From Collapse to Comeback: Odysee Journeys to the Arweave Blockchain
On July 10th, Odysee posted a video to announce that the largest web3 video-sharing platform will be transitioning to the Arweave blockchain.
Arweave is essentially a decentralized data storage network that allows users to store data permanently and immutably.
Odysee has ensured users the transition onto Arweave will be seamless, and user access to the platform will be uninterrupted.
All user content, uploaded prior to the Arweave transition, will also remain unchanged and accessible.
Odysee created an FAQ so users, and interested parties alike, can learn more about the switch and how the platform will utilize Arweave technology.
The news comes one month after Odysee was acquired by new parent company Forward Research, which is a "leading reasearch and developer incubator" for the Arweave ecosystem.
Odysee's former parent company, LBRY Inc., closed in October 2023, citing mounting debts after being successfully sued by the SEC for the unregistered sale of securities.
"In this new decentralized future, Odysee will be just one of many places where your content can be accessed and enjoyed. There could be thousands of applications with similar names and user interfaces to Odysee. Domain names and platforms become less important when everything is accessible through the larger network. Your content will be available across various platforms and applications, greatly expanding its reach and impact. While Odysee will continue to offer a robust and user-friendly experience, your content won't be limited to just one platform."
- Statement from Odysee
Interestingly, during the course of my research, I found some clues (like this Reddit post) that point towards the Arweave ecosystem being a supporter of Odysee since at least early 2023.
For example, this article shows the last remaining image of a post made by Odysee in September 2023 (image below).
I say "last remaining image" because the link to the post gives you a "No Content Found" message, which means the original post has been deleted or hidden.
What is shown of the post details Odysee's struggle with their old parent company LBRY Inc's legal battle and how Odysee found "a supporter" within the Arweave ecosystem in early 2023.
One can only speculate on why Odysee would make this post about Arweave supporting them back in September only to delete sometime in the future, but whatever reason they made a point to delete almost all traces of it.
Within the now deleted post, Odysee states that without the support and financial aid from this unnamed benefactor, the largest web3 video sharing platform would not have survived.
The article even quotes some of the post which said: "This support ensured that Odysee has stayed online. We are truly grateful to the Arweave ecosystem – without whom, Odysee would have had to shut down many months ago.”
To add even more fuel to the conspiracy, the article goes on to quote a part of the post, that clearly shows a partnership or intention to work together: "fully decentralizing Odysee on top of Arweave as well as developing new non-tokenized products, that continue to imbibe Odysee’s values and push the notion of a fully decentralized media ecosystem forward."
While building a new version of the platform on Arweave blockchain, Odysee states they are also working on a Decentralized Media Ecosystem (DME).
According to Odysee, a Decentralized Media Ecosystem (DME) is an open network that:
is privacy focused, customizable, and censorship resistant
allows for the creation of an infinite number of media applications (like Twitter and Reddit) on the same Arweave technology stack
ensures all user content and data will remain the same and be available throughout all applications within the DME
is not driven by advertisers, which allows the user content to be distributed and hosted on any application built on the DME
makes it impossible to be de-platformed; if one application goes down, another can be created, and the user's data will be unchanged
"Our hope is that through the creation of this DME, the magic of the old internet can be recaptured. This new direction for us marks a clear evolution in our priority wherein the focus is on building Protocols, not Platforms. This is a course we take to counter the overly centralised and corporate, splinter-internet of today.
We are extremely excited about our future, more than we ever have been before. There’s an image of what we want to become, of what we’d like to achieve and contribute to the internet. This image is becoming clearer and we’re quietly ecstatic."
- Julian Chandra, Founder and CEO of Odysee
Now, the transition towards Arweave also means that Odysee will be "transitioning away from the use of the LBC token as part of the platform".
However, Odysee claims that users will retain full ownership of their currently held LBC; If the user wishes, the token balance can also be sent to another wallet anytime.
No further details have been released regarding this planned transition away from the LBC token.
If you are interested in checking out Odysee, why not use my invite link to join: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@ZeroRequiem:7
Do you believe this switch to Arweave technology will be a game-changer for Odysee and its users?
Why do you think Odysee would delete their post in September about Arweave's support?
What are your thoughts on this news? Join the conversation below!
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I hope this will be a beneficial change making the platform more robust and capable without billions of dollars of government money which turned youtube into a censorship and NPC cesspool.