On Centralization

RAIR is a platform designed securely host and stream encrypted content using NFTs as the unlock mechanism (auth layer)

NFTs = Decentralized. End Users have a secure access credential that cannot be tampered with or taken away from them. They are fully sovereign to keep, sell, or burn.

Streaming = Sovereign Centralized. Creators need control over their creative works by hosting with platforms that can flexibly integrate with both centralized and decentralized storage. This way the creator is in control of how their content is stored, curated, and streamed to their customers.

The Dream

A sovereign private key (crypto wallet) can be used for censorship resistant and tamperproof access to any kind of encrypted data (video, audio, genomes, etc)

Encrypted content can be stored in a distributed and fault tolerant manner using distributed systems (like Filecoin/IPFS).

In combination this allows for truly sovereign content distribution.

The Reality

Real crypto wallets are exceedingly difficult to use and have the risk of private key loss.

Storing content using nascent distributed systems is difficult and is harder to achieve the performance of centralized systems.

Writing content in permanent ink can be dangerous.

Regardless of how decentralized data storage becomes, cloud gatekeepers + ICANN + a myriad of web2 middlemen will continue to be points of failure. Eg it doesn't matter if your streaming files are stored on IPFS - no one will be able to access the files without web2.

Crypto is Centralized

Submitting any transaction to a blockchain requires using an internet connected RPC. These RPCs are almost all run by a single company Infura. Which will block IP addresses when required to do so.

Places like Twitter do not pull NFT information from the blockchain. It's faster and easier for them to pull from the centralized Opensea API.

Why do both of these examples happen - it's easier to use centralized services!

Grey Sovereignty

Why learn how to use a hardware wallet and store your own keys when Coinbase makes things so easy.

Why use Filecoin when the entire cloud industry revolves around FAANG.

In the grand scheme of sovereignty, having your own keys is more important that where we store your files.

That being said, our goal is to be agnostic to storage platform.

As a small team we try to provide the best product and best experience possible to unlock encrypted content with NFTs.

We strive for decentralization where prudent. By requiring Metamask to unlock content, we are placing importance on a sovereign wallet solution that requires the user to hold their own keys.