What is Theta Network? Updated THETA review you shouldn’t miss in 2025

As DePIN continues to rise as a major trend in crypto, Theta Network (THETA) has emerged as a flagship blockchain project aiming to build decentralized infrastructure for video, AI, and entertainment in the Web3 space. Launched in 2017, Theta has attracted major partners like Google, Samsung, and Sony, while building a robust ecosystem centered around its dual-token model: THETA and TFUEL. So what makes Theta Network stand out? Let Coin60s guide you through everything you need to know about this ambitious project.

What is Theta Network?

Theta Network is a blockchain protocol designed to provide decentralized infrastructure for the video streaming, AI, and entertainment sectors within the Web3 ecosystem. Launched in 2017, it has grown to become a flagship project in the emerging DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) space.

The project’s mission is to enhance the quality of video delivery, reduce operational costs for streaming platforms, and bring transparency and decentralization to the content distribution process. Through Theta, users can contribute spare bandwidth and computing resources to the network and earn TFUEL tokens as rewards, creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem for platforms, content creators, and viewers alike.

Theta’s architecture is built around two key components:

Theta Metachain: The core of the network, supporting payments, staking, rewards, and smart contracts.
Theta Edge Network: A decentralized network for storing and distributing content, powered by thousands of global edge nodes.

With backing from major partners like Google, Samsung, Sony, and Binance, and real-world integration with platforms such as World Poker Tour, Lionsgate, and even NASA, Theta is steadily establishing itself as a next-generation content delivery infrastructure for the decentralized web.

Why was Theta Network created?

Theta Network was developed to address several persistent challenges faced by the traditional video streaming industry, including:

Poor streaming quality: Centralized content delivery networks (CDNs) often struggle to provide consistent performance, especially in regions with limited infrastructure.
High infrastructure costs: Streaming platforms must invest heavily in servers and bandwidth, which cuts into profits and limits scalability.
Inefficient and centralized ecosystems: Revenue flows disproportionately toward intermediaries, leaving content creators with fewer incentives to innovate or improve quality.

Theta Network aims to redefine the content delivery model by leveraging decentralized infrastructure and blockchain technology. In this new paradigm, viewers are no longer passive consumers — they can actively contribute computing and bandwidth resources and receive token rewards in return, making content delivery more scalable, efficient, and fair.

Key Highlights

Entertainment-focused DePIN infrastructure: Theta is one of the first blockchain projects to apply DePIN to build a decentralized content delivery system specifically for high-bandwidth sectors like video, AI, and entertainment in Web3.
Flexible two-layer architecture: Theta consists of Theta Metachain and Theta Edge Network. Metachain handles staking, payments, and smart contracts, while Edge Network manages decentralized storage, video encoding, and content delivery via global nodes.
Dual-token model (THETA and TFUEL): THETA serves as the governance and staking token, while TFUEL is used to pay transaction fees, reward relayer nodes, and execute smart contracts.
Efficient, eco-friendly consensus mechanism: Theta leverages a hybrid Multi-Level BFT and Proof-of-Stake system, enabling up to 1,000 TPS while maintaining low carbon emissions and energy consumption.
Full EVM compatibility: Theta Virtual Machine allows developers to deploy Ethereum-based Dapps on Theta with minimal changes, encouraging ecosystem growth and cross-chain interoperability.
Real-world integrations with major partners: Theta’s technology has been adopted by global platforms like Lionsgate, World Poker Tour, CONtv Anime, Sliver.tv, and even NASA, validating its real-world utility and scalability.
Robust wallet and storage options: Users can store THETA and TFUEL via Theta’s official Web/iOS/Android wallets or use secure hardware wallets such as Trezor and Ledger for enhanced asset protection.

Ecosystem

Theta Network’s ecosystem is structured around two primary components—Theta Metachain and Theta Edge Network—and is complemented by a suite of products tailored for enterprises, developers, and Web3 users.

Theta Metachain serves as the foundational blockchain layer for transactions, staking, rewards, and smart contracts. Its full EVM compatibility enables easy migration of Ethereum Dapps to Theta with minimal code changes.
Theta Edge Network is a decentralized content delivery system powered by thousands of Edge Nodes worldwide. These nodes handle video storage, encoding, and delivery, and are rewarded with TFUEL for their contributions.
Theta Edge Cloud is the next evolution of the network, aiming to build a distributed hybrid cloud-edge computing platform. It targets a wide range of users—from Fortune 1000 enterprises to startups and researchers—offering significantly lower costs (3–5x cheaper) compared to traditional infrastructure.
Theta Video API allows developers to easily integrate video streaming and on-demand content into Web3 apps. Combined with NFT-based DRM (Digital Rights Management), it enables secure content monetization and rights enforcement.
ThetaDrop is Theta’s native NFT marketplace, where creators can mint, trade, and showcase digital assets, especially those used in video streaming and Web3 theaters.

Content integration partners include industry leaders like Lionsgate, World Poker Tour, CONtv Anime, and NASA. These partnerships highlight real-world use cases where Theta’s infrastructure is used for live events, exclusive video streaming, and content distribution.

Altogether, Theta’s ecosystem extends beyond blockchain—it bridges decentralized video, storage, AI computing, livestreaming, and digital rights into a scalable Web3 infrastructure.

What are the Project’s Tokens?

