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Tron Foundation CEOJustin Sun. (Photo: Tron)
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Tron’s BitTorrent File System to bring decentralized storage and crypto rewards for filesharing

Justin Sun’s Tron’s BTT tokens will power the leading peer-to-peer media file sharing network

By  / May 31, 2019 /

Tron is adding decentralized storage and a cryptocurrency-based reward mechanism into its BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing service. Adding the blockchain solution is a step in Tron’s long-term plan to create a privacy-focused, user-controlled, decentralized internet, the company said in a May 31 release.

Tron’s new BitTorrent File System (BTFS) will be incorporated into the broader BitTorrent P2P network, which has 100 million monthly users. A distributed application (DApp) platform, BTFS will be used by BitTorrent users to receive, send, and host media files.

BTFS will use the Tron-based BTT utility tokens launched on January 3 to reward hosts who store shareable files and provide bandwidth. The way BitTorrent works is that everyone who is actively downloading a file shares it, but some users “seed” the system by keeping the BitTorrent application open, continuing to allow others to download their hosted files. These seeders make the whole system faster.

The BTFS file sharing system will use BitTorrent Speed to reward host seeders with BTT. Downloaders will be able to bid BTT in order to increase download speeds. Tron says 100% of all BTT bid will go to the seeding hosts. The company added that BitTorrent users’ computers will not be involved in resource-hogging mining.

Launched in January, BTT can be traded for Tron (TRX) cryptocurrency via a built-in BTFS wallet. The BTT white paper explains BTT and BitTorrent Speed in detail.

“BTFS is a continuing step in our mission to create a decentralized internet that allows everyone to share in the wealth of web commerce,” said Justin Sun, the Tron founder and CEO of BitTorrent, in a release. “We’re creating a platform with BTFS, BitTorrent Speed blockchain integration, and the BTT utility token to let users quickly and privately interact with each other around the world without a middleman or government intervention.”

Using Tron’s more than 1,000 full nodes, 27 super representative nodes, and global TronGrid nodes, BTFS will become the world’s largest distributed storage and media sharing network, the company said.

The BTFS Mainnet will launch to the public in the third quarter of 2019, running all Tron DApps, including the forthcoming TronMovie and BitTorrent Pix. BitTorrent Speed is expected to be fully functional by the end of the first quarter of 2020.

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Leo Jakobson, Modern Consensus editor-in-chief, is a New York-based journalist who has traveled the world writing about incentive travel. He has also covered consumer and employee engagement, small business, the East Coast side of the Internet boom and bust, and New York City crime, nightlife, and politics. Disclosure: Jakobson has put some 401k money into Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.