PKT, a community-driven DePIN initiative, seeks to address two major issues: unequal internet access and the need for a decentralized alternative to traditional e-commerce payment processing.
Access to the internet is crucial for communication, education, and economic participation, but it remains unevenly distributed. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as of 2022, only two-thirds of the global population had online access, leaving 2.7 billion people without internet access.
Currently, a few large telecom companies control internet infrastructure and often hold regional monopolies. This leads to high prices, inadequate service quality, and, in many areas, no service at all. Data from Broadband Now indicates that over 40 million Americans lack affordable, high-speed internet. By late 2022, average internet costs had risen to around $75 per month. While affordable, high-speed internet access is more readily available internationally, it is generally limited to metropolitan areas.
Moreover, traditional internet setups are susceptible to government censorship and surveillance. Reports by Access Now and #KeepItOn in 2023 highlighted a six-year decline in internet freedom, with governments increasingly using censorship and surveillance to control online information.
To address these issues, a new approach called Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN) has emerged. DePIN empowers communities to own their physical infrastructure networks, enabling the use of a peer-to-peer mesh network to connect devices to the internet through each other. This decentralization reduces reliance on centralized internet service providers and creates a more resilient, censorship-resistant, and high-speed data network.
This is where PKT, an open-source DePIN blockchain project, comes into play. PKT utilizes a peer-to-peer routing protocol called cjdns to create a global mesh network powered by the people. In simple terms, PKT shifts the work traditionally done in data centers to the devices of contributors worldwide. This reduces dependence on centralized corporate entities and promotes increased internet freedom, economically benefiting individuals who contribute to the PKT Network.
PKT’s mission is to provide free and open internet access to anyone, regardless of their location or income. The blockchain incentivizes individuals to share their internet resources by rewarding them with PKT Cash ($PKT) for contributing bandwidth and CPU power. The PKT Network operates as a VPN-based network, ensuring end-to-end encryption for all data transmission and delivering native privacy and security.
Mining PKT can be done from any internet-connected device with sufficient CPU power, enabling people worldwide to support the infrastructure of the PKT Network and expand internet access.
In addition to open internet access, the PKT Network offers a new payment solution for the decentralized web. Through the PKT Network, anyone can host websites where the web URL also serves as a PKT payment address. By connecting the underlying blockchain to the network, PKT facilitates peer-to-peer e-commerce transactions with minimal fees. The PKT Lightning Network, a layer-2 payment protocol, enables website owners to accept payments without relying on traditional e-commerce payment processors.
Unlike conventional payment processors, the PKT Network is decentralized and immune to censorship or manipulation by governments or ISPs. All traffic on the PKT Network is encrypted, protecting user privacy and shielding online activities from unwarranted scrutiny.
PKT is a community-driven DePIN project that mirrors Bitcoin’s origins. It has no pre-mine, no ICO, no founder shares, no investor shares, and no venture capital. The project aims to revolutionize how people engage with the internet in their local communities.
DePIN blockchain projects like PKT have the potential to democratize internet access, foster free speech, and create a resilient and transparent online environment. This approach can expand global connectivity, collaboration, and prosperity in a borderless and decentralized digital world, allowing anyone to own a piece of the internet.
To learn more about PKT, visit their website.
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