Bitcoin Researcher Proposes Decentralized File Hosting Incentivized by Bitcoin Payments

Bitcoin researcher Robin Linus has proposed a new system for decentralized file hosting incentivized by Bitcoin payments. The "BitStream" proposal suggests an open market for content hosting could be created by exchanging coins for files, using payment channels like Lightning to charge for each download. The server would encrypt the file and a bond contract would ensure the client receives the exact file or can punish the server. Linus's previous "BitVM" paper aimed to avoid clogging up the network's performance by carrying out transactions or computations off-chain, and the BitStream proposal could be combined with it.