Mirror.xyz – Namecheap customer – (United States)
Crypto enthusiasts are responding to Ethereum compatible .xyz domains and are using them to launch innovative ideas. Decentralized finance platform Matcha.xyz aims to get crypto traders the best rates on currency exchanges. Crypto art curator FirstEdition.xyz created a blockchain art gallery. Finance app Vega.xyz aims to help financial investors trade stock market derivatives on the blockchain network. In this week’s #WebsiteWednesday, we’ll introduce you to a unique publishing platform that leverages blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies for writers to distribute and monetize their work: Mirror.xyz.
Mirror.xyz is a decentralized blockchain and crypto-based publishing platform that aims to connect creators directly with their audience. At less than a year old, the platform has received an outstanding investment at a $100 million valuation from Union Square Ventures. The benefits of blockchain technology, like that used by the Mirror.xyz platform, include a permanent and fixed record (digital ledger) of transactions that cannot be retroactively changed. The mission of the Mirror.xyz platform is that it “revolutionizes the way we express, share and monetize our thoughts.” Their goal seems to be to provide a way for writers to confidently and safely publish their work, and maintain control of the digital rights. Mirror.xyz is built on Ethereum. You must possess a certain token to publish, and essays are tokens themselves. Publishers can crowdfund their future projects, where backers own shares of the project’s final value. When they publish their piece, a non-fungible token (NFT) is created of the original work, which can be sold. All transactions are paid for with Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency.
John Palmer, a writer and product designer, was the first member to crowdfund his writing on j.Mirror.xyz. He used his Mirror.xyz membership to create a fixed supply of crypto tokens called $ESSAY. Anyone with an Ethereum wallet could buy in. Once crowdfunded, the essay entitled “Scissor Labels” was minted as an NFT and sold through an online auction house. He raised 9.98 ETH (approximately $24,000 as of June 2021) from his investors. The funds from the investors influence the value of the $ESSAY contract, so the value of each investor’s $ESSAY stake grew in proportion to the total value of the contract. Similarly, author Emily Segal used emily.Mirror.xyz to crowdfund her upcoming novel, “Burn Alpha.” Naming her tokens $NOVEL, Emily raised 25 ETH (approximately $64,000 as of June 2021) directly from readers as investors, as an alternative to securing an advance from a publisher. Her investors all have partial ownership in a first edition NFT that could pay off indefinitely, as the text can be resold and can continue to accrue value.
Mirror.xyz is initially allowing its members the ability to control the quality and development of the community through a weekly writing challenge as a growth experiment. Interested writers must enter a weekly contest called “$Write Race” to be allowed entry to the platform’s community. Each week, existing community members vote on 10 people to reward with a $WRITE crypto token, which is needed to become part of the community of self-publishers and allows you a custom subdomain for your own publication. This invitation process develops community investment, as members are directly involved in the quality and growth of their community.
Their homepage states: “Joining Mirror does not only make you a community member. It makes you a co-owner of the platform. As a result, our platform is a sum of our contributors.” The founder of Mirror.xyz, Denis Nazarov, is no stranger to innovative tech ideas. He was a former partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, known for making investments in technologies such as Skype and Twitter.
We are so excited by the crypto pioneers in the .xyz community. We’ve been long-time supporters of blockchain technology. Your .xyz domain can already help you manage your assets more easily, as the first domain that you can use as a handle for your Ethereum wallet. We are happy to welcome Mirror.xyz, a new platform for writers to reach their audience, publish their work, and earn money from their stories. You can learn more by following the platform on Twitter or by visiting Mirror.xyz.
XYZ is proud to share about the many incredible members that make up the XYZ community! We encourage you to do your own research before using the products and services of the websites we feature. The information about products and services contained in this blog post does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by XYZ.
