BitTorrent has published a calling for Beta testers, urging them to register for their new social media streaming platform called “BitTorrent Live”. According to the short content on the corresponding webpage, this platform will enable people to broadcast their videos live, get in touch with others who share the same passion, connect with friends, enjoy unheard levels of privacy, and get paid for the content they share with others. The beta program for BitTorrent Live has not opened yet, so you can only sign up for now and wait for the relevant notification.
Ever since TRON acquired BitTorrent last summer, the company has been going through a period of expansion of operations, services, and scope. It can all be summed up in what BitTorrent calls “Project Atlas”, their vision for the next step in content distribution and how peer-to-peer technology combines with blockchain networks. The blockchain part was taken care of in February when BitTorrent launched a sale of their own cryptocurrency Token for file-sharing, and people responded by buying all $7 million in under 15 minutes. Now that the initial investment is over and BitTorrent filled their cash registers with fresh money, the development effort shifted to the content sharing platform, apparently, BitTorrent Live.
CEO of BitTorrent and TRON, Justin Sun, has made the following statement regarding their new social media platform: “Imagine chatting with your favorite athlete, becoming immersed in a music festival, or meeting new friends to share your passions – all by simply firing up the BitTorrent Live app. By using our decentralized technology, we aim to create a boundary-free internet but also be at the forefront of the new content experience. In the coming months, BitTorrent Live also will incorporate blockchain technology that returns privacy and ownership to users while also enabling cryptocurrency to be used as a new payment option.”
For starters, and during the beta testing phase, the platform will be centralized, so the P2P technology will be implemented at a later stage. Also, according to information acquired by TorrentFreak, the content will not get archived during the beta phase, as the development efforts will focus on the core app. Finally, the same sources claim that the revenue that broadcasters should expect will depend on the quality of the produced content, while the BitTorrent Token will be a supported method of payment from the beginning.
As with the 'get paid to seed' premise that BitTorrent hopes to gain traction in the P2P community, this streaming platform will be launched with a big question mark. It all depends on the people's response, and the way BitTorrent launches services that are mutually dependent and mutually supported, the venture will either stand strong or collapse as a whole. For the sake of a decentralized internet, we hope that it will be the former.
What do you think is the most likely case for BitTorrent’s plans? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, and don’t hesitate to leave your comments on our socials as well, on Facebook and Twitter.