Unlike most cryptocurrencies on the market today, BitTorrent wasn’t built around blockchain technology. BitTorrent has been around before the days of blockchain, and the company created a peer-to-peer file sharing network that gained over 100 million users. In 2019, BitTorrent launched its initial coin offering, and the company plans to integrate the token into the platform, using it for payments, priotized usage and file storage.
What is BitTorrent?
BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol that let’s users share video, song and text files in a decentralized way. Users need to use a BitTorrent client to access the protocol, and it lets you search for and download files that peers have uploaded to the protocol.
Given the decentralized nature of BitTorrent, the protocol gained attention from Tron CEO Justin Sun. Sun purchased the company in 2018 with plans to implement a cryptocurrency within the platform. Tron is a smart contract enabled blockchain, so the network allows for tokens to be minted as side chains on Tron’s blockchain, similarly to how ERC-20 tokens work on Ethereum.
Brief History of BitTorrent
BitTorrent was 1st created in 2001 by Bram Cohen. In 2018, Tron CEO Justin Sun purchased BitTorrent with plans to increase the protocol’s efficiency with a cryptocurrency token. Sun purchased the protocol for $140 million, and released an initial coin offering (ICO) soon after.
BitTorrent coin (BTT) is a token on Tron’s blockchain, using Tron’s TRC-10 token standard. The token is used to prioritize file sharing to those who pay file sharers in BitTorrent coin. This also incentivizes file shares to keep their files on the network, as they have a financial incentive. The company plans to implement more use cases for BTT soon, such as decentralized file storage solutions.
BitTorrent had an extremely successful ICO in 2019, raising $7.2 million in just 15 minutes. The initial price per coin was $0.00012, and the coin is currently trading $0.0085. Despite its low price, BTT has a market capitalization of $5.6 billion, as there are 660 billion coins in circulation.
BitTorrent has appreciated over 400% since its ICO compared to Bitcoin’s price. This means if you were to invest 1 bitcoin at the ICO in 2019, you’d have over 4 bitcoin worth of BitTorrent today. In dollar terms, the crypto asset has appreciated north of 70,000% since its inception.
Step 1: Open an online account.
If you don’t already have an account with a cryptocurrency exchange that supports BitTorrent token, you’ll need to sign up for an online account. Popular exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini don’t currently support BitTorrent. The largest and most credible exchange that you can trade BitTorrent on is Binance; Binance supports many more cryptocurrencies than other trading platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood.
Making an account with Binance is a quick and easy process. You just need to enter your email and create a password, and your account will be created. Once your account is made, you’ll need to enter personal identification information for tax purposes, such as your Social Security number and date of birth. After this information is verified, you’re ready to start investing on Binance.
Step 2: Buy a wallet (optional).
A cryptocurrency wallet is something to consider before investing in BitTorrent. Storing your crypto assets on an exchange isn’t recommended, as they put your crypto at risk for being hacked. Instead, you can use either a hardware or software cryptocurrency wallet to securely store your investments.
Since BitTorrent is a token on Tron’s blockchain, you can use any Tron wallet to store your BTT coins on. Software wallets are typically free to use, and they store your assets in an encrypted program on your computer or mobile device. The most safe way to store cryptocurrencies are hardware wallets, and if you plan to invest large amounts of money in cryptocurrency, this is the best choice for you. Hardware wallets are physical devices that store your cryptocurrencies offline, so they’re inaccessible to hackers.
Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano S
Ledger is one of the leading cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturers, and they’ve been making crypto wallets since 2014. Cryptocurrency investors trust Ledger to store their crypto assets on, as they offer industry leading security features and support a variety of cryptocurrencies. The Ledger Nano S supports over 1,000 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Tron.
The Ledger Nano S comes in at an affordable price of just over $50 on Amazon. Ledger also offers a more premium hardware wallet, the Ledger Nano X, and it offers a few extra features like Bluetooth connectivity. The Ledger Nano X is currently sold out, and its retail price is $119.
Best Software Wallet: Atomic Wallet
Atomic Wallet is a free to use software wallet that can be downloaded on your computer or mobile device. The wallet supports a variety of cryptocurrencies, supporting most major crypto assets as well as over 300 other tokens.
The platform also allows you to purchase certain cryptocurrencies with your credit card directly on the application. Similar to how Coinbase let’s you stake Ethereum, Atomic Wallet lets you stake a variety of cryptos to earn interest on your investment.
Step 3: Make your purchase.
After deciding where to store your BitTorrent coins, it’s time to make your purchase. Binance has many different trading pairs on its website, and you can trade BTT using the BTT-USDT pair. USDT is a stablecoin pegged to the U.S dollar, so you can swap between USDT and BTT to simulate selling your investment without transferring funds to your bank account. If you place a market buy for BitTorrent coin, your order will be executed almost instantly and your BTT balance will be credited to your account.
Bonus:
Since Justin Sun also founded Tron, it’s likely that BitTorrent token will appreciate in value if Tron’s network continues to gain adoption. It’s main competitor is Ethereum, as it’s the largest decentralized network that supports smart contracts.
Trade, Sell or Convert your BitTorrent
If you plan on trading your BTT tokens, you’ll need to keep them on Binance’s exchange. Binance is regarded as one of the more safe exchanges, as they have a constantly growing insurance fund in case hackers are able to breach their website.
If you’re holding your BitTorrent tokens for the mid or long term, you should use a cryptocurrency wallet to store your investment on. When you want to sell your investment, you’ll need to send your BTT from your wallet to your BitTorrent token address on Binance.
Current Crypto Prices
With the newfound attention on cryptocurrencies from institutions like Tesla, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, the cryptocurrency market has been in a bull market. Bitcoin has roughly doubled in value since the beginning of the year, and other major altcoins are up over 1,000% in the span of just a year. To get a better idea of how the crypto markets are moving today, checkout some of the major cryptocurrencies below.
Is BitTorrent a Good Investment?
Historically speaking, BitTorrent has been a great investment. It’s value has appreciated multitudes faster than the price of bitcoin, and it’s worth over 70 times its ICO price today. The BitTorrent platform has more than 100 million users, and if BTT coin is successfully implemented into the platform, the token could appreciate even further in value.
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