IPSX is a new project that aims to become the marketplace for IP addresses. It is a crypto project with its native token called the IPSX. This token is used to make transactions and payments on the network. The IPSX platform itself is a marketplace where people who are looking to buy new IP addresses for access pay the people who have additional IP addresses to spare, in the IPSX token.
So let’s back track a little bit. Why would you want to buy an IP address? Don’t you already have one when you get online? Yes, although it is true that every internet connected device pretty much has an IP address, that IP address gives away a lot about you. Therefore, if you’re interested in preserving some privacy online, you may do worse than to browse through a rented IP address. This is one of the big reasons why people use services like a VPN for example.
Another reason is that there is a real market need for IP addresses in places that restrict the internet in some ways. Therefore, these IP proxies are used to create a more free internet access for all.
Astute readers may be thinking that this sounds a bit similar to the TOR network. That is true in some ways – TOR does provide you with the required anonymity while you’re browsing the internet by hiding your true IP and routing your internet traffic through various layers. However, the overall architecture of TOR isn’t perfect. The people who run the TOR nodes don’t get any economic benefit at all for doing so. This is a huge danger to the network because it means a lot of the end nodes are run by agencies interested in decoding that traffic flow.
With IPSX, it is a straight up marketplace. If you’ve never run a TOR node before, that’s likely because you never thought to do so – after all, you’re never going to get paid for it. With IPSX though, you have a stronger economic reason to rent out spare IP addresses to the network. This way, you can actually get paid to do so, while someone else benefits by browsing through a private connection or going to a website that may be blocked to them otherwise.
Existing services like VPNs are less of a competition and more of a customer for IPSX at least at this stage. If VPN providers integrate a service like IPSX into their service, it means their customers would be the ones who benefit the most. They can browse the internet safely through many different IP addresses, be it US or Australia or Switzerland. This power is ultimately left to the customer to decide, which is a powerful force. Also, the customers of VPN providers are already privacy conscious and would appreciate this additional service.
The duration of the rental itself can be arbitrary – it can be 1 minute or 1 year. Obviously, the payment will depend on the length of the rental that you want.
If you’re interested to learn more about IPSX, check out their website, which also has a way to download their whitepaper which has even more information.
Photo Credit: OpenMinder