Tron CEO announces the launch of BitTorrent's latest testnet

Users will be earning crypto for sharing their hard drive space with Tron.
BitTorrent has reported a current user base of more than 100 million.

Rajarshi Mitra Independent Analyst

The launch of BitTorrent's latest testnet has been announced by the CEO of Tron, Justin Sun. Tron said that the new file system protocol which is a distributed web platform that's powered by the blockchain technology is all set for a July 1st launch. In exchange for sharing files and enabling faster downloads, the crypto-based system rewards users with the BitTorrent (BTT) token.

This platform was referred to as "the world's largest blockchain application for speedy uploading and downloading of files." BitTorrent has reported a current user base of more than 100 million and claims that the customer platform presently drives 22% of upstream and 3% of downstream traffic as people share videos, film, audio and other digital files.

BitTorrent Speed, which is a variant of the InterPlanetary FileSystem (IPFS) protocol, merges BitTorrent and the blockchain and will be available on July 8th. Sun said:

"With BitTorrent Speed, we aim to strengthen the BitTorrent protocol and then deliver more features that inspire innovation across industries."

Last year, BitTorrent was bought by Tron for more than $100 million. The file system of BitTorrent is supposed to be an aspect of Tron's vision to have borderless internet where privacy and ownership are not controlled by corporate middlemen but the users themselves.

The Tron ecosystem is expected to be expanded with this new platform as users will be earning crypto for sharing their hard drive space with Tron. As the user base increases, the main goal is to up the BitTorrent Speed to become a universal platform containing aspects of social media ranging from Facebook, Instagram to search engine functions like Google and cloud computing products like Amazon.

According to an announcement:

"[BitTorrent File System] BTFS Mainnet will be launched for public access and will power all TRON decentralized applications that require a decentralized storage network. Preliminary developer tools will be available and a few outstanding popular DApps built by the community will be running on the platform, including the upcoming TronMovie and BitTorrent Pix."

Sun added:

"BTFS represents the first truly viable and scalable implementation of a decentralized storage system that can be used by DApp developers."

Author

Rajarshi Mitra

Independent Analyst

Rajarshi entered the blockchain space in 2016. He is a blockchain researcher who has worked for Blockgeeks and has done research work for several ICOs. He gets regularly invited to give talks on the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

Editor's Picks

Crypto market outlook for 2026

Year 2025 was volatile, as crypto often is. Among positive catalysts were favourable regulatory changes in the U.S., rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT), adoption of AI and tokenization of Real-World-Assets (RWA).

Sberbank issues Russia's first corporate loan backed by Bitcoin

Russia's largest bank Sberbank launched the country's first Bitcoin-backed corporate loan to miner Intelion Data. The pilot deal uses cryptocurrency as collateral through Sberbank's proprietary Rutoken custody solution.

Bitcoin recovers to $87,000 as retail optimism offsets steady ETF outflows

Bitcoin (BTC) trades above $88,000 at press time on Tuesday, following a rejection at $90,000 the previous day. Institutional support remains mixed amid steady outflow from US spot BTC Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Strategy Inc.’s acquisition of 1,229 BTC last week.