Stream offers cryptocurrency option to livestreamers abandoned by Nintendo

Nintendo recently announced that its Creators Program would no longer be supporting YouTube Live livestreamed videos, leaving a bunch of gamers upset and abandoned without any solid way to bring in revenue from those particular livestreams. While ire at Nintendo is still raw, Stream has stepped up to offer a revenue alternative to those content creators.

Stream describes itself as a decentralized 'economic backbone' for streamers, giving them a blockchain-based way to earn money (cryptocurrency) from their audience while livestreaming. The service works for anyone located anywhere in the world, and it revolves around 'Stream Token,' a currency that can be used by viewers to pay and tip the content creators they enjoy. It is billed as an easier alternative to things like sharing a Venmo link.

In a post on its blog today, Stream explained that "wrapping another revenue stream around your livestreaming content will surely soften the blow from losing support from Nintendo." The company wants to establish a decentralized payment system tailored for livestreamers, removing the ability for others — like Nintendo — to step in and easily disrupt a streamer's revenue.

The service gives livestreamers two ways to make money — one is a Chrome extension, which viewers can use to tip the streamers directly for the content. The other comes in the form of Stream Tokens, which Stream says will be distributed weekly to livestreamers proportionally based on how many likes and views their videos get relative to others.

SOURCE: Stream Token