BitTorrent (BTT) is a cryptocurrency that operates on the Tron Foundation blockchain. It is connected to a renowned file-sharing service BitTorrent. BTT is among the 50 most popular cryptocurrencies, according to CoinMarketCap. It was created with an eye to tokenize BitTorrent, the largest decentralized file-sharing protocol in the world.
In this article, we will talk about BitTorrent’s and BTT’s history, basic technical terms on the topic, explore the ways to buy and store BTT, discuss it’s value and scope of application, and try to reflect on the cryptocurrency’s prospects and future.
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BitTorrent (BTT) History
To understand what BTT cryptocurrency is and how it works, we have to start with a company that gave it its name: BitTorrent Inc. It was founded in 2001 by Bram Cohen, a prominent American software engineer, and became one of the first (and now largest) file-sharing sites on the web.
BitTorrent operates on a decentralized peer-to-peer protocol, enabling several hundred million users to upload and download any files. Today, it is the most potent peer-to-peer network in the world in terms of the number of users, quality of service, and overall popular appeal.
To put it in a nutshell, that’s how BitTorrent works: large and voluminous files are broken into fragments and sent to the recipient through the network – still in the form of fragments, which then mend on the recipient’s computer. Every user who downloads a file automatically becomes a part of the ecosystem and turns into a seed.
Seeds and peers are the two roles a user can play on the BitTorrent platform. A seed is a person who shares the full copy of the file and a peer is receiving the requested file in bits and pieces. A user keeps being a seed until he has the file on his computer and is connected to the internet. It’s not a stretch to say that BitTorrent is a full-grown peer-to-peer platform and an important phenomenon in the digital world, considering that around 20% of all global upstream traffic and 3% of worldwide downstream traffic is somehow related to it.
In July 2018, Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron Foundation (TRX) cryptocurrency project, bought BitTorrent Inc. for $127 million. Crypto analysts and market experts agree that it was an utterly lucrative venture. Bram Cohen, BitTorrent’s founder, refused to take further participation in the project, though Sun offered him such an opportunity. In January 2019, Tron held an ICO for BTT token and raised the astonishing $7 200 000, selling 60 billion BTT in a matter of minutes. At that time, the token cost 0,00012 USD. In three days, it was traded for 0,0005 USD; in five days, its price doubled. Those who bought the coin during the crowdsale made a real profit of 800%. In the days that followed, the craze smoothly dwindled and made way for a less enthusiastic attitude. Some experts started on mild criticism of the BTT cryptocurrency, claiming that it wasn’t as good an investment as everybody thought. Well, let’s talk more about the token and see for ourselves if it is worth the while.
BitTorrent (BTT) Basics
BitTorrent (BTT) cryptocurrency is a TRC-10 cryptographic token based on the Tron blockchain. It was created to improve BitTorrent protocol and unite it with the blockchain. You can not mine BTT like Bitcoin: BitTorrent’s mini g mechanism is a Delegated Proof-of-Stake algorithm.
Users who share the full copy of files stored on their computers – seeds – are rewarded with BTT tokens. They are not required to buy expensive, sophisticated equipment or sign a mining agreement. Users are paid for the mere storing of a file on their computer. You can have a copy of a book, a movie, or your favorite artist’s full album downloaded on your laptop, and get crypto for sharing it with others. You’d have to store lots of those files to get a notable amount of BTT tokens.
Eventually, Tron will emit 990 billion BTT tokens. At the time of writing (July 2020), there are 659 952 625 000 BTT in circulation. Tokens are distributed according to a particular pattern:
- Seed round investment: 9%
- Sealed bidding: 2%
- Affiliate programs: 4%
- Public bidding: 6%
- Airdrop for Torrent users: 10%
- Airdrop for Tron users: 10.1%
- Developers: 19%
- Tron Foundation: 20%
- Active BitTorrent incentive: 19.9%
Apparently, developers keep around 40% of all BTT coins for themselves. It does leave space for market manipulations by the team, though there is no reason to think the Tron Foundation will take advantage of the situation.
Where to Trade BitTorrent (BTT)?
BitTorrent is traded on all the popular exchanges in various market pairs (it’s been on Binance since January 2019). You may buy it for TRX coins, other cryptocurrencies, or fiat money.
Exchange | BTC | ETH | USDT | TRX | USD |
Binance | + | + | |||
Bitfinex | + | + | |||
HitBTC | + | + | + | ||
Huobi Global | + | + | + | + | |
OKEx | + | + | + |
BitTorrent (BTT) Live Price
BitTorrent (BTT) Wallets
BitTorrent doesn’t have its own wallets. You can use any wallets that are compatible with TRX coins to store your BTT tokens. We’ve prepared a detailed article on Tron wallets, but let’s briefly examine the matter here.
Tron Wallet is a secure peer-to-peer crypto wallet and exchange for TRX, available for Chrome, iOS, and Android. It’s easy to use and user-friendly. All the information related to the wallet is encrypted and protected with a password and a 24-symbol phrase.
