Staking on BitTorrent: The 'everything' blockchain

BbyA...nMtW

12 Apr 2023

Recently I started staking BitTorrent ($BTT). It may not cross the radar of many crypto and defi users in the western world but it's a big deal outside of that sphere and it's probably something you should have one eye on as goes the future of crypto.

What is the BitTorrent Network?

BitTorrent blockchain is a decentralized file sharing protocol that uses BitTorrent Token (BTT) as a utility token to power features of various applications. $BTT is a TRC-20 token based on the TRON blockchain that enables faster download speeds, file storage, and content creation. Some of the applications that use $BTT are BitTorrent Speed, BitTorrent File System, and DLive

BTT, the official token of the BitTorrent chain, was launched as a TRC-10 token in 2019. In 2022, BTT was redenominated to a TRC-20 token.

BitTorrent is the Tron Network’s play at enabling cross chain development at fast speeds + low fees and this is paired with it’s decentralised streaming and file storage services. It’s a pretty compelling idea as it houses a bunch of services which are normally separate (e.g., Arbitrim, Filecoin, and Livepeer are all separate services)

BitTorrent and TRON are different but related projects. BitTorrent is a file sharing protocol that was acquired by TRON in 2018. TRON is a blockchain-based platform that aims to host decentralized applications, especially for the entertainment industry.

BitTorrent launched its own token ($BTT) in 2019, which is based on the TRON blockchain and used to power various features of the BitTorrent network. $BTT is a utility token that enables faster download speeds, file storage, and content creation on the BitTorrent protocol1. TRON also supports its own native token ($TRX), which is used to pay for transactions and run smart contracts on the TRON network. Both $BTT and $TRX can be exchanged on decentralized exchanges.

BitTorrent, why does that sound familiar?

It sounds familiar because it is familiar. Torrents were a technology that defined a significant part of the initial growth of the internet we know today and BitTorrent was a big part of that.

The history of BitTorrent from inception to today can be summarized as follows:

BitTorrent was created by Bram Cohen, an American computer programmer, in 2001 as a protocol and a program to share large files over the internet using a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.
BitTorrent works by dividing files into small fragments and distributing them among users, called peers, who either have all or part of the file. Peers can download and upload fragments simultaneously, increasing the speed and efficiency of the file transfer.
BitTorrent uses a tit-for-tat system, where peers who continue to share files after completing their download are rewarded with higher download speeds. Peers who stop sharing files are penalized with lower download speeds.
BitTorrent became popular as a way of accessing media content that was not available or affordable through legal channels, such as movies, music, games, software, and books. It also enabled users to distribute their own content without relying on centralized platforms or intermediaries.
BitTorrent also supported open-source software and projects that used it as a distribution method, such as Linux, Wikipedia, and World of Warcraft1 2.
BitTorrent faced some challenges and controversies over the years, such as legal issues, piracy, censorship, security vulnerabilities, and competition from other P2P services and streaming platforms.
BitTorrent was acquired by TRON, a blockchain-based platform, in 2018 for $140 million. TRON integrated BitTorrent with its own network and launched BitTorrent Token (BTT), a utility token that powers various features and applications on the BitTorrent network.

Who uses BitTorrent?

The BitTorrent Network is used by millions of people around the world who want to share and download files of various types and sizes. Some of the users of the BitTorrent Network are:

The number of users and projects on the BitTorrent blockchain is not easy to determine precisely, as there is no official data source that tracks them. However, some possible indicators are:

The number of users of the BitTorrent protocol, which is estimated to be over 100 million worldwide1.
The number of users of the BitTorrent Token (BTT), which is a utility token that powers various features and applications on the BitTorrent network. According to CoinMarketCap, BTT has a market capitalization of over $1.5 billion and a daily trading volume of over $200 million as of November 18, 2022.
The number of projects and applications that use the BitTorrent blockchain, such as BitTorrent Speed, BitTorrent File System, DLive, and BitTorrent Chain. According to BitTorrent’s website, these projects aim to provide faster download speeds, decentralized file storage, live streaming, and layer 2 scalability solutions for the BitTorrent network.
The number of patents and investments related to the BitTorrent blockchain, which indicate the level of innovation and development in the ecosystem. According to Statista, BitTorrent received over $140 million in venture capital funding in 2018 when it was acquired by TRON. According to IPlytics, BitTorrent has filed 11 patents related to blockchain technology as of October 2020.

