Google (Alphabet) isn’t the only company gobbling up unrelated companies creating curiosity around what new tech will emerge next. Blockchain startup Tron recently bought the peer-to-peer file sharing company BitTorrent.
Unlike Napster and Limewire, BitTorrent survived the infamous P2P copyright battles of the 2000’s. Since then, torrents have become the most popular form of peer-to-peer file sharing. People undoubtedly use it for illegal purposes, but its unique programming structure makes it nearly impossible to eliminate.
BitTorrent lost popularity over the years since legitimate file sharing platforms have emerged, but the recent acquisition indicates there’s untapped potential. If anyone can tap that potential, it’s Tron.
BitTorrent is now Rainberry
Justin Sun, the founder of Tron and Tronix cryptocurrency, acquired BitTorrent with it’s 170 million users for $140 million – a top story many crypto enthusiasts learned through coinzy’s June 19 update. BitTorrent has been looking for a buyer for a long time, but this deal almost fell through due to their error.
Sun sent a letter of intent to acquire Rainberry Inc. from BitTorrent with a no-shop clause, but Rainberry violated that clause. Sun sued Rainberry, and until recently, nobody knew what happened.
Sun registered a company named “Rainberry Acquisition” the day his letter of intent expired. Several sources say Sun’s Rainberry Acquisition and BitTorrent’s Rainberry Inc. filed for a merger in California, which suggests Sun’s acquisition was successful.
Shareholders are still working on signing paperwork to close the deal, and some are disputing the terms of the sale. Several people claim to have made the introduction that led to the sale, and those details are being sorted out.
Neither party has released an official statement, but people are already speculating about how BitTorrent will be used going forward.
The merger is good news for Tron
The price of Tron’s cryptocurrency Tronix (TRX) rallied over 17% on the news when rumors of the merger began, from $0.042 to $0.05 in one day. Sun is currently working on migrating Tron to an independent blockchain, away from the ERC-20 token.
Tron is more than cryptocurrency
Tron is more than a token. It’s a blockchain media startup, and its founder, Justin Sun, has something up his sleeve. Tron’s whitepaper references BitTorrent eight times. Sun’s goal is to create a decentralized internet where people can create blockchain projects. BitTorrent appears to be the technology needed to bring his dream to life.
Sun’s vision is to use Tron for other functions such as making payments, storage, development, and credit sharing. He wants to create a decentralized entertainment platform that makes it easy to stream videos, gamble, or provide digital entertainment across the world.
Will Sun revolutionize blockchain?
When you think of blockchain, you probably think of cryptocurrency, but there’s more to the story. Blockchain is a decentralized architecture that functions as a public ledger to store data. Cryptocurrency uses it to store transactions, but it can be used to store almost any data. For example, Steem is a blockchain-based social media platform that centers on sharing and upvoting content.
Sun has prior experience with blockchain, having worked for Ripple, a blockchain-based settlement system. There’s no doubt he’s going to create something new. In fact, Sun created cryptocurrency for a reason. The Tronix token is part of his overall plan to create a decentralized internet. The Tronix is a small part of that infrastructure.
Sun doesn’t want to be the next Bitcoin or currency used for transactions. He’s working to revolutionize the online entertainment industry, and that’s why Tronix prices have been soaring.
Focused on the entertainment industry, Sun is creating partnerships with businesses worldwide that plan on using his cryptocurrencies. For instance, game.com, Peiwo, OBike, and UpLive are all committed to using and implementing TRX.
It will be interesting to see how Sun integrates BitTorrent (Rainberry) with Tron.
