What stops my audience from just claiming the bytes I send them for verification to keep/sell. I cant just trust every random internet users to completely expose their identity to something new to them
Nothing. It's either a "instadump" for $8 or get verified and get $12. Once you get verified, you want to refer your friends to get those extra $20 (for every person referred). It's just human behavior. Sure, there will be people that will dump $8, are they gonna affect the price or the network? No. Moreover, how many people will you send this to? It's not like you would lose hundreds or thousands. Even if half of your referrals convert, you get your money back and then some more.
No system or distribution method is fool-proof.
I'd like to see something like:
New user requests verification in bot
New user completes verification form/requirements
Contract for payment to complete verification created
New user sends us that contract
We make the payment and the new user and I are credited instantly as well as new user being verified
That way you know that the person you are giving bytes to are willing and have already completed verifying themselves - just waiting for you to approve the payment. Otherwise I myself could already be verified (or not), make a post stating I need $8 to verify myself and just easily take $8 from the amount of people that message me willing to give me the bytes, to keep for myself.
The only way we can safely refer people is by having some sort of relationship or trust with the user. Now I don't know about you but I highly doubt anybody I know is willing to go through the effort for $12. If I was referring them purely just for them to see the byteball innovative technology/platform then I could do that previously sending them a textcoin. I don't see many new users coming in just from this distribution - hopefully you prove me wrong