Theta Network operates on a dual-token model comprising THETA and Theta Fuel (TFUEL)—each serving distinct roles in the ecosystem for governance and utility purposes.

THETA is the protocol’s governance token. Users can stake THETA into Validator or Guardian Nodes to help secure the network and participate in governance decisions through voting. THETA has a fixed total supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens with no inflation. Its use cases include:

Staking to earn TFUEL rewards.
Voting on protocol upgrade proposals and governance matters.
Ensuring network security via node operation.

What are the Project's Tokens? — What are the Project’s Tokens?

TFUEL is the utility and operational token of the Theta ecosystem. It is used to:

Pay on-chain transaction fees and smart contract execution costs.
Compensate Edge Nodes for content delivery and storage services.
Reward users who contribute bandwidth and computing resources to the Theta Edge Network.

Unlike THETA, TFUEL has no fixed cap and grows annually to accommodate ongoing network activity. As of late 2024, the total and circulating supply of TFUEL stands at approximately 6.46 billion tokens.

THETA Token Allocation:

Private sale: 30.00%
Team: 7.49%
Advisors: 1.23%
Strategic partners: 12.50%
Network seeding: 12.50%
Theta Labs fund: 36.28%

Both tokens are widely traded on major centralized exchanges such as Binance, OKX, Bitget, and Bybit.

Team, Investors, and Strategic Partners

Theta Network is developed by Theta Labs, a U.S.-based tech company founded by Mitch Liu, an entrepreneur with deep experience in gaming, video streaming, and blockchain. He is joined by co-founder Jieyi Long, a systems architect and software engineer who has served in senior technology roles across multiple startups.

What sets Theta apart is its high-profile advisory board, which includes executives and technical leaders from companies such as Samsung, Sony Innovation Fund, Verizon, Netflix, and Twitch. This strong advisory network ensures that Theta remains aligned with real-world demand in streaming and digital media.

The project raised $20 million through a private token sale, attracting support from major strategic investors rather than running a public ICO. Notably, Samsung, Sony Innovation Fund, and Binance Labs have been among the most vocal and prominent backers of Theta.

Theta also enjoys deep technical and commercial support from its partners, such as:

Google Cloud, which operates a validator node and provides infrastructure support.
Samsung, which integrated Theta Wallet into select Galaxy smartphones.
Sony, which backs Theta through its innovation fund to explore use cases for NFTs and digital entertainment.

This extensive partner network enables Theta to evolve beyond just a blockchain platform into a full-fledged decentralized infrastructure serving global enterprises.

Roadmap

Early 2024: Launch Theta Edge Cloud v1 – a hybrid cloud-edge platform for video and AI; host the Theta Hackathon to encourage Dapp development on Metachain and Edge Cloud; deploy subchain analytics and upgrade the Theta Video API.
Late 2024: Release Theta Edge Cloud v2 – allowing partners and end-users to operate their own Edge Nodes; expand the Video API to support NFT-based digital rights management (NFT DRM); launch the Web3 Theater integrated with ThetaDrop; extend TDROP usage across partner platforms.
2025: Launch Theta Edge Cloud v3 – the full version of its decentralized hybrid computing platform; develop a decentralized data task marketplace; introduce a developer-friendly API for automating and integrating video and AI workloads.

Strengths and Limitations

Theta Network stands out as one of the few blockchain projects actively building real infrastructure for video streaming, AI computing, and digital entertainment—sectors poised for explosive growth in the Web3 era. By combining decentralized content delivery with a well-structured dual-token model, Theta creates tangible value for users, enterprises, and developers.

The platform’s key strengths lie in its clear ecosystem architecture, product-driven roadmap, and high-profile integrations with partners like Samsung, Google Cloud, Sony, and Lionsgate. Its compatibility with Ethereum also allows Theta to attract developers and applications from an existing vibrant ecosystem, accelerating adoption.

However, Theta faces several challenges. The DePIN and Web3 video space is becoming increasingly competitive, with new players entering the market. Many of Theta’s promising features, while technically advanced, are still under development and have yet to achieve mass commercialization. Additionally, the dual-token model—despite its advantages—may confuse new users if onboarding experiences and educational materials are lacking.

In summary, Theta Network is a visionary project with real-world infrastructure potential, but it will need time and execution to fully realize its ambitions at scale.

Should you invest?

Theta Network stands out as a rare blockchain project building real infrastructure for video, AI, and digital media—industries with strong long-term growth potential. Backed by reputable partners like Google, Samsung, and Sony, and with a functioning DePIN model in place, Theta demonstrates both strategic vision and sustainability.

That said, as an infrastructure-oriented platform, Theta’s commercialization pace may not be as fast as DeFi or gaming projects. Its dual-token model—while operationally efficient—requires users to understand the distinct roles of THETA and TFUEL, particularly when staking or interacting with on-chain services.

For individual investors, it’s essential to consider investment horizon, portfolio diversification, and risk tolerance. Much of Theta’s roadmap is still unfolding, making it more suited to long-term investors who believe in Web3 infrastructure and the shift toward decentralized content delivery.

Conclusion

Theta Network is one of the few blockchain projects effectively bridging real-world demand with decentralized technology in video, AI, and entertainment. Backed by a solid ecosystem, flexible token model, and strong corporate partnerships, Theta has the potential to become a foundational infrastructure for the future of Web3. That said, as the platform continues to develop, investors should monitor its real-world adoption and execution to make informed decisions.