Video streaming companies like YouTube and Netflix have forever changed the way people consume video media. It is undeniable that these platforms have made it easier to access and watch videos online.
However, they have several flaws that make them less than desirable.
For instance, while both of these platforms pay content creators for their effort, they themselves take a huge cut of these earnings and give the original creators a meagre percentage. They also suffer from scalability issues, poor video quality, and the possibility of personally identifiable information being misused.
So, clearly, centralized video platforms like YouTube and Netflix are not the perfect option. This is why decentralized options like Theta are quickly gaining momentum as video creators realize that they can be well rewarded without someone else enjoying the fruits of their hard work.
While Theta has only been in the industry for a few years (it was launched in 2017), it is already disrupting the video streaming industry and promises to make video creation and consumption an exciting adventure.
Theta rewards users for sharing their bandwidth and computer resources and also for relaying that video to other users. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, Theta has two native tokens; THETA coin and TFUEL.
THETA coin is the main token and is mostly used for governance purposes. On the other hand, TFUEL is usually paid to people who share their bandwidth as a reward and also for transaction purposes.
Clearly, Theta offers a revolutionary technology. But is it worth investing in? Read on to understand what exactly Theta is, how it works and whether it is worth a spot in your investment portfolio.
Content
- What Is Theta?
- THETA Price History
- THETA Price Prediction For 2022 And 2023
- THETA Price Prediction For 2024 And 2025
- THETA Price Prediction For 2026 And Beyond
- Factors That Will Affect The Price Of Curve In The Future
- The Future Of Theta: Will The Value Of THETA Rise?
- Conclusion: Is THETA A Good Investment?
What Is Theta?
To put it simply, Theta is a decentralized video platform. This means that it is not controlled by one single entity but rather by the people who use it. The peer-to-peer network was created to eliminate some of the flaws that dominate centralized video streaming services like YouTube and Netflix.
The main idea behind Theta is that it awards users for sharing their bandwidth with the network. This is where the decentralization aspect comes in.
Here is how:
Content on Theta is not stored on one central server like with most mainstream video providers. Instead, the content is stored in multiple computers around the world. These computers belong to users (also known as edge nodes) who share their spare computer bandwidth in return for some TFUEL tokens.
So, when you watch a video on, say, Theta.tv, it does not come from one central place. The video you watch is stored in bits in several computers around the world and is only put together for your consumption.
This kind of decentralized model is important for two reasons:
First of all, it removes geographical barriers. You see, when you watch a Netflix video that is stored thousands of miles from where you are, you are going to experience quality and buffering issues. Theta phases this issue out by only showing you videos that are stored in computers closest to you.
So, when you click on a video to watch, Theta’s algorithm will scour its network of computers to try and find ones that are closest to you.
Secondly, by allowing thousands or even millions of computers to share their bandwidth, Theta solves the issue of scalability. Centralized platforms have one huge problem; the more people use the platform, the poorer the video quality becomes due to network congestion.
It is the opposite with Theta. As more people join and share their bandwidth, the better the video quality becomes.
To ensure smooth operation, Theta relies on three groups of users or nodes:
- Enterprise Validator Nodes: Big companies like Google and Samsung that stake THETA tokens in order to be able to process transactions on the network.
- Guardian Nodes: Users who ensure that transaction blocks generated by Enterprise validator nodes are valid and free from errors. You also need to stake some THETA tokens to become a guardian node.
- Edge Nodes: These are the backbone of the Theta network. They are the people that share their bandwidth and computing power and also relay video streams to consumers.
In order to become an Enterprise validator or guardian node, you will need to stake a certain amount of THETA. For instance, guardian nodes need to stake at least 1,000 THETA for the right to validate transactions.
This means that the Theta network uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism where users are rewarded for staking their coins. In particular, Theta uses an advanced version of PoS protocol known as Modified Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT).
This is a mechanism that allows the network to keep working even when some nodes malfunction or become malicious.
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THETA Price History
You might not see it in most historical charts, but THETA actually began trading in late 2017. Back then, it was going for as little as $0.015. Exchanges began picking it up in early 2018, which exposed it to a wider base of investors.
As a result, the price began climbing and went close to $1. However, the first year was not exactly rosy for THETA. In fact, 2018 wasn’t rosy for most cryptocurrencies. Theta was also an alien concept back then, and most people didn’t understand exactly what it was trying to achieve.
If you look at its historical price data, you will see that its graph was mostly flat on the ground until late May 2020, when it began coming from under the radar.
So, THETA mostly traded between $0.07 and $0.3 from January 2018 to May 2020.
Towards the end of 2020, the coin crossed $1 for the first time and has never gone below that point again. The real growth began in 2021. This is also true for most new cryptocurrencies.
At the start of this year, there was a market-wide bull run that ended around May. Most digital assets in the crypto space began scaling the charts, and THETA wasn’t left behind. Although the growth was not as parabolic as those of blue-chip cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, it was big enough to be noticed.
