500 Developers Already Signed Up for MaidSafe Project

May 23, 2014 at 15:03 UTCUpdated May 23, 2014 at 15:07 UTC. The MaidSafe project announced today it has 500 developers signed up to build applications for its decentralized Internet platform.

MaidSafe has the ambitious aim of radically decentralizing all the web services that exist today, and is working on projects that include altcoin wallets, unlimited file storage and sharing applications, a decentralized music store, secure messaging applications and a decentralized altcoin and fiat currency exchange.

On MaidSafe's planned network, all data is "Shredded, encrypted and distributed to participating computers, or 'nodes', throughout the world".

The SAFE network utilizes "a block chain-like technology" to distribute file storage and services around the globe so that no single file relies on a single server or provider to exist.

Users allowing their machines to be SAFE network nodes can earn safecoins, and more passive users must spend them to gain access.

Developers who build services for the SAFE network will also earn safecoins.

Developers can code their safecoin wallet addresses into their apps and be paid by the network according to popularity.

MaidSafe says its platform removes risks that developers and startups often face by giving them complete freedom to innovate and control over their data.

The network's peer-to-peer nature means that even authentication credentials are not managed by any central authority, and the exact physical location of data is never known.

The company has also faced questions over whether the authorities would ever allow such a system to function properly, especially given the concerns often raised about existing networks that allow anonymous Internet use, like Tor.