Ethereum has been gearing up for what we perceive to be the most thrilling digital collaboration since IBM and Microsoft successfully joined forces on the IBM PC. We understand that you have been looking forward to remarkable developments from Ethereum, and we are thrilled to share this surprising and exhilarating announcement with you.
As you are aware, mining within Ethereum is most effectively executed on graphics cards. Nevertheless, large-scale acquisition of costly graphics cards for mining re-establishes the centralized mining syndicates that are prevalent in the Bitcoin ecosystem. We aspire to achieve a greater level of decentralization, and after considerable thought and informal discussions, we are excited to unveil our sustainable solution to the mining decentralization dilemma: Valve.
Valve’s Steam is swiftly approaching 100 million users, the majority of whom possess substantial graphics hardware. Valve has the power to distribute mining software across most of those devices simply by making it accessible to users and kindly requesting them to download it, in return for participation in the network and the opportunity to earn a bit of credit – redeemable for future Steam purchases and downloadable content. Essentially, this is Ethereum-on-Steam: Steamium, as we are dubbing it.
This approach addresses numerous challenges faced by Valve in generating significant value for gamers beyond mere entertainment – transferable digital assets residing on the upcoming Steamium blockchain will enable players to buy, sell, and trade when suitable, with smart contracts in place to prevent cheating, cartel formation, and illegal sales that could jeopardize the core functionality of the games and the network.
Naturally, Steam OS and Steam Machines are likely to be native Steamium products, with blockchain technology and smart contracts integrated at every level of their operations, from confirming and validating software updates to safeguarding user accounts and facilitating user communication and transactions. Our new initiative aims to push the boundaries of both gaming and operating systems technology as far as possible with these innovative products.
One additional detail.
Steamium will be launched alongside the highly-anticipated Half Life 3.