In fact, by mid-February 2021, THETA had crossed $3.5.
Now, this is where THETA’s biggest price jump began.
Between April 28th and March 28th, 2021, the coin rose from $3.1 to $13.00. That is a 319.35% gain in exactly a month. About 18 days later, on April 16th, 2021, THETA achieved its current all-time high price of $15.9.
The steady descent since then has not been quite pleasing for investors, but THETA has managed to stay afloat compared to most other cryptocurrencies. When the market-wide bull run signed out in May, most coins crashed and had no hopes of ever going back to their all-time highs.
And while THETA has lost over 60% of its ATH from 7 months ago, it is still very promising. The coin has mostly been trading above $5 but hasn’t been able to cross or go above $10. It came close to doing so in early September 2021 when it rose to as high as $9.2 but again dropped to $4.7 a few days later. The coin ended 2021 trading at $4.71 but the overall bearish market has influenced it as Theta value has dropped further.
At the time of writing, THETA was trading at around $2.95, according to price data from CoinMarketCap. It has a market cap of $2.94 billion, which makes it the 44th biggest cryptocurrency by market cap.
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THETA Price Prediction For 2022 And 2023
Of course, the future of any cryptocurrency is determined by what it does in the coming years. Unfortunately, we can't give you a clear prediction for THETA, but we do know that the bullish and bearish trends will remain at play over the next few years.
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, it will be safe to assume that THETA won't fall as much as it has (in percentage) from its all-time highs. However, the potential for gains might be lower than those we saw in early 2021.
Generally, most price experts believe that THETA will soon rise and maybe even beat its current all-time high. According to Wallet Investor, 2022 and 2023 will be promising years for THETA, even though the growth might be a tad leisurely. The growth might be slightly unpredictable, with some fluctuations along the way. Although THETA will easily cross the $7 and $8 points, it will have trouble going to $9 this year.
THETA will close the year at around $8.66.
2023 will be just as promising based on Wallet Investor predictions. THETA will start the year at $8 then cross $10 in mid-February. There might be interesting growth in March, with the coin growing from $10.31 to as high as $13.1.
However, THETA might go into consolidation mode from April to mid-November. During this time, it will mostly bounce between $12 and $13 per coin. It will then start off December at $13.27 and close the year at $13.47.
Some other price experts like Gov.capital share Wallet Investor’s optimism. Gov.capital predicts that THETA will trade mid-2022 at $7.74 and close at around $8.657. In 2023 will then trade from $8.76 to $18.01 with some fluctuations in between.
THETA Price Prediction For 2024 And 2025
Wallet Investor is just as optimistic in 2024 and 2025. It predicts that THETA will start 2024 at around $13.58 and reach $14 per coin in early February. March will be very flexible, with the coin growing from $15 to as high as $18.
From April to July, Wallet Investor predicts that THETA will mostly trade between $17.2 and $17.6. This will then be followed by a steady growth that will take the coin to $18.63 by the end of the year.
According to Wallet Investor, THETA might also emulate this growth trajectory in 2025. It will start the year at around $18.84 and grow to $24.46 by the end of the year. Of course, there will be some fluctuations in between, and the growth might stagnate a bit in July and September.
Priceprediction.net is just as optimistic and predicts that THETA will close 2024 at $21.8 and 2025 at $31.4. On the other hand, Long Forecast sticks to a rather bearish prediction, indicating that the digital asset will be worth $10.5 and $12.2 by the end of 2024 and 2025, respectively.
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THETA Price Prediction For 2026 And Beyond
As we approach 2026, it might be safe to assume that Theta will record much more adoption compared to now. Wallet Investor predicts that the coin will kick off the year at $24.4, and by mid-September, it will be hovering around $29.45.
This means that by the end of the year, it will be trading at slightly above $30.26.
For now, we can assume that THETA might cross $25 by 2026. And if the bullish market trends continue, it won't be long before we see prices in the hundreds of dollars.
However, according to some other price analysts, it might take long before this price is achieved. In fact, according to Coin Price Forecast, which is just as pessimistic as Long Forecast, THETA might end 2026 at $6.86 and might not reach $20 until after 2033.
This is obviously a bearish prediction, but it is also not one to dismiss. Anything can happen in the crypto space.
Gov.capital is fairly optimistic and predicts that THETA might trade at over $59.3 per coin by the end of 2026.
Very few price analysts go beyond 2026, and those who do are a bit bearish. For instance, Coin Price Forecast predicts that THETA will be worth $7.82, $6.67 and $7.47 by the end of 2027, 2028 and 2029, respectively.
In comparison, Priceprediction.net is quite optimistic and predicts that THETA might reach $190.12 by the end of 2030. This is after hitting $68.30, $95.46 and $132.14 per coin in 2027, 2028 and 2029, respectively.
Overall, there is some optimism surrounding the price of THETA in the future. As usual, we will see major fluctuations with the price either dropping or rising dramatically.
