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What Is BitTorrent (BTT) and How Does It Work?

What Is BitTorrent (BTT) and How Does It Work?

Currently, almost all companies, media, and software designers use torrents to share different files. Torrents are one of the most effective mechanisms to transmit huge files via the internet through BitTorrent—a P2P (Peer-to-Peer) interface.

BitTorrent is not just a program. It is recognized as a P2P file-sharing communications protocol for transferring data and electronic files via the internet. It allows quick download of giant-size files, even with the low bandwidth. Using the protocol costs nothing and features no pop-up advertising or spyware. Unlike other modes of downloading, BTT maximizes the transmission speed by collecting pieces of the target file and downloading those bits from sources that might have them. As a result, heavy files like TV shows and videos, fully assembled, land on your computer a lot faster.

The company behind it, BitTorrent Inc., is a firm based in San Francisco. BTT is one of the leading protocols that has already attracted over 170 million users who have adopted the technology.

Table Of Contents

How does BitTorrent work?

The protocol uses a P2P document sharing mechanism that differs from conventional file downloading. In P2P file sharing, the user has to employ special software to find computers that store the files they need. Since BitTorrent is designed to simplify and transfer data disintegrated into tiny chunks, the user does not have to download the entire document before sharing. Once the user gets even one chunk of the document, they can begin sharing the file with other users. That’s what makes the protocol more time-efficient than other methods. The BitTorrent client will begin sharing immediately after it downloads at least one piece of the file.

When the protocol is connected, a BitTorrent client starts downloading small chunks of the files in the torrent. Once the data are collected, the program starts uploading them to other BitTorrent clients in the group. Thus, when someone is downloading a torrent it is being concurrently uploaded and shared to others—this increases the download speed. If say 10,000 users are downloading the same file, the torrent would not burden the central server. This is because every downloader gives uploading bandwidth to other downloaders to make sure the torrent remains fast. Typically, the BitTorrent client does not download files from the tracker since the tracker is the member of the torrent through tracing all clients connected to the group.

The good news is that you can get a decentralized trackless torrent that lets you interact with other users without being connected to the central server. BitTorrent clients must have a distributed hash table (DHT) technology whereby every client would function as a DHT node.

BitTorrent token WhitePaper

Abstract

BitTorrent Inc. and TRON Foundation are launching the latest cryptographic token known as BTT together with the cutting-edge version of the BitTorrent protocol. These two companies tend to build a token-based economy around the utilization of networking, bandwidth, and storage in numerous PCs on the net. The first step is launching token-based optimization of the current BitTorrent protocol that would offer a way to share the bandwidth and storage with other users.

What is BitTorrent?

Background

BitTorrent is the leading communications protocol created in 2001 by Bram Cohen. This is a P2P communication protocol that utilizes economic incentives to speed up the transfer of huge files over the internet. Basically, the protocol makes using a central server completely unnecessary. Currently, over 100 million net-connected devices are regular protocol users. BitTorrent is being consistently upgraded via the open-procedure BitTorrent enhancement proposals (BEPs) moderated on the developer website.

Protocol

The protocol lets different clients work together to allow efficient and reliable file transfer—this is achieved through efficient use of each client’s download and upload bandwidth to balance the P2P content transfer across a group of coordinating clients. This frees the system from hinging on such bottlenecks as poor server connection. One should realize how economic incentives are deployed to know how BitTorrent works.

Ecosystem

BitTorrent has been implementing the protocol several times amidst a healthy competition between famous volunteer-maintained and firm-managed versions. Also, there is a client software that implements the protocol and infrastructure companies—e.g. trackers and torrent websites—that offer additional handy services independently. This shows how a variety of collaborating clients and semi-clients (torrent websites, trackers) have been maintaining a robust and long-lasting ecosystem even in the aggressive environment where attackers exist.

BitTorrent company

The BitTorrent protocol—created and managed by the BitTorrent foundation—is the world’s most prominent decentralized protocol that serves over a billion users. While there are hundreds of implementations of BitTorrent software, BitTorrent and uTorrent are the most famous ones. In 2018, BitTorrent Inc. and TRON Blockchain entered into a cooperation agreement—this partnership makes the TRON protocol the biggest decentralized ecosystem ever.

BitTorrent’s distributed applications

BitTorrent has been exploring various distribution apps for more than 10 years. Engineers reconnoitered versions of the BitTorrent protocol and the whole-new protocol in a bid to offer services such as P2P live video streaming, distributed messaging and websites, BitTorrent-based CDN, and document synchronization.