You can also store and trade your BTT tokens in any other Tron-suitable wallets, like Huobi Wallet, Trust Wallet, Exodus, Gate.io, etc. Another option is to use a cold wallet like Ledger Nano S. It provides secure offline storage for your savings.
Read our BitTorrent (BTT) Price Prediction
BitTorrent Roadmap and Future
The BitTorrent project does not have a formal roadmap, but the team occasionally informs the public about their plans through social media or other alternative channels.
The plans for the year 2020 include the completion of BTT integration and BitTorrent integration launch, as well as achieving 99.99% uptime in the whole BTFS network, establishing user retention analysis, launching BTFS Host WebUI, integrated into BitTorrent and uTorrent clients, and setting up automated testing for all BTFS components.
There is more information about the BitTorrent team’s plans and goals on BitTorrent and Tron social media.
Future predictions for the BTT coin look cheerful. Rumor has it, BitTorrent will cooperate with Netflix, Amazon, and possibly Spotify in 2021. If it happens, the cryptocurrency’s value may go up and reach $0.0080 by the end of the year. Many experts in the field believe that BTT has a bright future ahead and that it will enter the Top 10 most popular world cryptocurrencies in the next five years. Read more about BTT coin price prediction for 2020-2025 on Changelly.
BitTorrent Team
The BitTorrent development team is now a part of the Tron Foundation. Nineteen people working on the project; twelve of them are developers. Justin Sun is currently the CEO of BitTorrent, Justin Scroll – VP of Product Management (former Director of Engineering and Chief Architect). Marcus Zhao is the Head of Public Chain. The most prominent Senior Product Designer and Senior Product Director are Rebecca Bronstein and Pavel Lagutin.
BitTorrent (BTT) Value
BitTorrent customers are implementing an additional set of backward-compatible protocol extensions that allow them to bet and receive bids for their bandwidth, working in tandem with a cryptocurrency wallet and a bidding mechanism.
There are several reasons for the BitTorrent ecosystem having a cryptocurrency.
- There are plenty of untapped opportunities for the decentralized BitTorrent protocol, and the market is ready for change.
- The efficiency of the protocol is limited because seeds are leaving the ecosystem: if they are not incentivized to store files on their computers, the platform won’t keep afloat.
- A lot of app users, including BitTorrent users, are reluctant to pay for virtual items with fiat money.
The project plans to use BTT in more business cases that go beyond the current bandwidth sharing, expanding access to more services, including shared storage, computing, and resource availability. Initially, the token has been used in BitTorrent clients as a payment in exchange for an uplink bandwidth request. The use will be expanded to additional features, including the purchase of content, live broadcast tips, and crowdfunding.
Today, BitTorrent token’s primary goal is to encourage users who do not delete downloaded files from their PC and continue to distribute them. They can spend their tokens within the ecosystem and purchase licensed content or pay for online streams.
As of July 2020, the all-time highest price was fixed on 28 May 2019; the BTT coin was worth $0.001861. The lowest point of $0.00018 was registered at the beginning of 2020.
BitTorrent Review – TL;DR
BTT is a cryptocurrency created in the BitTorrent ecosystem and based on the Tron Foundation blockchain. BitTorrent is one of the earliest decentralized file-sharing platforms and the largest one today, with up to 20% of upstream Internet traffic going through it and over 200 million active users enjoying its perks daily.
The technology behind BitTorrent involves breaking each file into pieces and sending them to the recipient. When on the recipient’s computer, the fragments become whole again. People who store complete copies of the files on their computers and let others download them in fragments are called seeds. The receivers are known as peers.
Since 2018, BitTorrent is the property of the Tron Foundation. In January 2019, they held an ICO for BTT token and raised the incredible $7 200 000. They’ve sold 60 billion BTT in a matter of minutes. BTT cryptocurrency is a TRC-10 cryptographic token. The coins can be stored in any TRX wallets. They are easily tradable on all popular exchanges in various pairs, including with fiat money.
The cryptocurrency doesn’t have an official roadmap, but its team shares their plans with the community from time to time via social media. We know that in 2020 the developers plan to complete the BTT integration and BitTorrent integration launch, achieve 99.99% uptime in BTFS network, and launch BTFS Host WebUI, among other things. The CEO of both the Tron Foundation and BitTorrent is Justin Sun.
Some of his distinguished teammates are Justin Scroll, Marcus Zhao, Rebecca Bronstein, and Pavel Lagutin. BTT’s future looks reassuring: it is whispered that in 2021 BitTorrent will cooperate with Amazon, Netflix, and possibly Spotify, which will inevitably boost its price. Crypto industry specialists see this currency in the Top 10 of exchange ratings in the next few years.
By the way, check our exchange widget if you decide to swap or buy BTT coins.
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Disclaimer: This article about BitTorrent (BTT) should not be considered as offering trading recommendations. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.