The advent of cryptocurrency has rushed the ideals of decentralization to the forefront, with Web3.0 being a champion for a fair, free environment for all to partake in.
However, these ideals are not all sunshine and rainbows.
A nascent industry, especially one where financial incentives can be hidden subtly in messaging, can be detrimental to the average reader. After all, headlines drive views and views bring in the revenue.
But what if we could be assured that your favorite creators and researchers are not financially incentivized to publish a stray piece of news just for it’s attention-grabbing headline, and what if we could do all that without the pains of a recurring monthly subscription?
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Breaking Down Barriers With Access Protocol
Access Protocol aims to solve the problems present in today’s methods of digital media monetization. Through extensive research, they discovered that even the best subscription-based media companies’ revenue per user paled in comparison to most social media platforms.
Their whitepaper highlights that Buzzfeed, a largely advertisement-supported media company, generates $0.20 in average revenue per user (ARPU), compared to Facebook, which has an ARPU of approximately $214.
Even The New York Times, which charges subscribes $300 a year, only manages $34 in ARPU.
The reason?
Readers either do not want to allocate funds every month towards a subscription, or find it too much of a hassle to enter their card details to begin with.
This leaves such media platforms with a low conversation rate for paid subscribers, often accounting for less than 1% of their total audience.
Founded by Mica Honkasalo, Access Protocol aims to flip this model on its head and allow users to directly support the content they love through a one-off solution. Instead of a recurring subscription, users stake Access Protocol’s native token, $ACS, with monthly subscription fees paid out through staking rewards.
Rewards will be allocated to creators proportionate to the amount of $ACS being staked within their pool.
Media platforms can also set the minimum required stake to access their content at 0 tokens, allowing all users to benefit from their site. Instead of only having paywalled content, creators can provide incentives for larger stakes, including exclusive content and giveaways.
From Independent Creators to Industry Giants: Better Content For All
Headlines have been an issue pervading the media industry for the longest time. From sensationalized cover images on YouTube to controversy-stirring titles on various publications, clickbait is a tactic often used to generate more views.
With Access Protocol, however, users are directly incentivizing the creators they already love and benefit from, allowing media platforms to focus on curating quality content.
This draws parallels to existing Web2 subscription services, which saw a huge rise during the pandemic much to the benefit of both creators and fans. For creators, having access to a reliable stream of revenue helps them focus on doing what they love.
Fans are also assured that the majority of their subscriptions are going towards the creators they love, instead of being siphoned away by third party platforms.
Recognizing what Access Protocol can bring to Web3, some of the biggest names in crypto media have already partnered with the platform in order to tap into its potential. This includes The Block, Wu Blockchain, CryptoSlate, Crypto Times, and many more both within and outside of the United States.
But big name media publications aren’t the only ones Access Protocol will be partnering with.
“We are giving independent creators the same building blocks that publications have, while allowing them to tap into the shared network / audiences that larger media have.”
– Andreas Nicolos, Ecosystem Growth @ Access Protocol
The platform is aiming to work with content creators at all stages of their journey, across an entire range of media platforms. Both individuals and publications that believe they could benefit from Access Protocol can sign up right now at this LINK.
The Road Ahead For Access Protocol
Although some projects mark major partnerships as the pinnacle of their success, Access Protocol is just getting started.
Initially launching on the Solana Network, the chain-agnostic project already has plans for expansions into other blockchains, given the completion of a comprehensive StarkNet audit. Being chain-agnostic, Access Protocol will also likely come to EVM-compatible chains in the future.
In fact, Access Protocol recently announced that an expansion into Polygon was already in the works to support their “vibrant, innovative ecosystem of artists, creators, and established brands.”
As it continues to expand, however, tokenomics become an important factor – especially since the protocol revolves around its native token, $ACS.
Thankfully, the initial distribution of $ACS is fairly equitable, with 75% of tokens going towards incentives, the community treasury, as well as early airdrops. The remaining 15% is split between investors, the Access Protocol team, and Access Labs, with a 4-year vesting period for the former two.
Their maiden airdrop was done in partnership with Coingecko, with over 100,000 unique users signing up for Access Protocol.
While there is no current cap on maximum supply for $ACS, the project is estimating a 5% annual inflation rate, and projects a supply of 142 Billion tokens in 5 years. However, Access protocol will also implement a 2% staking fee, which will be collected and burned on a quarterly basis.
“Access is aiming to become the launchpad for businesses to conduct traditional web2 activities onchain – subscriptions, one time sales (NFTs), advertising, loyalty, inctevization – all can happen within one ecosystem.”
More importantly, the unique value proposition of $ACS is the network effect that it could potentially have. If a single content creator chooses to integrate Access Protocol, it could easily translate into thousands of users signing up to support them.
Furthermore, Access Protocol has already secured partnerships with major publications that have millions of monthly viewers each. Access Protocol continually expanding across networks and platforms also highlights its potential to reach a large userbase not only in Web3, but also in Web2.
Closing Thoughts
The past year has shown us that the rapidly-moving cryptocurrency industry can be home to bad actors, despite it’s fundamental quality of transparency. As such, good, objective authors are required to report on current events – ones that should not be swayed by deep pockets or have to resort to clickbait for views.
Access Protocol not only helps major publications guarantee a revenue stream, but also provides a solution for fans to get directly involved with their favorite content creators, something that has become imperative in today’s world.
As we move towards better, more integrous content, we may see Access Protocol and $ACS being a core part of Web3 moving forward.
Also Read: Everything You Need To Know About The Upcoming Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade
[Editor’s Note: This article does not represent financial advice. Please do your research before investing.]
Featured Image Credit: ChainDebrief
