BitTorrent, the world’s largest peer-to-peer file-sharing protocol used to distribute data and electronic files over the internet is launching its very own cryptocurrency.
The Singapore-based BitTorrent Foundation is issuing the new cryptocurrency called BitTorrent Token (BTT), which will run on the Tron network. Tron, a blockchain protocol and cryptocurrency project, acquired BitTorrent in June 2018.
This acquisition made the founder of Tron, Justin Sun, the CEO of BitTorrent, which has over 100 million users. Per the press release, Sun had this to say:
“In one giant leap, we can introduce blockchain to hundreds of millions of users around the world and empower a new generation of content creators with the tools to distribute their content directly to others on the web.”
Project Atlas
The issuance of BitTorrent’s own cryptocurrency is the result of Project Atlas, a project announced in the middle of last year. The project’s focus was to build a new iteration of BitTorrent’s p2p software so that users could both spend and earn cryptocurrency while sharing files.
This new system is meant to revolutionize the way people share data and electronic files by incentivizing people to keep sharing files on the network once they’ve already been downloaded. With the existing system, certain files cannot be shared easily or quickly because there are simply not enough people sharing.
Sun explains this as well as Project Atlas’s goals in the following YouTube video:
BitTorrent Token (BTT)
To give an example of how the BitTorrent tokens (BTT) will be used, imagine you want to download a certain file very quickly. To do so, you would pay BTT to someone with a file and increase your payment to receive more bandwidth to download the file faster.
With this system in place, file hosts now have an incentive to keep more files available on the network, and everyone can benefit from a greater selection of files and faster download speeds. If everything works according to plan, Project Atlas and the BTT token will simply improve the existing p2p file sharing system.
All BTT tokens will feature native TRC-10 compatibility, which is the technical token standard of the Tron blockchain. Essentially, TRC-10 tokens to Tron are what ERC-20 tokens are to Ethereum.
According to the BTT whitepaper, there will be a total supply of 990 billion BTT, which will be allocated to BitTorrent Inc., torrent client users, existing TRX holders, initial supporters and investors, the BitTorrent Foundation and team, and the Tron Foundation.
BTT Distribution and Implementation
Investors looking to acquire BTT before it’s released to market will be able to do so through Binance Launchpad, a listing service used to raise funds via token sales. Also, the tokens will be distributed to TRX holders through airdrops and possibly other methods which will be announced on Sun’s Twitter feed.
As for the tokens usage, they will first be used through the Windows-based µTorrent Classic client, which is by far the most popular file-sharing BitTorrent client. As for users who do not care to use BTT tokens, Project Atlas will be backward compatible so that current users will not be affected or forced to participate if they don’t wish.
As for further details regarding Project Atlas and the BitTorrent Token (BTT), we can expect more details to be released at Trons upcoming Nitron Summit in San Francisco later this month.
Do you think Tron’s BitTorrent Token (BTT) will be a success? Will this newfound TRC-10 token surpass the transaction volume of top ERC-20 tokens? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