The remarkably thrilling introduction of blockchain technology was a paradigm shift that transformed the concept of the attainable, allowing cooperation between untrusted clients to long-going.

Project origin

The project was ignited by three main insights:

  • There is a plethora of unfulfilled use cases of the decentralized BitTorrent technology.
  • Protocol operation is affected by structural inefficiencies that restrict the lifecycle of BitTorrent groups, thereby setting bound to the overall efficiency.
  • Most protocol users are unwilling to pay for online products or services with fiat currency.

The company is planning to advance and expand the BitTorrent protocol to address these three issues with a project that would integrate the greatest BitTorrent and blockchain technologies.

Generalized BTT services

Optimizing the current BitTorrent network is an apparent first phase in introducing the cryptographic token. On top of everything else, it makes previously unimaginable things possible. The model being implemented will let users store a value from distributing a small amount of infrastructure to use it later. It will help BitTorrent expand the spending and earning opportunities of consumers of BTT-supported BitTorrent clients.

After a thorough discussion with the interested stakeholders, the company agreed to start by offering three BTT services first:

  • Decentralized content distribution service that allows advertising bids and buying BBT bandwidth to get a specific piece of content.
  • Decentralized holding service that allows paying for storage services over time.
  • Decentralized proxying service that allows paying a user for retrieving content through URL.

BTT cryptographic tokens and blockchain

BitTorrent is launching TRON TRC-10 cryptographic token known as BTT (BitTorrent). The purpose of the token is to serve as a mechanism for distributing computing files shared between BitTorrent users and other parties. BTT will be a standard unit controlling service-delivery transactions within the BTT-supported BitTorrent ecosystem.

Incentives to improve swarm lifestyle

BitTorrent swarms tend to suffer from structural ineffectiveness that results in premature weakening and death of the groups. Because of the bandwidth asymmetry, files tend to finish downloading before the client uploads the same number of bytes. For this reason, BitTorrent provides incentives to make the clients remain in the swarm..

BitTorrent Speed

BitTorrent Speed is a program designed to reward BitTorrent clients with BTT in exchange for bandwidth and speeding to enable faster download. Over one million users have a chance to merge into the tokenized decentralized internet and support content providers all over the world right through their torrent client. Read the white paper for more info.

How it works

The uTorrent user will update automatically to comprise a BitTorrent Speed link in the navigation menu found on the left side. Balance and activity can be monitored at any time. BitTorrent speed will robotically bid BTT to other clients for faster download speeds. The downloading experience of the bidding user will remain the same, or even faster. Once a document finishes downloading, the user should allow it seed to acquire a BitTorrent (BTT). Seeding for a longer period will help earn more tokens. So, one should make sure they leave your document seeding in the client—after that, the tokens will be gained automatically.

BTT incentives

Advancements of the BitTorrent ecology in this field will need partnership and incentives provided to a wide range of current and upcoming users. Other BitTorrent client embracers, third-party app creators, and other online publishers also qualify for the incentive awards.

Here are the reasons why the incentives will be vital:

  • Promoting the BTT project to existing and future users, service provider, requesters or even both groups.
  • Governing membership and participation regulations among users in the BTT ecology with the overriding goal of creating a level playground granting equal rights to everyone involved.

Implementation

Blockchain

BTT application offers its services step by step to minimize the chances of fraud. The user will have to wait for the payment to be approved before additional services are offered. Active BitTorrent participants will reinforce the applications.

User controls

The company intends to introduce additional features such as BitTorrent Speed and BTT transactional support into uTorrent and BitTorrent clients to optimize the end-user participation experience.

BitTorrent wallets

As part of the launch of the new uTorrent and BitTorrent software that can be used in the BTC apps, the company is going to make incorporated crypto wallets available for every user.

BTT token issuance

The company intends to supply 990 million BTT that will be distributed between the following parties:

  • BitTorrent Company,
  • Torrent client users,
  • Current TRX owners,
  • Original investors and supporters,
  • TRON foundation,
  • BitTorrent team.

The company plans to extend BitTorrent as it has started with the implementation of the new features meant to enhance the BitTorrent ecosystem. They have also brought a new cryptographic token and a practical application of cryptographic token to ease the transaction processes.

BTT is now supported by top crypto payment processor of CoinPayments…

The good news is that every BTT consumer across the world is allowed to use BitTorrent (BTT) tokens to make payments for different goods and services via CoinPayments.

BitTorrent has partnered with CoinPayments to incorporate support for Bitcoin (BTC), Binance (BNB and TRON (TRX) for premium BitTorrent product payments. These comprise subscription for new BitTorrent (BTT) features that can improve the download speed, help with bandwidth management, and offer an ad-free experience for consumers of the P2P file-sharing system.

