What is vTorrent?
vTorrent is a decentralized and peer2peer cryptocurrency of the BitTorent network. When the term ‘BitTorent’ is mentioned, people immediately associate it with movies and music piracy. However, it also serves as a decentralized and peer2peer protocol that offers many benefits for data transfer.
vTorrent is designed with a lightweight model to help users take the advantage of BitTorent features. The coin was launched in 2014 with the target of providing users with a reliable method of payment that is free from third-party seizures. To demonstrate how vTorrent work, it is important to take a closer look at the BitTorent system.
- How does BitTorent work?
BitTorrent is a communication protocol designed for peer2peer sharing of data and electronic files online. It is preferred for transferring large files such as videos and is estimated to account for more than 70% of internet traffic.
The BitTorrent protocol is used to help lower server and network impact when transferring large files. Instead of downloading the files from a single server, the BitTorrent protocol allows users to join a team of hosts to help upload/ download from them simultaneously.
Note that the idea of sharing does not always go well with governments and centralized companies that want to take control of specific data movement especially videos and music. This is why BitTorrent servers are regularly censored. However, their decentralized nature helps to keep the service available all the time. This is the concept that is used on vTorrent.
- A closer look at vTorrent performance in the market
When vTorrent entered into the market in December 2014, the value was $0.001. The value remained low until September 2016 when it started rising steadily. In October 2016, the value had risen marginally to reach $0.007. However, the poor show was about to change in 2017.
In January 2017, the value of vTorrent had risen to $0.02. This was approximately 1900% higher than the starting price. The positive growth continued and hit the first peak of $0.2 in June 2017. After a slight drop in August, the price continued on its bullish trend to the close of the year.
In January 13th, 2018, the value of vTorrent had risen to $1.36. This was about 137,800% growth from the starting price. It also marked the highest point in the vTorrent price history. However, the positive show did not last.
Immediately after hitting the peak in January 2018, the value of vTorrent took a downtrend that persisted for the rest of the year. By 2nd July 2018, the value of vTorrent had sunk to $0.1. Note that the coin exited the market in July 2018.
What is the problem that vTorrent solves?
The digital age has greatly changed the way people consume media. Unlike in the past when people would need to purchase compact discs to play at home, the model has changed to downloading and streaming. The new model is largely controlled by multinationals and, therefore, comes with a number of issues that have held the media and entertainment niche hostage. Here are some of the issues that vTorrent addresses.
- Poor availability of content such as videos because of high licensing charges
When artists produce content such as songs and videos, getting them to the targeted clients is never easy because of the high cost of licenses. The effect is that some artists are forced to drop their potential products or work with companies that can manage pay for licenses. The target of vTorrent is to provide artists and their fans with a direct method of accessing content without worrying about the licensing charges.
- The monopoly of video and music files in the entertainment industry
If you take a closer look at the entertainment industry, the most notable thing is the dominant multinational companies such as Spotify and Google. These are profit based companies that are created to optimize returns from selling videos and music.
The main problem with the multinationals is that they use all efforts to keep bulk of the profits at the expense of the artists. For example, Spotify has been accused of using oppressive algorithms when calculating artists’ revenue while Google makes a lot of profit from ads associated with artists using its platforms.
- High cost of sending value
If you want to send value using the traditional systems, the cost is very high. The main cause of the high costs is that banks and credit card companies are profit-based organizations. For example, banks have to run their branches from top cities which have very high cost of rent. They also have to charge high transaction fees to meet the cost of paying staff, compliance, and advertisements.
It is important to appreciate that using traditional financial organizations also causes a lot of delays because of the many procedures they have to follow. For example, a person sending funds is scrutinized to ensure that the banks comply with anti-money laundering rules.
- Slow download speeds especially for large files
When a high–demand file such as a song or video is released, requests from interested users can slow down the downloading speeds. The problem is caused by the fact that the file owners want to maintain control of the content and rarely allow other servers to render the files.
vTorrent targets to address the problem by ensuring that downloads can be effected from decentralized locations.
How does vTorrent solve the problem?
To address the above issues, BitTorrent employed a number of strategies including the following:
- The vTorrent operates as a completely decentralized system
Decentralization is the main method used by BitTorrent to address the issues outlined above. The platform operates as a completely decentralized system. This implies that it relies on a system of nodes to run all transactions on its network. For example, when a user interested in a specific video makes payment, it is taken up by miners who confirm he has ample funds and does not double spend.
By using the nodes on the vTorrent network, it implies that transactions do not have to rely on centralized organizations such as banks or credit card companies. This implies that there is no single point of failure. For example, if data is not available from one node, users can still access it from other nodes in the network.
