BitTorrent is one of the largest file-sharing platforms online. According to its website, it is the “largest decentralized peer-to-peer communications protocol”. It was established by Bram Cohen in 2001 to change how media files were shared online by traditional media corporations. Unlike other file-sharing platforms, BitTorrent does not have a single source or server. Instead, it uses multiple peers to facilitate download.
Source: Wikipedia
In a network, there are seeds and peers. The seed is the first uploader of the file or torrent. Then, those who download the torrent files are peers. When the download is complete, the peer becomes a seed. Each seed owns a piece of the file that is protected by a cryptographic hash in the torrent descriptor. The more seeds there are in the network, the faster it becomes to download the file. Because of this system, BitTorrent users can download files with low bandwidth.
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Because other file-sharing platforms like Napster and Kazaa had to shut down due to legal issues, BitTorrent grew in popularity. It is estimated that 20% of internet usage is related to BTT. However, it failed to monetize its services.
TRON purchased BitTorrent in 2018, and a year later the BitTorrent Foundation and the TRON Foundation introduced the BTT token (CRYPTO-BTT).
What is BitTorrent Token?
The BTT Token is a native token of BitTorrent that runs on the TRON blockchain. It is a TRC-10 utility token that is “tokenizing the world’s largest decentralized file-sharing protocol”. There is a total supply of 990 billion BTT tokens, with 659 billion tokens in circulation.
Source: Crypto.com
The BTT token was introduced to help expand the BitTorrent protocol and incentivize the network’s participants. Initially, the token was used to power the Speed dApp.
The way it works is that the downloader pays the seed BitTorrent tokens to keep the file up longer. In exchange, the downloader gets faster downloading speeds. Then, the new seed automatically earns BTT tokens as long as they keep the files uploaded on the network. BTT developers hope that the token solves issues like slow download speeds and diminishing availability of files over time.
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The BTT token is still being developed. Some many other projects and services are being integrated into the BitTorrent protocol and platform, and the BTT token will be used to power these services. One of these services is the BTT File System (BTFS), where users can store their files.
Sources: images 1 & 2 are courtesy of: https://www.bittorrent.com/
***Information presented on this page is strictly for knowledge purposes, this is not investment advice.
