On September 27, the Tron Foundation unveiled ‘Project Atlas,’ a comprehensive overview of its plans to integrate with BitTorrent. Tron originally acquired BitTorrent in July for an undisclosed sum.
Project Atlas describes a plan in which the two platforms will combine to create a content sharing ecosystem that will use TRX tokens as its native currency.
“The product will feature faster downloads, more seeds, no mining, and backward compatibility,” said Justin Sun, CEO of Tron. The final goal of the project is to “eventually empower all content creators and their communities by eliminating the middleman and enabling content creators to distribute directly to users.”
Faster, safer, more reliable. The future of the decentralized internet is here, make sure to jump on-board #TRONBT $TRX ? pic.twitter.com/Y155mkhp2I
— TRON Foundation (@Tronfoundation) July 24, 2018
Users will have the ability to create token incentives to obtain special services and features, including faster downloading speeds. Activities that support the ecosystem, including ‘seeding’ downloads, will be rewarded with TRX tokens. A more comprehensive explanation of the new features planned for the network will be given in a live Youtube presentation that is scheduled for later today, September 28.
Blockchain Can Revolutionize Content Distribution
The marriage of Tron and BitTorrent, as well as other blockchain-based content distribution platforms, have been slated as a possible platform that will change the way that various kinds of media are consumed and paid for.
For example, the number of decentralized streaming services is on the rise, as well as platforms that reward their users with tokens in exchange for consuming content. Kim Dotcom’s ‘Bitcache’ will integrate Bitcoin micropayments that will enable users to share content with one another; TaTaTu reimburses its users for the content they consume.
Want to be part of the Bitcache revolution? If you're a Jedi coder, a digital Picasso, a blockchain God or data center Overlord, send me CV!
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 30, 2017
Tokenized media distribution platforms could create a sort of ‘compromise’ between movie production companies and customers who may have illegally downloaded movies in the past--after all; it is highly likely that these models will reduce costs, increase accessibility, and introduce new payment models.
In any case, Tron is sure to benefit from the integration of the over 100 million-member community that has supported and used BitTorrent since it was created in 2004.