- Use of proof of stake consensus model
To make the native vTorrent an effective token for the network, the development team opted for the proof of stake consensus protocol. This protocol requires nodes that want to help secure the network to own some stake in the system. In return, they get rewarded with 5% of the transaction fee collected at the end of every year.
Proof of stake comes with a number of advantages for the network. First, because the users are required to have some stake in the network, they are less likely to conspire to hurt the system. The protocol is, therefore, considered more secure than the proof of work consensus model.
Proof of stake at vTorrent is also considered a better option because it is not energy intensive. Unlike proof of work system that requires users to generate a lot of computing power, proof of stake only requires users to hold some stake. This means that more people can join and mine it with standard CPUs and GPUs.
- Unique paying and streaming feature
To help artists get direct revenue from their work without going through centralized companies, vTorrent network also has a unique Paid Streaming and Downloading (PSD) feature. The feature allows users to reward artists who create content and stay in touch with them.
The PSD feature also allows users to stream content and get entertainment without worrying about censorship. The entire vTorrent system helps to advance the BitTorrent system so to make content sharing easy and cheap.
What makes vTorrent better than it’s competitors?
When vTorrent was introduced into the market in 2014, the number of crypto coins and blockchain networks were few. However, the development team of vTorrent entered the market with a unique value proposition that won the interest of the community. Here are some of the things that make vTorrent better than competitors:
- The vTorrent is targeted at the rich entertainment niche
Just like the BitTorrent system, the vTorrent is projected at the entertainment niche. This makes it a highly sought after platform because almost all people want to access the latest songs and videos. This is one of the reasons why the vTorrent value rose steadily especially in 2016 and 2017.
- The vTorrent coin allows users to run transactions in total anonymity
As a payment system, vTorrent allows users to operate in total anonymity. Unlike the centralized financial systems such as banks, the vTorrent system does not disclose details of your transactions to third parties. All the user info is encrypted to ensure that only you have access to the personal account through the private keys.
- The vTorrent system is old and its features have been proven reliable
While the blockchain projects have become common in many industries, people remain skeptical about them until their system are proven to work. However, vTorrent platform has been in the market for more than four years and its structures have proven to work.
Many people like the idea of being able to access videos and music without worrying about licensing restrictions. Besides, vTorrent allows the artists to link directly with users so that most of the revenue reaches them as opposed to getting annexed by multinational media companies.
NOTE: Even with this approval, the community is still concerned about the vTorrent exit from the market in July 2018.
- It runs as a completely decentralized system
As a decentralized network, vTorrent network allows users to join and own the network. You only need to buy some stake in the vTorrent system to become its owner. This means that you can be called to vote when decisions about the network are being made.
- The vTorrent coin’s uses go beyond the entertainment niche
Though the main focus of the vTorrent is the entertainment niche, its applications extend to other niches. For example, the coin can be used to pay for goods and services in the market.
How can vTorrent be categorized?
VTorrent is an ambitious project that has been carefully designed to help redefine the entertainment industry. By helping to remove the centralized multinationals, artists are able to get bulk of the profit coming from the sale of their content.
The vTorrent network has also helped to promote the entertainment niche by ensuring that users can access the latest videos and music without worrying about third-party seizures. By linking the artists and their supporters/ consumers, the industry is expected to grow to the next level.
What is vTorrent’s vision on security?
The vTorrent’s vision on security is to become the most secure blockchain based platform for sharing large files. Here are some of the methods used to keep the platform secure:
- Advanced encryption that helps to prevent user info from access by third parties
- The vTorrent system uses proof of stake protocol that helps to ensure all the coins are evenly distributed to prevent the danger of 51% attack
- The development team is very active in reviewing the network to identify and clear threats targeted at the system
Examples of vTorrent’s use cases/ applications
Though the vTorrent is directed at the entertainment niche, the development team also ensured that even others outside the niche can use it. Here are some of the main use cases:
- vTorrent can be used to send value on a peer2peer basis
- The vTorrent network can be used to access and pay for music and videos
- The vTorrent coin can be traded in the market. Note that you will be required to join an exchange that lists the coins, open a trading account, and pair vTorrent with another coin such as Bitcoin.
- The vTorrent coins can be used as a store of value. For people interested in vTorrent coin, buying and storing in an appropriate wallet can help to store their value instead of saving in a bank.
- The vTorrent coins can be used to pay for services in stores that support them.
https://coincheckup.com/coins/vtorrent/analysis
https://coincheckup.com/coins/vtorrent/purpose
https://coincheckup.com/coins/vtorrent/markets
https://coincheckup.com/coins/vtorrent/resources
https://coincheckup.com/coins/vtorrent/charts