Who controls your data is a vital and growing concern these days. People are now fully aware of how the giant tech monopolies are extracting value out of users’ private information while they get nothing in return. Regulators, companies and users have all began to challenge the way this happens by limiting the invasion of privacy wherever possible. However, the potential of transferring value to users still remains allusive. Swash changes the paradigm by putting data monetization in the hands of the users themselves.
Swash is an ecosystem of tools and services that enable people to unlock the value of data by pooling, securely sharing, and earning while retaining privacy. The core idea behind Swash is that of “Data Unions” – organized structures that optimize individual agency as a collective force by rewarding union members for the value of their data. Inspired by their vision to make easy data monetization possible, the Swash team built the first real Data Union back in 2019 as an experiment. It has since grown into one of the largest dApps with over 60,000 installs, making it the largest Data Union in existence.
It was recently announced that Swash raised $4 million in a funding round, led by the popular cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, early-stage accelerator Outlier Ventures and decentralized real-time data platform Streamr. Outlier Ventures’ portfolio boasts big names, such as Brave, Chainlink, Ocean Protocol and Fetch.ai, and Swash partnered with them in summer 2020. Streamr’s technology enables the creation of Data Unions and Swash utilizes the network as the integration layer and the Streamr marketplace will be where Swash stream data is sold. Streamr Founder, Henri Pihkala, is also on the Swash advisory board.
Swash also partnered with Ocean Protocol as a Day 1 Data Launch Partner of the Ocean Market, which enables users to add liquidity to pools, and to buy, sell, or publish data. Swash received from Ocean a funding grant plus marketing and product development support, and Bruce Pon, Ocean Protocol Founder, is now an advisor to the team. For more, the Swash team recently published in a blog an impressive list of all-star backers.
As Swash will grow, the solutions built onto the technology will give rise to a vast community of collaborators and new innovations. Its First Wave Solutions can provide an indication of what is possible. These include: Data Union – organizing individuals as a collective force so people can earn for activities they already do online — like surfing the web. sIntelligence – a unique business intelligence platform using aggregated Swash data to show companies their key metrics via a web-based platform. sApps – making it possible to communicate directly with users to get to know them better and provide another value stream, such as by viewing ads or answering questions or polls. sCompute – making it possible for data scientists to perform computations on data without needing to purchase it while the data itself remains private and isn’t sold or moved.
The Swash value chain will be powered by its native token (SWASH). SWASH will have a variety of use cases within the ecosystem and will be used as a cross-chain utility and governance token integrating Ethereum, xDai and Binance Smart Chain. It will also be fused with Swash’s partners and their native currencies, allowing for cross-fertilization of value, increased adoption, and a seamless user experience. As demand for SWASH will increase alongside network adoption, generated value may be used to balance the token supply, likely through periodical token ‘burning’. Once the Swash expansion is live, use cases for the Swash token will include: an incentive system, data transactions, DAO governance and staking liquidity.
This is your chance to change the future of the internet and help bring about a world where users monetize their data, not the big tech monopolies. You no longer have to imagine a system where users regain data ownership and receive passive income as they surf the web or collectively invest value into social development – Swash makes this a reality now!
To learn more about the project visit the website, and follow the team on Twitter, Telegram and LinkedIn. Join the Swash mailing list to get prioritized for whitelisting and for exclusive updates and announcements.
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