Status, the Ethereum-based mobile operating system, has invested $5 million in Matrix, a peer to peer messaging application used by millions of active users globally.
In an interview with CoinJournal, Status co-founder Carl Bennetts emphasized the similarities between Status and Matrix, explaining that both projects are essentially aiming to evolve into major decentralized communication platforms. Bennetts noted that the multi-million dollar investment in Matrix represents Status’s long-term vision in supporting different research and development approaches towards commercializing decentralized technologies.
“One of the core tenets of Status is to provide a medium for decentralized communication. While this aspect doesn’t use a blockchain, it does require a peer-to-peer protocol (Ethereum’s sub-protocol Whisper). Matrix shares a similar vision for communication flow, and there are aspects of the development process they can assist with,” said Bennetts.
Since Matrix is an open-source and decentralized platform, it is realistically not possible to match the profit margins of centralized messaging platforms which are monetized with adverts and targeted marketing. Bennetts explained that the company’s investment in Matrix is a strategic move that will enable the firm to “bridge the gap between open-source messaging platforms.”
Bennetts explained that eventually, Matrix will be able to integrate decentralized applications and crypto assets. He added that as a company which operates a major decentralized application, Status is committed to assisting the development and adoption of open-source projects.
“Matrix is already used by millions of people worldwide, and in 2018 this number may reach the tens of millions. It also allows Status DApps to be integrated as widgets within Riot.im, and finally the partnership is expected to utilize the Status Network token within Riot.im by enabling crypto assets,” Bennetts stated.
Status operates as a mobile marketplace for decentralized applications launched on top of the Ethereum protocol. Currently, the state of the Ethereum-based decentralized application ecosystem is similar to the early days of mobile application development where individual projects had to promote their applications independently, and consumers had to visit the website of particular projects to install their applications.
Today, most mobile users utilize app marketplaces like Google Play Store and Apple App Store to easily find applications. Status operates similarly to Google Play Store and Apple App Store for decentralized applications launched on top of the Ethereum blockchain.
Bennetts explained that the integration of Status by a widely utilized messaging platform like Matrix could result in the widespread adoption of crypto assets and decentralized applications, especially given the exponential growth rate Status has demonstrated over the past few months.
“The recent growth and success of Status shows an interest and shift towards decentralized products and services. [There is a lack of user-friendly mobile Ethereum based products] largely due to the infancy of the technologies driving them – and given the pace of innovation, this will quickly change over the course of 2018. Growth of our team will also continue throughout the coming quarters, with over 20 open positions on our core team we plan to fill.”