platform already sees around 500,000 daily page views, CEO Bill Ottman told CoinDesk. The platform also claims roughly 1.25 million registered users, about 75 percent of whom have already earned test tokens. These users will be eligible to receive the platform's live token via a free "airdrop" distribution as a result.

"We expect an overall increase in transactions, both on-chain and off-chain, due to the activation of token withdrawals, purchases and rewards," he said.

Ottman continued to say that the team had engineered a "hybrid on-chain, off-chain model" to ensure that the system can handle the volume Minds is seeing and to provide a simple user experience for crypto newcomers.

The on-chain and off-chain model will also help the platform handle large user volumes without congesting the ethereum network, according to the company.

Users can pay tokens to ensure a greater number of people see their posts, or earn tokens by interacting with content. Users can also use it to pay creators directly and subscribe to premium content.

Ottman said the use case has been popular on the testnet, predicting that the decentralized platform will become one of the more popular apps on ethereum as a result of the launch.

The CEO anticipated few issues ahead, saying "the only disruption will be a 24-hour pause in [peer-to-peer] transfers between users via our Wire and Boost features ... this is necessary only to ensure the airdrop to our beta users accurately reflects their prior token balance of earnings thus far."

Elizabeth McCauley, blockchain business developer and Minds adviser, said in the release:

"When governments crack down on free speech and team with centralized social media surveillance companies, [Minds] provides a refuge for individuals seeking an avenue for global interaction and idea exchange."

Ether on a keyboard image via CoinDesk