Bitrad.io- Online radio with crypto payout: Does it work, and is it worth it?

While browsing Steemit this week, I came across a post I believed to be just another attempt to get referrals for a new website. This time it was the website Bitrad.io.  Bitrad.io is a relatively new website, which uses its own coin, Bitradios (BROs), to reward users for listening to Internet radio stations. I’m a fan of listening to online radio, so I thought I’d give it a shot since I’m always up for checking out new applications of cryptocurrencies.  

The registration process is simple, requiring only an email address, a username, and a password. A confirmation link is sent to your email address, and when you click on it, you’re ready to go. Just browse through the radio stations on the website and begin listening. Every second you listen, you’re given Activity Points, which then are converted into BRO at the top of every hour. I’m not sure what the rate of conversion between Activity Points and BRO is, but since using it, I’ve been averaging around 0.05 BRO for every hour I listen to a radio station.  

The selection of stations is broad, with stations encompassing many genres, so there will most likely be a station that you can enjoy. So far, I’ve enjoyed listening to a French station I discovered that plays a variety of classic jazz, which is nice to keep on the in background while I’m working.  

In order to have a place to transfer your earned BRO, you can download the easy-to-use desktop wallet on their website, which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The software sets up as easily as other desktop wallets I’ve used, and it didn’t take too long to sync up to the blockchain since the coin just launched in late June of 2017. You can check the current value of a BRO here on CoinMarketCap, and as of the time of this post, a BRO was worth around 2500 satoshi, or 1/16 of a STEEM. Any accumulated BRO you’ve gained in the past hour will be transferred to the address you list on your profile page. The transfers have been working well for me since I’ve been using it.  

So doing some quick math, if you were to stream a station on Bitrad.io for an entire day at 0.05 BRO/hour, you’d end up with around 1.2 BRO after 24 hours, so it would take you around two weeks to have the value of one STEEM. Ultimately, you’d be netting an extra couple of STEEM every month, assuming the values of each token were to remain constant.  There is another way to net a few extra Activity Points each hour, and that is to refer friends to the service. You will receive 5% of the Activity points from direct referrals, 2.5% of anyone that friend refers, and 1% for the third tier referrals. I tried this out by registering another account using my referral link and let the other machine play the radio for a few hours, and it ultimately brought my balance up to around 0.06 BRO per hour, so not much of a gain. However, if you were able to get more referrals, I suppose this number could increase dramatically.  

Overall, the website is definitely a neat concept. Get rewarded a small amount of coin for listening to Internet radio. If radio is something you enjoy and you want to accumulate a small amount of crypto when you listen, then I’d say Bitrad.io is something you should try. As with any coin, it has the potential to increase in value as the user base expands. Right now, the website reports that there are around 37,000 users of Bitrad.io, and around 126,000 BRO ($10,000 USD), have been paid out.  

I like fun, new applications of the blockchain and coins like this. So I’ll probably continue to use Bitrad.io for a while since it’s nice to have some background music while I’m working during the day. You should also note that the website requires you to reenter a captcha every so often, I suppose as proof that you’re still listening and not just trying to farm BRO. It’s also worth noting that the coin is Proof of stake, with the website stating that, “Users who keep their wallet open to secure the network via staking will get 0.5 BRO per Block,” which could be another way to earn BRO if you install the wallet.  

For now, it may be difficult to transfer your BRO into another coin. CoinMarketCap only lists Crypto Dao as a website which can exchange BRO for BTC. My plan is to keep listening, save up some BRO, and hope that more exchanges support it in the future. It could supplement my STEEM power or act as another addition to my cryptocurrency portfolio. Until then, keep listening, enjoy the music, and have fun learning about more unique applications of the blockchain and cryptocurrencies! 

For more information about how Bitrad.io works, check out this infographic they posted on Bitcointalk, or just visit their website and check out the forums.  

Thanks for reading! If you’d like to give Bitrad.io a try, just click here, or if you’d like to give me an extra boost, you can sign up with my referral link here. Thanks in advance for your support, and be sure to follow for more articles like this!  

Once again, I'll be doing a giveaway (PC Steam keys for games) when I reach 100 followers, so be sure to follow and resteem to make the giveaway happen sooner!