The MaidSafe (MAID) token and the SAFE network was first conceptualized far back in 2006, making the project one of the earliest forays into digital assets. The project is led by Scottish engineer David Irvine with the team comprising of individuals with experience in a diverse set of disciplines. 

MainSafe’s tagline is ambitious, stating that the network is one that aims to provide privacy, security, and freedom to everyone on the planet. The team is preparing to do this through the SAFE network, an open source decentralized network that is focusing on a few key areas when it comes to using the internet.

Broadly speaking, the MaidSafe team aims to develop a foundation for a more secure and private internet, primarily through better data storage. SAFE, which stands for Secure Access For Everyone, is a decentralized storage system where the users on the network are responsible for storing this data.  

The network uses a consensus algorithm called Proof-of-Resource (PoR), which essentially means that the more computing resources that an individual decides to contribute, the more likely they are to be rewarded with SafeCoins. Developers are also paid SafeCoins when the applications that they have built are used. MAID tokens are proxy tokens that will be replaced by SafeCoins when the latter is released.

Despite having quite a long history, the alpha phase of MaidSafeCoin launched very recently, in early 2019. Developments in 2019 include the release of version 0.1.0 of the SAFE mobile browser. 

The remainder of 2019 and the upcoming year will see the release of Alpha version 2 of the network, which will let users test several features, like self-authentication and self-encryption. A standalone network called SAFE Fleming Network may also be released by the end of the year, a network which does not feature storage solutions but rather allows individuals to run decentralized routing nodes.