Explain it to me like I'm an 80 IQ PLEB!
Ok, here we go!
BitStream introduces decentralized file hosting powered by Bitcoin, allowing users to monetize excess bandwidth and storage.
Users pay in bitcoin to access data without intermediaries, facilitated by verifiable encryption and atomic swaps.
In simple terms: If I run a server and give you data, you pay me in bitcoin in exchange for using that data.
A peer-to-peer exchange of data for digital gold.
In BitStream, clients (users who download files) and servers (users who distribute files to the network) use optimistic fraud proofs to prove the validity of the files.
The server encrypts the file.
When the client is decrypting the file, it can raise a fraud proof to challenge the server in case something doesn't add up regarding the validity of the file.
Files are split into fixed-sized chunks and then hashed into a Merkle tree (a data structure where blocks of data are hashed together).
By breaking the files into hashed components, the system can quickly confirm the accuracy of the files.
All this would happen outside the Bitcoin blockchain, which would only be used to address disputes (and to finally verify the whole process back on-chain.)
In order to download files, a client needs to purchase decryption keys with BTC to decrypt the encrypted files that the server is hosting.
The server locks some BTC in a Hashed Time Lock Contract (HTLC).
This is its economic commitment to act honestly.
If the server's file can't be decrypted properly with the client's decryption key, the server risks losing its bond in the HTLC.
OP_CAT soft work could enable direct implementation on Bitcoin, but BitStream could already be built on e.g. Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain.
BitStream aligns client-server incentives, ensuring profitable scalability without over-engineered designs or complex token structures, utilizing Bitcoin's sound economic model for a balanced decentralized hosting network.
Here's the white paper:
https://robinlinus.com/bitstream.pdf