Why BitTorrent (& TRON) offer a different type of crypto market exposure (and why that's important)

Why BitTorrent and TRON are significant is their exposure to emerging markets. In developed countries , like the US, TRON and BTT are bit part players in the crypto industry, but outside of these markets they hold a much bigger market share and, maybe more importantly at this still early stage in crypto, a much bigger mindshare.

The countries with the largest usage in cryptocurrency as a percentage of population vary depending on the source and methodology of the data. However, some of the countries that are frequently mentioned as having high rates of cryptocurrency adoption are:

Nigeria: According to a survey by Statista, 32 percent of Nigerians said they used or owned cryptocurrency in 2020, the highest rate among 74 countries. Nigeria is also one of the top countries in terms of peer-to-peer crypto trading volume, according to Chainalysis. Nigerians use cryptocurrency as a cheaper and faster way of sending and receiving money across borders, as well as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.
Vietnam: According to Statista, 21 percent of Vietnamese said they used or owned cryptocurrency in 2020, the second highest rate among 74 countries. Vietnam also ranked first in Chainalysis’ global crypto adoption index, which measures the value of crypto transactions relative to purchasing power parity per capita and internet-using population. Vietnamese use cryptocurrency as an alternative investment tool and a way of preserving their savings amid economic instability.
Philippines: According to Statista, 20 percent of Filipinos said they used or owned cryptocurrency in 2020, the third highest rate among 74 countries. The Philippines also ranked fourth in Chainalysis’ global crypto adoption index. Filipinos use cryptocurrency mainly for remittance payments, as the country is one of the largest recipients of overseas remittances in the world. The Philippines’ Central Bank has also approved several crypto exchanges to operate as remittance and transfer companies in the country.
Other countries that have high rates of cryptocurrency adoption according to various sources are Turkey, Peru, Switzerland, India, China, South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Greece, United Arab Emirates, and Russia.

Staking on BitTorrent with $BTT

Binance is the largest BTT staker so you can save yourself a bunch of gas (and hassle) by staking directly on Binance itself.

But if you want to diversify your staking and get to grips with the native app and ecosystem then transfer to your TronLink wallet. You’ll need to fund your TronLink wallet with $TRX tokens first, the native Tron Network token, to pay gas fees.
You can also split your stake across different validators. I split mine across the top 3 at the time. Whilst all had a reported 100% record, it does help spread your risk (and help decentralisation) if you split your tokens.

Hot tip: Don't bother with Metamask. You can only interact with the staking #smartcontract via a TronLink wallet so you'll waste time and transactions fees on cross chain transfers for anything you transfer in via one of the non Tron Network chains in Metamask.

One positive to come out of my mistake was I did get to try out the impressive set of bridges they've got on the BitTorrent staking app. No idea on what the backend looks like but they've got pretty much most chains integrated and the UI is surprisingly clear and informative for a process (bridging) which can often be anything but.

Hot tip: Watch the $TRON fees for restaking (which is one-click but auto compounding would’ve been nicer). $BTT is a BIG market cap in terms of token numbers but the price is very low. It’s easy to spend more in $TRON restaking than the $BTT you actually staked

Risks

There's some good reasons why BitTorrent and TRON haven't seen much adoption in developed country crypto markets and some of those are the controversies that surround the projects, such as:

It's not unfair to say that the founder, Justin Sun, may be the biggest risk of all.

However these wouldn't be the first projects to have to endure a difficult separation from their founder/s in order to grow into viable concerns.