BitTorrent and TRON executives explain how BTT incorporation on CoinPayment will increase the liquidity of BTT before the BitTorrent Speed application is implemented at the end of this year.

In a few months, BitTorrent speed will be incorporated into the common window-based uTorrent classic client. The company aims to build a suitable ecosystem and a strong foundation where content providers could share their files directly via the internet.

Before this highly-anticipated advancement, BitTorrent (BTT) plans to work with CoinPayment and other partners to introduce BTT liquid to the online marketplace before it is incorporated into the mobile and desktop products.

BitTorrent Speed will give a channel to reward BitTorrent network consumers with BTT in exchange for bandwidth and seeding. With more than 100 million clients on the BitTorrent network, the BTT incentives are given as a first package of the decentralized internet.

Additionally, the BTT will support content providers across the globe directly in their torrent clients.

What you need to know about CoinPayments

Established in 2013, CoinPayment is now one of the top Bitcoin and altcoin payment processing platforms that supports over 1,200 crypto assets. The processor serves over 2.3 million companies and people in 182 countries.

The primary goal of CoinPayment is to foster the adoption of cryptocurrency by offering pre-built plugins and integration for leading e-commerce business like magneto, Shopify, Woocommerce, OpenCart, WHMCS, and osCommerce.

Additionally, the platform supports a variety of cryptocurrency wallets and make fiat currency settlement easier via inbuilt conversion systems.

How decentralized distribution platforms helps content creators

The advancement in technology has offered numerous and effective ways for creative professionals to venture into digital entrepreneurship. Media platforms such as YouTube offer viable ways for creators to monetize and publish their work.

What is crucial for content providers is how to share and transfer their files efficiently. Blockchain companies are creating decentralized systems that target to challenge the giants. Those decentralized systems support openness, spurn censorship, and reward their users.

TRON is one of the projects aimed to build effective international infrastructure for decentralized platforms. Recently, TRON collaborated with a P2P network known as BitTorrent in a quest to decentralize the internet and offer more distribution. The project called Atlas will incentivize participants for serving as seeds—peers that assist in hosting and transferring content. It encourages more users to participate and increase network capacity. Eventually, all the network participants will enjoy improved uptime and speedy downloads.

Tron’s Project Atlas targets to embrace the New Internet

The original internet version (web 1.0) was a set of static sites which contained data with no interactive content. The internet was slow and did not support streaming while downloading a file could take long. Technological evolution, new developer equipment, and faster speed internet allowed for the emergence of the interactive content. So, web 2.0 was created and it allowed people to upload content and sites would integrate interactive and participatory aspects. Currently, everyone is debating about the introduction of web 3.0 that would encompass the decentralization of the web via the use of blockchain.

TRON and web 3.0 revolution

TRON is the leading blockchain-based protocol that aims to create decentralized and free internet. Since TRON is a non-profit company, it is dedicated to offering social-oriented services. Data are unlimited and free on the TRON protocol: consumers can store, publish, and manage how they transfer data without any restrictions.

Additionally, the protocol offers a mechanism to help allocate the value of the user-created content fairly.

Project Atlas

TRON closed the deal to acquire BitTorrent in 2018, and this placed the network at the frontline of the web 3.0 revolution. The plan is to merge the TRON blockchain protocol and BitTorrent P2P network to establish the infrastructure for reliable decentralized content sharing system accessible for the international user base. Those partnerships between TRON and BitTorrent were named Project Atlas.

How it will work

The TRON protocol will infuse the torrent ecosystem with bandwidth and storage to improve torrent accessibility and lifetime. Even though the BitTorrent features a built-in incentive model, participants who can upload files fast will download more. With the help of TRON’s skills, BTT will reward participants with TRX tokens for partaking and contributing. Consumers can then use the tokens to access unique features.

Exchanges and wallets supporting BTT airdrop program

Here are some of the wallets and exchanges that will support the program as of February 11, 2019, once the TRON’s block height hits 6.6 million.

In case you have your TRON on any of the platforms, you will not have to do anything once the airdrop begins. Bear in mind this list will expand.

Conclusion

BitTorrent (BTT) coin plays a vital role in allowing content providers to connect and share files with their audience. Additionally, the users will also obtain and spend their digital coins without any intermediaries. The company aims to connect the BitTorrent P2P protocol to the TRON blockchain to provide the new thrilling experience to more than 100 million users. As a result, the well-made decentralized platform will promote transparency, eliminate censorship, and award their users. For this reason, projects like TRON strive to create an international framework that would serve those purposes.

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