By
Temitope Olatunji
April 18th, 2024
Those users who will pay with the BUSD stablecoin will get a 25% discount on BitTorrent or μTorrent Classic Pro membership.
BitTorrent, the world’s most popular torrent client, has announced support for Binance’s USD-backed stablecoin BUSD. It means that users of BitTorrent and μTorrent can now pay using the NYDFS-regulated asset, one of the world’s top stablecoins alongside the likes of Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), TrueUSD (TUSD) and DAI.
To further encourage BUSD use, users who pay with the stablecoin, will get 25% off BitTorrent or μTorrent Classic Pro membership. There are three paid versions of BitTorrent Classic Premium currently available, priced between $4.95 (Ad-Free) and $69.95 (Pro + VPN) per year. Pro features comprise advanced malware protection, an HD media player, file conversion, and comprehensive customer support.
The First Stablecoin on BitTorrent
BUSD joins five other cryptocurrencies supported by BitTorrent, and is the first stablecoin to be accepted on the platform. Before the integration of BUSD, which was achieved with the aid of CoinPayments.net, payment for subscriptions to BitTorrent could only be made using TRX, BTC, BTT and OKB. As per the agreement, Binance’s native token, BNB (BEP2), will also be supported on the file-sharing network, replacing the ERC20 iteration.
The announcement comes less than a month after travel company Travala announced that bookings could be made using BUSD and gives the token even greater utility. The stablecoin now boasts a market cap nearing the $185 million mark. With over 100 million active users each month, San Francisco-based BitTorrent provides torrent programs for desktop and mobile. It was acquired by the TRON Foundation for $140 million in 2018.
“We are pleased to accept BUSD as another digital payment option for Classic Pro for both BitTorrent and µTorrent users,” said TRON founder and BitTorrent CEO Justin Sun. “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.”
Stablecoin Market Maturing
Stablecoins, in particular those that are fiat-collateralized, have long held interest for investors due to their inherent price stability and redeemability. Earlier this month, USDC – a joint effort by Circle and Coinbase – achieved a $1 billion market cap, having broken the 500 million barrier back in December. As for top-ranked stablecoin Tether, its market cap is over $9 billion, making it the third-largest crypto asset currently in circulation.
Demand for stablecoins has been nourished by the growth of decentralized finance (defi), which describes a range of financial services accessible via trustless exchanges, liquidity protocols, and loan platforms.
The Internet of the Future
BitTorrent is on a mission to create a better internet, and recently launched the BitTorrent File System to bring this vision closer to reality. BTFS is essentially a scalable, distributed file storage protocol that uses a miner model to motivate users to provision their resources. Years in the making, BTFS beat its closest competitor, Filecoin’s IPFS, to launch and enjoys robust network effects thanks to its existing user base and integration into the burgeoning TRON ecosystem.