The internet today has become accessible to vast numbers of people around the world. The infrastructure that controls the web, however is still largely centralized and subject to controls, data restrictions, and in some countries, censorship.
Substratum aims to solve that problem by creating the open-source foundation for a decentralized web that will provide unrestricted access to data and content for people around the world. The core of this project is the substratum nodes. These nodes will utilize industry-leading technology to deliver secure content anywhere, all without the need for Tor or VPNs.
The Vision
The Substratum team is in the process of creating and releasing open-source software that will simply and quickly enable individuals anywhere in the world to be part of a decentralized web hosting network. By running Substratum nodes, these individuals can host other user’s websites and, as a result, earn substrate, the currency of the Substratum network. The easy-to-use interface will allow the user to determine what times during the day or night, and how much of the computer’s resources will be allocated to hosting web pages and earning substrate.
Business wanting to host their websites on the decentralized web will, instead of being billed for the time the website is live, simply pay per time the site is accessed. These payments will be made as micro-payments in SUB on the substratum network. Since the network is peer to peer and not centralized, there is no central point of failure and reliability will be increased. There will be no bottleneck where data can be censored or restricted. With Substratum, both individuals and businesses and people be able to access and host information equally and without censorship or restrictions.
Applications
When it is launched, the Substratum network will be able to support numerous conventional web hosting languages. It will also be able to connect to conventional, centralized web hosting sites. This will provide business who want to host their website on the Substratum network the maximum flexibility and convenience.
Substratum Supported Languages
- HTML / CSS
- JavaScript (jQuery, Bootstrap)
- PHP/MySQL (WordPress, Magento, Joomla)
- NET
- Python (Django)
The Substratum team ran a very successful ICO August-September of 2017 and issued approximately 226 million SUB. Upon completion of this ICO, the team launched their plans for future development. This will involve several stages.
Version 1
Plans are in place to have a public beta version released soon. This will include software to allow Mac, Windows, and Linux users to run a beta version of the Substratum node on their personal computer. Users will then be able to run Web, Database, and Application broadcast nodes, and receive SUB on a per request basis. Included with the version one beta release will also be a developer toolkit. This will be the software needed for web developers to build database management, web application, and app development systems to run on the Substratum network.
The team is also striving to build an app store to function as a decentralized location for developers to submit their newly created applications that run on the Stratum network. Also planned is SubstratumDNS. This is a domain name management system that will allow users with any of the common operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux) to use their default web browser to access any of the websites hosted by the Substratum decentralized web.
Version 2
By mid-2018, the Development team hopes to launch version 2 which will include SubstratumPay. This will be a payment system enabling business and consumers to conduct transactions on the Substratum network in a variety of crypto currencies. Users can choose between a number of common crypto currencies and the software will handle the exchange in the background providing both the buyer and seller with a seamless experience. This will add both convenience and value to the network.
Decentralization, An Achievable Goal
Web decentralization is a very aggressive goal. Equal opportunity to both host and access information will not be a simple thing to achieve. With the right vision, technology, and support however, internet decentralization is possible. The Substratum team is well on its way towards building a solid network that will bring this dream into a reality.
How to Follow for Updates
One of the best ways to stay engaged is following via Twitter: Substratum Twitter