BLOCKCHAIN
BLOCKCHAIN
BLOCKCHAIN
BitTorrent announces new Facebook Live-style social video service
BitTorrent Inc. is taking a stab at livestreaming with the new BitTorrent Live, a mobile-focused social network that allows users to share live video and earn money for their efforts.
Not to be confused with the former incarnation of BitTorrent Live, a TVlike service that was shut down in 2017, the new product is closer in form to Facebook Live with some elements of TikTok and Snapchat thrown in for good measure.
Details about the app are a little thin, though TorrentFreak reports that it will neither use BitTorrent or similar peer-to-peer networking on debut, using a central server-based model instead. Longer-term, the company intends to use blockchain technology to manage and host the service.
“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,” Justin Sun, chief executive officer of BitTorrent, said in a statement. “Our strong foundation of decentralized technology will allow us to fulfill our vision of a boundary-free internet while being at the forefront of a new content experience.”
While many companies talk about using blockchain platforms, it’s nearly a given that BitTorrent will do so with this service given that it was acquired by the blockchain firm TRON Foundation in June for a reported $140 million. Since that acquisition and the rise of TRON’s Sun to BitTorrent CEO, the historic P2P company has started to gain more and more attention as it roles out new products and incentives to users.
BitTorrent announced a new cryptocurrency, BitTorrent Token, on Jan. 3 with a promise that it can be used to speed up downloads. The crux of the idea is to encourage more file-sharing by giving creators and others rewards for sharing files and in some cases offering them to other users for direct download.
The offering was well-received and the tokens raised $7.2 million in their first release Jan. 28. Without question, the BitTorrent Tokens will the cryptocurrency used by BitTorrent Live as well.
BitTorrent Live is being rolled out globally in phases, with a beta version of the app said to be available starting in the second quarter.
Image: BitTorrent
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