How to easily start earning the hottest utility token in crypto, Theta Fuel (TFuel) right now!
This post focuses on one of two ways to earn the token/cryptocurrency Theta Fuel within the Theta Network dual token blockchain! This blog post will focus on earning by streaming via the Edge Node app on your Windows PC or Mac OSX. This is also known as “caching” or “relaying” data, and is how anybody in the world can easily earn crypto!
The other method of earning is through “staking” Theta (or as some people generically know as mining). The staking method will be discussed in another post. Now we will focus on how to earn crypto with your home internet connection, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So let’s get down to it.
What is an edge node and what’s the catch?!
Running an Edge Node allows you to earn crypto for sharing your internet connection. You’re becoming a mini server and getting paid for helping video platforms deliver video to consumers. This is the easiest, best, and most fun, low-cost way to make passive money! Unlike bitcoin mining, you don’t need fancy hardware, lots of electricity, or a fast/cpu intensive computer. All that’s required is an unlimited internet connection and a computer that can stay running as long as possible. It’s like Uber for your home internet. The longer you’re running the “engine” (computer plus internet), the more tokens you can earn.
Can I really make money?
Yes! Theta Network has two tokens, Theta and Theta Fuel. This post focuses on Theta Fuel, the operational token of the network that is used for accounting, micropayments, and most importantly, paying you real money for sharing your bandwidth! Theta Fuel is paid out to those who stake their Theta tokens, but more important for this post, Theta Fuel is paid out per how much data you share within the network. As an Edge Node, you are a mini server, so you get paid per how much “work” you do for the network. The more data you move, the more Theta Fuel you earn.
How much money (USD) can I make?
This depends on your location in the world, population density, the speed of your internet, and your ability to run a node at a high runtime (with a 99%+ uptime). In other words, if you live in a big metropolitan city, you will likely have lots of peering neighbors pulling in-demand data content from you (ex: Sports, Music Concert, Film, VR). The CEO of Theta mentioned in a Forbes article that an avg user could earn $15–20 USD per month. Equivalent to paying for your monthly Netflix and Spotify accounts on your internet’s behalf! Keep in mind that the network is still young, so earning potential will be limited. This is one of the most exciting reasons for running a node, to help build a robust and available mesh network. The more nodes there are, the more enticing and exciting proposition Theta is for major video platforms.
The more peering neighbors you have, the more data you obtain and the more you can relay to earn money. You are downloading content and in return, you send that content to neighbors in your city/state. The more content you send out, the more Tfuel you make! Every month you get paid out your Tfuel which you can use toward digital/physical gift purchases, network subscriptions, and even pay for things partly with Tfuel and the remainder with fiat!
This sounds too good to be true???
It’s actually not. This technology has been around for decades with P2P software. It’s been used on static files (Theta is geared for livestream video sharing), has been instrumental globally for individuals to share all kinds of files, many copyright violations, with each other. For users worried about their IP address or sharing these types of files, they may have wanted to only download, and avoid uploading. This is called “leeching” and is frowned upon in a download/sharing community because it prevents a more robust mesh network of existing people sharing and new people downloading to be sharing to others in the future. The growth of the network becomes stronger as each node joins, creating more possible opportunities for new nodes to share, and vice versa.
Thus, by joining the Theta Network as an Edge Cacher, you are helping an exciting network grow, you are helping video networks save millions of dollars on data delivery related operating costs, and you are earning real money as you help grow an entirely new technology and media economy!
Awesome, now how do I get started?
First order, always refer to the official Theta Network website thetatoken.org and the official Theta Network Medium.com blog post https://medium.com/theta-network/theta-edge-node-released-7a63557f9612 for all official Edge Cacher node information and links.
As a rule of thumb, always be careful and double check links from unofficial sources! Most blockchain networks are stable and have not been hacked, thus the hackers target unsuspecting users with phishing websites or fraudulent links. Therefore, always double check sources of information and files!
