Bitcoin Social Network DATT Reaches Proof-of-Concept Stage

A decentralized social network founded by Reddit’s former cryptocurrency engineer has moved forward to the proof-of-concept stage.

Launched in August 2015, DATT (Decentralize All The Things) is the product of Ryan X Charles, a veteran of bitcoin startup BitPay, as well as Reddit’s short-lived cryptocurrency program. Now, as a continuation of his efforts, Charles is seeking to launch DATT, which he says is about six months away from completion.

The product received widespread attention from major publications such as Wired, Fortune and the Business Insider at a time when public furor over censorship on Reddit was high.

Moving forward, Charles is seeking to find a technical co-founder who understands blockchain and web technologies. However, he says the basic technology is already up and running for more tech-savvy users.

Charles told CoinDesk:

“It lets you post comments that are distributed peer to peer, and also pay to view a piece of content. If you want to run it, you have to follow the step-by-step instructions, but it’s very fragile as it’s only basically a proof of concept.”

The current version, Charles says, will be improved before the final launch, with updates to its peer-to-peer protocol, database and user interface.

However, Charles maintains that despite other commitments to Blockchain University, where he teaches on blockchain subjects, and IDEO Futures, where he is an entrepreneur in residence, DATT remains a full-time endeavor.

Charles concluded:

"I am trying to create a real company. It’s not a side project."

Account image via DATT