Why Photochain Will Democratize the Photo Marketplace

As the prices of tokens soared this past year, cryptocurrencies received a wave of new attention. However, rather than coming from tech enthusiasts as you might expect, new retail investors were leading the charge, looking to take advantage of crypto’s momentum.

In short, cryptocurrencies are meant to be technological replacements for fiat currencies and they are to be used in everyday transactions. Cryptocurrencies are supposed to make the transaction experience quicker and more secure than traditional currencies due to the power of technology. Whilst cryptocurrencies themselves are very interesting, it is their underlying technology that has caught the focus of many others. This technology is blockchain.

Blockchain technology consists of a system of ledgers and smart contracts that facilitates transfers of information. The added benefit is that these ledgers are decentralized (no single owner), but available for read and write access to all users. As all information is cryptographically encrypted, blockchain can be more technologically secure than anything we’ve had before.

As a result of its various advanced properties, as well as the fact that most businesses are heavily reliant on data to function, blockchain technology can be applied almost all industries. The benefits of blockchain are almost limitless in terms of data sharing, protection, cost savings and accountability.

One of the startups that has recognized the potential of blockchain is Photochain. This project is bringing blockchain technology to the stock photography market — a very data driven (digital photography) industry, yet controlled by very few main centralized companies.

The content creators in this industry have, for years, faced problems with the industry, in terms of licensing, ease of entry and payment. As a result, photographers find it difficult to make a good living from their passion, often earning less than a quarter of proceeds from their own sales.

Prices are set by the photostocks, licensing is controlled by them too. In addition, verification processes for these marketplaces are complicated and often impose a large number of restrictions on their users. In the end, photographers end up feeling stifled and unsupported by the industry. Photochain believes that all of these problems can be remedied through the power of blockchain — to create a decentralized and democratic stock photography marketplace.

How Photochain Differs From Traditional Stock Photo Marketplaces

In the words of Photochain’s Chief Marketing Officer, Haris Rana:

“Photochain has been designed and developed completely with the users in mind. The platform has rebuilt the entire concept of a photostock from the ground up, leveraging the power of blockchain technology in every step of the process. This leads to a seamless buying and selling experience to all users, where they can feel comfortable that their best interests are put first.”

Blockchain technology allows for Photochain to cut out unnecessary centralized processing, allowing users to retain 95% of the profits from their content. Protections are also available for both buyers and sellers, as the sales process is managed by smart contracts.

Using their innovative Digital Copyright Chain (DCC) solution, content creators can rest assured that Photochain’s technology is looking out for them. To upload a photo, a user must have their identity verified. Then each uploaded photo is permanently linked to the user who uploaded it. This link forever exists in the blockchain, through the DCC. This leaves a trail of ownership for every single photo that passes through the platform. Each uploaded image, by every photographer, is compared to the DCC for copyright infringement — automatically.

Uploaders are able to choose whatever price they want to list their photographs for, and if they want to negotiate and discuss with buyers, they can do so. Giving photographers more freedom to control the fate of their own work is exactly what Photochain is all about.

Buyers never have to be known to sellers, should they wish to remain anonymous, but there is no risk to sellers. Smart contracts facilitate the sales process, and if the buyer agrees to a purchase, tokens are immediately deducted from their account and sent to the seller. The buyer is given a digital copy of the purchased work, which is also permanently written into the blockchain as to stifle any misuse of the image.

Altogether, this allows Photochain to provide its users with a more flexible, fair and democratic marketplace than is available from the industry. All this is highlighted in Photochain’s state-of-the-art prototype, something that many blockchain projects still don’t have.

In addition to streamlining the experience for buyers and sellers on the marketplace, Photochain is building a community. This community is built for the photographers, by the photographers — with the long term ambition to become a Decentralized Autonomous Organization — to be truly democratic.

As Haris says, “Photochain is about giving the power back to the content creators. As photography enthusiasts ourselves, we want to see the photography, rather than the businesses, thrive.”

Conclusion: Photochain is a Project to Watch in 2018 and Beyond

Photochain has picked an industry model that is outdated and prime for decentralized disruption. The potential of the project has been greatly noticed recently, with the taking home 3rd place in the ICO Pitch Competition at the Blockchain Leadership Summit in Zurich.

With an experienced core and advisory team, including ex-photostock professionals and a bunch of photography enthusiasts, Photochain is going after a real market problem with a tangible solution. Already hundreds of photographers have registered their interest in contributing work to the platform.

The project has successfully completed a pre-ICO, reaching an oversubscription for their hard cap. The momentum is with them right now, leading into their main sale beginning on 6th April.

Photochain’s marketplace application of the technology will be important to the growth and spread of blockchain — away from investors’ and big businesses’ hands and into the everyday lives of average consumers. Photochain and the proliferation of other projects will certainly be exciting to watch in the coming months and beyond.

Disclosure:

The author has had a working or personal relationship with one or more companies mentioned in this article in the past. Access to mentioned company’s management and information was made through the author’s personal network. All information was vetted prior to posting.

Disclaimer:

This essay is not intended to be a source of investment, financial, technical, tax, or legal advice. All of this content is for informational purposes only.

Why Photochain Will Democratize the Photo Marketplace was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.