The CEO of Gather, Raghav Reggie Jerath, speaks to us about the future of the internet and crypto mining.
One of the major criticisms that crypto enthusiasts receive is that crypto mining takes up a lot of energy and adversely affects the environment. In fact, Bitcoin uses up 0.5% of all electricity worldwide and has the capacity to push global warming above 2°C. With such massive environmental costs, can crypto really reach its full potential? That is precisely where companies like Gather Network come in.
Gather Network is a web3 company with its own Layer 1 native blockchain. It seeks to fix the broken and dysfunctional digital advertising industry through crypto mining. The Jumpstart team had the opportunity to speak with the founder and CEO of the Gather Network, Raghav Reggie Jerath, to hear about what the company does, how it makes crypto mining sustainable and a lot more!
So, how does the Gather Network work?
Gather is an ecosystem consisting of three layers—Gather Online (the hardware layer; web and mobile developers can monetize their content without ads), Gather Network (the protocol layer; a hybrid proof-of-work and proof-of-stake blockchain) and Gather Cloud (the application layer; it provides cheap processing power for enterprises and developers). “It creates an ecosystem by implementing a new monetization model for content creators via Gather Online, allowing them to harness the processing power of their visitors with their express permission.” says Jerath.
To put it simply, let’s say you go to a website that is a part of the Gather Network. Your computer will use a very small percentage of its processing power. This processing power will be collected by Gather to secure blockchains or to be distributed via their decentralized cloud solution: Gather Cloud. “All types of spare processing power goes into the system and [gets] re-distributed and recalibrated according to the market’s needs,” Jerath adds.
Those websites using Gather Online are rewarded with the network’s crypto token “GTH” using said processing power via their visitors. Making it possible for businesses and content creators to get a new source of revenue and monetize their websites or platforms without placing ads on them.
Addressing the scalability problem of blockchain
In Gather’s case, a low memory hashing algorithm called GTHash is designed to maximize the UI/UX (user interface and experience) experience with low power consumption and carbon footprint. This makes transactions more cost-effective and sustainable, as users can become part of the network via websites by utilizing waste compute to generate extra revenue for the creators.
Jerath highlighted that, “Another reason for having a hybrid model is to help stop 51% attacks by sharing the hashrate generated by these websites and applications. Gather uses a low hashing algorithm for Proof Of Work and combines it in a hybrid model with a Proof Of Stake and Masternodes to power its public cloud, the layer 2 solution on Gather chain to address scalability concerns and fast processing requirements.”
Making crypto mining more environmentally friendly
Crypto mining is energy-intensive and brings about a lot of environmental problems, such as a massive amount of e-waste. On the environmental concerns of crypto mining, Jerath says that Gather’s use of spare, otherwise wasted processing power will reduce the environmental burden of crypto mining and make it more sustainable.
In Gather’s case, Gather chain is minable but permissioned, meaning that it is not open for external mining. Only publishers using Gather Online can mine via visitors’ processing power.
On the future of crypto
Being a crypto native, Jerath is extremely hopeful about the future of the crypto space. “Call it a miner or staker, or whatever it may be in the future, there will always be a need for decentralized endpoints,” he affirms. He believes that these endpoints can only secure blockchains by being incentivized. He added that security, speed and sustainability would be the deciding factors on which blockchain would stay relevant in the future.
As a person of Indian origin, Jerath had thoughts on India’s decision to create a digital currency of its own and to introduce crypto taxation. “We see this as good news because it means that crypto is getting legalized by the government and also [that] a launch of digital rupee is in the works. This means that the government wants to regulate and control crypto transactions,” he explains.
He did, however, express concern for small investors, saying that the 30% crypto tax that the government had decided on would be an obstacle for them as it would lower their profit margins significantly.
Gather Network plans to expand its ecosystem in the future to reach all businesses, big and small, and help them run their systems on a secure and decentralized cloud network with their existing devices. “Gather blockchain looks to climb the ranks as a viable alternative [blockchain] in 2022 and beyond, offering fast, cost-effective and sustainable transaction and deployment experiences for both developers and users,” Jerath concludes.
Header image courtesy of Gather Network’s website