For this reason, in order to get a clearer idea of how the Theta network might turn out to be in the future, we need to look at some factors that directly affect its price movement.
Let’s quickly go through that below.
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Factors That Will Affect The Price Of Curve In The Future
While we cannot accurately predict the prices of THETA in the future, there are several factors that can help us determine whether the coin will be successful or not. By looking at these factors and a bit of technical analysis, it becomes easier to predict the future of THETA.
The factors that might possibly inform the future of THETA include:
- Adoption rate
- Competition
- Government regulations
- Growth of the video streaming industry
Let's quickly go through each of these factors, and they might possibly affect the future of THETA.
1. Adoption Rate
As the team behind THETA point out in their whitepaper, streaming videos requires a lot of bandwidth. A single hour-long video can take up to 1GB of data on average. With millions of people uploading and streaming high definition videos every day, you can expect that there is going to be an obvious push for infrastructure development. This is why global internet traffic is expected to increase by at least 7% per year.
Whether it is 4K, VR or 360-degree videos, these are all bandwidth-intensive. The more people use them, the higher demand for higher speeds and reliable bandwidth becomes. And while most blockchain networks cannot handle any of this kind of data, THETA is not like most blockchains. The network has features that allow it to meet this demand. This will likely increase its adoption in the future and subsequently push its price up.
2. Competition
THETA is already one of the biggest blockchain networks for streaming videos on the planet, but there are some other blockchain-powered platforms that have also been adopted by some companies as well.
However, the biggest threat to Theta right now is still centralized video platforms like YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime. There are still a lot of people who are not crypto-savvy and don't even know that services like Theta exist. A lot of these people don't even know what blockchain is, let alone about any cryptocurrency.
YouTube has already partnered with Billions of users on its platform. And while THETA's goal is to build a decentralized video streaming network, YouTube has the infrastructure and already has billions of users around the world that can potentially use Theta. How will Theat compete with these services? Can it really become the Netflix/Amazon Prime of blockchain-powered streaming videos?
The answer to this question is difficult to predict. However, if Theta can manage to attract just a small percentage of online video consumers that already don't know about it, it might significantly rise in value.
3. Government Regulations
Theta claims to be a decentralized video sharing platform, and this is true. However, we can't forget that Theta's popularity means that it will likely attract the attention of governments as well. And while decentralized platforms cannot be shut down by parent companies or influenced by them in any way, they can still be regulated and even taxed by government bodies depending on their geographical location.
For example, Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges were banned by the government and trading platforms like Binance had to move out of China to continue operations.
Will this happen to Theta as well?
We don't know for sure what will happen, but we can expect that governments around the world will likely try and regulate decentralized blockchain-powered platforms.
4. Growth of the Video Streaming Industry
Theta's value might also be affected by the growth rate of its target industry, which is video streaming. It is estimated that by 2022, video content will account for 82% of all internet traffic. Since the main use case of Theta is video streaming, this growth in demand will translate into an increase in value for its own token.
And while Theta has a good shot at becoming the next big thing when it comes to video streaming, it might not be able to compete with other giants in the industry like Amazon Prime or Netflix. When you consider that Netflix's market capitalization is more than $300 billion, compared to Theta's current market cap of around $2.9 billion, Theta will have a tough time competing.
But it doesn't mean that Theta can't become one of the biggest cryptocurrency networks in the world. It just means that it will still have to fight an uphill battle against platforms like YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The Future Of Theta: Will The Value Of THETA Rise?
We can't really make a prediction as to whether Theta's price will rise or drop. There are too many factors that could impact its value in the future, and some of those factors are beyond our control. We've laid out all the possible reasons why THETA might be a sound investment right now, but we can't ignore all the potential risks as well.
Otherwise, we believe THETA has a great potential to rise in value. It can become the main video-streaming decentralized platform that other video-streaming networks are being built upon.
Theta's website claims that their ecosystem is powered by a "global, peer-to-peer content delivery network (CDN) and blockchain". This means that they want to decentralize the streaming industry and build a platform/ecosystem where video makers, streamers, and consumers can all benefit.
Overall, if Theta can beat the competition, survive government regulations, record increased adoption and encounter favourable market conditions, there is no reason it shouldn't rise in value.
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Conclusion: Is THETA A Good Investment?
While we cannot predict the future, we can still provide you with some facts and let you decide whether THETA is a good cryptocurrency to invest in.
Theta has a promising potential. It's cheap and can become popular enough to break into mainstream consciousness. Plus, its current price makes it an attractive opportunity to get involved with before the price rises.
But we cannot ignore what could go wrong in the future. It is possible that governments will try and regulate THETA's video streaming platform, and Theta might not be able to keep up with competitors like YouTube and Netflix in terms of adoption.
All things considered, our final verdict is that Theta can definitely be a sound investment, but only if you are ready to deal with the risk of losing all your money.
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Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
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