Controversial Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has announced a new venture that will allow people and businesses to sell content for Bitcoins.
Dotcom in a recent video on YouTube provided a sneak peek at BitContent which he describes as a distribution program for digital goods. As he demonstrates, content from a file hosting or streaming site can be packaged and made available to share with customers or the Internet community at a price point that the uploader chooses.
In the example here, Dotcom says it can be a two penny file, a $2 file or a $20 file. Payment is handled via BitCache wallet.
At this stage, Dotcom says they're focusing on files and video streaming but at a later date, the service will expand to allow entire websites - like news sites - to use the technology to monetize their content.
The platform itself doesn't seem like a terrible idea although given Dotcom's history in the file sharing space, it's easy to see how users could take advantage of such a service to sell copyrighted material like movies and TV shows for personal gain.
A New Zealand High Court in February ruled that Dotcom and three accomplices - Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk and Finn Batato - were eligible for extradition to the US to face charges related to his ownership and operation of former file hosting service MegaUpload. All parties involved said at the time that they would be appealing the decision.
No word yet on when Dotcom plans to publicly launch the venture.