PODCOIN: A coin for the podcasting community

Tipping content creators is something that I believe can change the internet. That’s why PODCOIN is of interest to me, it aims to become the “unofficial currency of the digital broadcast community”.

That’s not all it can be used for though, of course — as PODCOIN Co-creator Brian Schmidt pointed out when I spoke with him earlier to learn a bit more about the coin.

PODCOIN aims to be a micropayment platform that will operate parallel to Bitcoin. The most obvious use would be for podcast fans to send PODCOIN tips to their favorite shows, but the possibilities are only limited by the extent of PODCOIN’s mainstream acceptance.

However, as with many altcoin launches it’s been a little bit of a bumpy ride since PODCOIN launched last month. Brian explained that the difficulty algorithm caused a few issues for them.

Since the launch, things have been a bit rough. The difficulty readjustment algorithm originally implemented in PODCOIN eventually led to high block difficulty and slow transaction confirmations.

Similar problems plagued Megacoin and Anoncoin in the past. However, a software update with Kimoto Gravity Well will be released this week; hence, block difficulty will be readjusted after every block and transaction confirmations will return to a normal timeframe similar to that of Bitcoin.

PODCOIN is also looking to benefit podcasters in another way. They’ve launched a fund to be donated to US comedian Adam Carolla, who is currently having his podcast targeted by ‘patent trolls’. It’s a case that the whole podcast community is watching closely, as if they succeed in the lawsuit against Carolla they are likely to target other podcasts using their previous victory as a means to do so.

For those who haven’t been following the patent troll controversy, The Adam Carolla Show has been sued for patent infringement. Most people agree that the patent is too broad to be enforced, but Apple has already paid out settlements when the same patent holder sued them.

PODCOIN’s launch coincided with Adam’s fundraising efforts for his legal defense fund. Adam’s official fundraising campaign even accepts Bitcoin; after having a Coinbase founder as a guest on his show, he is obviously open to and informed about cryptocurrency to some extent. Similar to Murraycoin’s charitable fund to be donated to the Murray Bros. Foundation, PODCOIN has a fund set up to be donated to Adam Carolla to help pay for his legal expenses involved in the litigation.

Brian is headed to a podcast benefit show this week, where Adam Carolla will be present. He hopes to get the chance to talk with him directly about his efforts to help-out using PODCOIN.

As both a huge fan and creator of podcasts myself, I’m very keen to see where PODCOIN heads in the future. Hearing “we accept PODCOIN tips” regularly from a podcast host could be an introduction to the world of cryptocurrencies for many who are unaware that they even exist.

We plan to bring you a full video interview with Brian Schmidt of PODCOIN soon to hear more about it all. So we’ll sure find out whether he got the chance to speak with Adam Corolla and ask him all about it.

In the meantime, head to PODCOIN.org to learn more or grab your own wallet.