Chinese startup BlockCDN has announced the release and ICO for its set-top box miner, which uses spare bandwidth to mine cryptocurrencies.
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BlockCDN Miner is ‘Internet Waste Officer’
The software, currently only available for Android TV set-top boxes, is built on Ethereum smart contracts.
The aim of the company is to create a content delivery network (CDN), which uses spare capacity to deliver content via a P2P network.
“BlockCDN is a waste recovery officer for the Internet,” CEO Tony Long commented in a Medium post Thursday.
The mining software is downloadable, with users needing to enter an ETH address along with an invitation code in order to begin. Codes are given out as needed basis via the company’s official Slack channel.
Due to “unprecedented” demand for the box, participation in the ICO is now compulsory for anyone wanting to come on board. New users are required to invest a minimum of the value of 50 ETH in return for the ICO token, BCDN.
“This is essential at this time due to the absence of incoming revenue throughout this ICO period but happily you will receive 0,000 for your ETH and a share in 40% of the profits for the first three years!” the post continues.
BlockCDN also announced the proposed benefits of long-term investment on Twitter:
Good things come to those who wait! – enjoy 40% share of profits for 3 years https://t.co/MAYDKBShER #investors #crowdfunding #blockchain pic.twitter.com/RKVOitVQdg
— BlockCDN (@BlockCDN) December 4, 2016
Community Reassured Software ‘Absolutely Safe’
On the Bitcointalk forum, in contrast to ICO offerings proclaiming huge long-term profits in the past, BlockCDN also appears to be gaining a broadly positive reception.
Responding to a user query following flagging of the miner as “behaving similar to spyware,” Long reiterated that the software was “absolutely safe.” He said:
BlockCDN mining is absolutely safe. It won’t come into contact with your wallet key and password, and so on. It just collects your extra uplink broadband.
The ICO meanwhile is due to end in three weeks’ time on December 26. As of Sunday, just over 12,000 ETH had been collected, out of a total goal of 150,000.
Ethereum itself is also receiving votes of confidence despite its rocky year and still reeling with the fallout from the DAO hack.
In September, Andreas Antonopoulos said he thought the altcoin had “had a mulligan,” but that there was no success without prior failure.
“You don’t get to the moon without a few blown-up rockets along the way,” he said during an Ethereum Q&A in San Francisco in September.
What do you think about BlockCDN and its miner? Do you think Ethereum is still profitable? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of shutterstock, blockcdn.org