BTFS is a new BitTorrent file system based on IPFS

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4 min

December 26, 2020

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TRON recently released its new decentralized storage system called BitTorrent File System (BTFS) in collaboration with BitTorrent. The decentralized storage system is based on the well-known Planetary File System (IPFS).

BitTorrent was launched in 2001 and became one of the pioneers of file sharing over the Internet. And now, in 2019, BitTorrent is once again creating revolutionary ways to share data and encourage users to participate in BitTorrent using blockchain technology.

Introduction to IPFS

IPFS was originally based on the Filecoin ICO project, which raised $250 million from leading investors such as Y Combinator, Naval Ravikant, Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures Sequoia and Winklevoss Capital. Considering how much they have raised, one can see the need and clear interest in decentralization. One of the most mature/maintained projects at the moment is IPFS .

At its core, IPFS is a versioned file system that stores files and their corresponding versions, much like Git. The protocol also defines the rules for how files are stored and distributed across the network, making it a distributed file system.

Every file on the network can be accessed over IPFS, using a content addressing system instead of using HTTP requests to request data. A file within the IPFS ecosystem is identified by a hash, which forms the basis of the content addressing system. This hash defines the root of the object, and others can also be found along this path.

The most interesting thing about IPFS is the way it accesses the requested data. Whenever you request a file, the protocol looks for which nodes contain the desired data. It requests the file from the node closest to you without sending the request through a central server.

In short, the difference between IPFS and HTTP is that with HTTP you are requesting data at a specific location and with IPFS you are requesting the location of a specific file.

What about the BitTorrent file system?

TRON announced on June 30 that the BitTorrent File System (BTFS) has passed all internal tests and will be launched soon. BTFS will act as an important element in the BitTorrent stack for decentralized file storage.

Just like IPFS, BTFS is based on the original idea of ​​BitTorrent, where data is shared between peers (P2P). With BitTorrent Speed, users are encouraged to participate in the process of maintaining the network to encourage data distribution and reduce download times. Whenever a user helps seed data on the BitTorrent network, it will be paid for in BitTorrent Tokens (BTT).

In addition to supporting BitTorrent, BTFS will act as the main storage layer for TRON applications that require decentralized storage. This will help the TRON dApp ecosystem move forward as developers can store application state in BTFS and also use the new TRC-20 token standard released by TRON some time ago.

The official BTFS press release can be found here .

Reason for creating BTFS?

BitTorrent, the largest P2P network in the world, still depends on centralized distribution of torrent files. These torrent repositories are subject to security breaches, glitches, and censorship. There have been many cases of attacks on torrent hosting web servers, reducing the reliability of service. With decentralized torrent file storage using BTFS versioning properties, users will be able to securely access torrent files.

Traditional file storage systems have many inherent disadvantages, such as centralized trust issues, pervasive control by government agencies or organizations, the ability of governments to censor, high cost, possible blocking, and low fault tolerance. For example, Wikipedia has been blocked in Turkey since mid-2017, but with BTFS, websites can be hosted in a decentralized manner so that they are resistant to censorship and blocking.

Justin Sun's Vision for 2019

“BTFS is a consistent step in our mission to create a decentralized Internet that allows everyone to own a piece of the wealth of the web,” says Justin Sun.

“We are building a platform with BTFS, with BitTorrent Speed ​​integration and the BTT utility token, so users can quickly and privately interact with each other around the world without intermediaries or government intervention,” says Justin Sun.

The reason Justin Sun wants to cut out the middlemen is that 36% of all economic profits are generated by the 1% of companies with more than $1 billion in revenue. Using the TRON and BitTorrents ecosystem, he hopes to return some of these excess profits (from selling ads, collecting data, etc.) to users through the increased use of dApps (decentralized applications).

At the end of 2019, the BTT token will begin to integrate with the BTFS network as an incentive to create a healthy, fair and efficient file sharing and storage market. Additionally, a comprehensive set of tools will be launched, while the BTFS Accelerator will help build dozens of applications on BTFS (Q4 2019), positioning the BTFS community to be one of the largest and most active in the industry.

Currently, BitTorrent has an active user base of approximately 100 million users, as well as over 1,000 full TRON nodes. The launch of the main network is planned for public access only in the 3rd quarter of 2019. TRON hopes to leverage its dApps ecosystem with this launch and further expand its user base.

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