MaidSafe Crowd-Sale Begins on April 22

MaidSafe (http://maidsafe.net/), creators of a peer-to-peer encrypted network of tokens that can decentralize nearly every aspect of the Internet, including all Web services, today announced the opening of a 30-day crowd-sale of its enabling software, Project SAFE, taking place at www.safecoin.io.

Purchasers will receive additional tokens descending in amount by algorithm as the sale progresses, starting at 40 percent for the first purchases and descending via a smooth linear algorithm to no additional tokens on the final day.

Safecoins are tokens generated and protected by the SAFE network, which facilitate the wide array of applications which can be developed using them, from decentralized cloud storage to secure websites which cannot be attacked. Ten percent of all safecoins (429,496,729) will be made available during the crowd-sale, with a value of 17,000 safecoins per Bitcoin. An additional 15 percent will be reserved for the MaidSafe Foundation, which will use these coins to reward developers and operate the foundation, and 5 percent will be returned to the early investors in MaidSafe. 

The crowd-sale begins at 9 a.m. GMT (British Summer Time), Tuesday, April 22, 2014 (1 am PST, 4 am EST). The exact amount of money generated depends upon the price that day of bitcoin (currently around $500) and the time at which the tokens are purchased. A complete sale of all 429,496,729 safecoins would generate roughly $8 million, depending upon how many coins are sold during which weeks and the price of Bitcoin during each transaction, as the price per safecoin will remain fixed throughout the sale at 17,000 safecoins per bitcoin.

Upon the completion of this crowd-sale, the value of existing safecoins will be approximately $24-30 million, with the remaining 70 percent of a capped number (like Bitcoin) of safecoins to be "farmed" (analogous to mining, but created by contributing resources, such as storage space) by anyone who wishes to add value to the network. The initial tokens will utilize a proxy token, the MaidSafeCoin, which will be recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain. When the full SAFE network becomes operational, MaidSafeCoins will be swapped for safecoins on a 1-to-1 ratio.

Project SAFE (Secure Access For Everyone) is a fully distributed platform that rides on top of the Transmission Control Protocol of the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). It uses key/value storage and Kademlia-based routing to decentralize every aspect of the Internet, including all Web services. "What Bitcoin is doing for decentralizing money, safecoin will do for decentralizing all Internet services, including enterprise data centers," said David Irvine, MaidSafe founder and CEO.

There are two ways of taking part in the safecoin crowd-sale:

1) Send bitcoin to the address provided on the crowd sale site (buysafecoins.com) from a wallet you control (e.g., not Coinbase).
2) Mastercoin holders can send direct to the MSC address provided on the crowd sale site (buysafecoins.com).

For step-by-step instructions, please refer to this presentation link (which will be updated on the day of the sale with additional information): http://bit.ly/1mq2rqj

During the crowd-sale, 10 percent of all safecoins will be made available to buyers from anywhere in the world (429,496,729) through a proxy token, the MaidSafeCoin. Once the MaidSafe network goes live, the MaidSafeCoins will be redeemable for the network's native safecoins at a 1-to-1 ratio.

By decentralizing the Internet, Project SAFE will enable:

• Private, secure communications, with autonomous handling of structured and unstructured data types.
• Decentralized solutions that replace HTTP, SMTP, FTP, etc., and are immune to DNS manipulation, (i.e., this network cannot be blocked)
• Ability for people to self-authenticate onto the network and join anonymously
• A network that requires no administrators nor human intervention of any kind
• A highly usable and free API that enables a plethora of developers to create the next wave of secure applications not possible with today's centralized architecture
• An underlying cryptocurrency (safecoin) that will incentivize all actors in the ecosystem

Project SAFE will operate on an incentivized proof-of-resource model. Once a computer becomes part of the network, its ability to store data chunks (CPU speed, bandwidth, online time, etc.) will be measured and the computer's account will be issued the corresponding amount of safecoins. This software may also be traded or purchased.

About MaidSafe

Founded in February, 2006, with the intent to decentralize the Internet, MaidSafe has been working on Project SAFE for eight years (longer than the Bitcoin blockchain has been in existence). Based in Troon, Scotland, the 14-person team has received a total of $5 million in private investment to date, and it will be using the not-for-profit MaidSafe Foundation (http://www.maidsafefoundation.org) to control issuance and manage the funds generated during the April 2014 crowd-sale.

The MaidSafe platform is designed for third-party application providers to create their own application environment and removes developer risk for startups. Self-authentication allows for everyone to be in complete control of all data, beyond encryption to include physical access. In essence, nobody knows where any data is located, thereby providing completely private and unilateral access by individuals. The network lets users manage any information completely free of any third-party involvement. Users can store, share, chat and publish 100 percent under their own control and knowledge.

For more information about MaidSafe, visit http://maidsafe.net/

References

MaidSafe white paper: https://github.com/maidsafe/Whitepapers/blob/master/Project-Safe.md

Metaquestions essay: http://metaquestions.me/2014/04/12/safecoin-why-its-safe-and-what-it-means-for-us-all/