BUSD — Binance’s USD stablecoin is now the latest crypto payment option added to the BitTorrent and µTorrent platforms. The move now sees the popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing service supporting six cryptocurrency tokens.
Tron CEO, Justin CEO, acquired BitTorrent back in June 2018 triggering the platform’s pivot towards the crypto and blockchain space. P2P file sharing and permissionless value transfers share similar philosophies with the former being one of the markets primed for greater blockchain adoption and utilization.
Pay for Torrent Subscription with BUSD
According to a press release issued shared with Blockonomi, customers of the P2P file-sharing giant can now use BUSD for subscription payments on the platform. This service also extends to µTorrent Pro accounts.
The addition of BUSD as a payment means comes as a result of a partnership with crypto gateway CoinPayments.net. BUSD is the first stablecoin to be accepted on the BitTorrent platform and joins other tokens like Tron (TRX), Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin (BTC), BitTorrent Coin (BTT), and OKEx coin (OKB).
Commenting on the addition of BUSD as an accepted payment means on BitTorrent, Binance Chief Compliance Officer, Samuel Lim remarked:
“We are thrilled to work with BitTorrent to offer BUSD, a NYDFS regulated stablecoin as one of the main payment options for purchasing Classic Pro. BUSD continues to grow in use cases and adoption within the industry. Holding stable value and built for convenient global transfers, stablecoins like BUSD will become the preferred choice of payments in the near future.”
Apart from enabling BUSD as a payment means on its platform, BitTorrent also announced the replacement of BNB (ERC20) with BNB (BEP2). With CryptoPayments.net adopting the Binance chain, choosing the more liquid BEP2 version of the BNB token offers greater payment efficiency than its ERC20 counterpart.
BUSD payments can be used to subscribe for BitTorrent and µTorrent classic including ad-free and VPN features. Subscription to Pro offers customer support, malware protection, and file conversion among other add-ons.
BitTorrent Exploring Greater Interface with Crypto and Blockchain
Since Sun’s BitTorrent acquisition, the P2P file sharing service has been increasingly interfacing with crypto and blockchain technology. BTT; BitTorrent’s native token which is TRX-based opened up crypto adoption to the platform’s 100 million users.
Such was the anticipation of the token sale event that it raised $7.2M in 15 minutes. Back in January 2019, Blockonomi reported that the Tron blockchain was becoming more appealing due to the influx of user adoption from the BitTorrent ecosystem.
Commenting on the addition of BUSD as a payment means, the Tron CEO stated:
“Today we are pleased to accept BUSD as another digital payment option for Classic Pro for both BitTorrent and µTorrent users. By using BUSD or our other supported cryptocurrencies, millions of customers can unlock powerful features such as malware protection from our popular desktop torrent clients.”
Indeed, P2P file sharing is a core aspect of the decentralized content space, one that provides an alternative to the censorship of centralized platforms. The likes of YouTube and Facebook routinely de-platform users based on political or social bias.
Apart from censorship resistance, decentralized content sharing also holds the promise of creating an architecture for creators. In the mainstream space, advertisers enjoy the bulk of the proceeds from digital content with little going to users who develop these unique ideas. Decentralized content distribution could provide the framework for data monetization on behalf of creators.