Before you start with the Edge Node app, you will need an Official Theta Wallet. You will use your unique wallet’s public blockchain address for when you install the Edge Node app. Your public blockchain address is like your bank account where you will direct the app to send your Tfuel payouts.
If you don’t already have a Theta Network wallet, you will need to create one. Take your time during this process to understand everything that is happening and to ensure that you create backups of your private wallet key and mnemonic phrase. These are used to access your wallet and are very important to keep private. Always double check the website you are using or links you are clicking before inputting your private information as scammers can create hundreds of domain names to make you believe you’re on a real Theta site when it’s a decoy used to phish your credentials.
Now that we have the security disclaimer out of the way, visit the official Theta Wallet site @ wallet.thetatoken.org. See the screenshot below, and at the bottom of the screen you’ll see the text “Create New Wallet”. Click on that link to create your own private Theta wallet (see picture below).
Next you will need to create a unique password, and then click the checkbox. This will download your private keystore file, which is used along with your password to verify you are the sole owner of this wallet. You can also use your mnemonic phrase or private key to access your wallet. Keep all of these files, passwords, and keys safe and secure to keep sole custody of your personal and private Theta crypto wallet!
Please read the text accompanying the checkbox as this is extremely important and is referenced in my intro to crypto trading article “Three Most Important Rules in Crypto”!! The very first rule is “you are your own bank”. Therefore, while Theta Labs is the developer of this decentralized project, they can’t recover your password if you lose it. This differs from your bank where you can call them and they can identify you, and help you recover your account and money, as they own part of the financial infrastructure. This is a new technology and system which is completely decentralized. Pictured below is the screen before showing your mnemonic phrase and giving you access to your private key.
Make sure to write down your mnemonic password without revealing what it’s for, as if someone knows what this seemingly unknown set of words is for, they can use it to steal your crypto. Keep all your passwords secure and as unlabeled as possible so nobody can hijack your crypto! Be smart, take a few minutes, think about how you want to store this information, where you can store it, how you’ll be able to retrieve it later. Picture of mnemonic key and private key page below.
Now that you have access to your Theta Wallet, you can see your wallet address at the top right of the screen (in this picture below it is remove with Red paint).
You can also access your wallet address by clicking on the “Receive” tab on your wallet page (picture below)
The purpose of your public wallet address is so you may send and receive Theta and Tfuel to your wallet. When receiving Theta or Tfuel to your wallet, they go to the same address. However, please note, when sending Theta or Tfuel from your wallet, you will need to specify which of the two tokens you are sending.
Now the fun part, directing your Edge Node app to send all your earned Tfuel to your wallet!!
Is this really that easy?
Yes! You open the Edge Node app (currently available in Windows and OSX) and the setup is as simple as copy and pasting your personal Theta wallet address. Again, please be sure to double check your public wallet address before inputting it into your Theta Edge Node app! Please note that the current Edge Node app is running in beta and payment is delivered at the beginning of the month. Production/final version will payout to wallets every ~10 mins. Once you have input your blockchain address into the app, you will become a live node on the network available for sharing/relaying data.
Remember to keep your private key private, and your public wallet address personal. Anybody who has your public wallet address will know how much money you have, and who you sent or received money to/from. This is the magic of blockchain, it is a “distributed ledger technology” aka DLT. Thus, all transactions in/out of your wallet are publicly accessible (though you won’t necessarily know who owns what wallet).
In conclusion, setting up an official Theta Wallet and Theta Edge Node are not necessarily hard to do, but it’s important to understand the process so you know what you’re doing, and ensuring your information is safe and secure. Hope you have enjoyed this blog post and please share it with your friends and family. We can all do our part to help grow this network, and even better that we get paid at the same time! Spread this freely and help your friend or family member if they have questions.
The more people who run an edge node for Theta network, the better the network will perform, the brighter the future of the network and its participants will be, and the more tokens each node will earn. This is a very exciting project backed by some huge corporations and partnered with some of the biggest names in media and technology. Stay tuned to ThetaToken.org @Theta_Network on Twitter and Medium.com/Theta-Network for all official updates on network, partner, and product development!
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice.
