TRON answers our questions about Project Atlas

Earlier this year, TRON acquired BitTorrent and launched Project Atlas – a new initiative to decentralize the internet’s content using blockchain technology.

Next week, at Hard Fork Decentralized , TRON will host an event where they’ll discuss the future of peer-to-peer content distribution. You can now sign up to join them in London .

With just a week to go before their event, we sat down with them to learn more about the future of Project Atlas.

TNW: A few months back, TRON made headlines when it acquired BitTorrent for $126 million. Why BitTorrent and not another peer-to-peer technology provider?

TRON: Quite simply, we share the same vision. You’re seeing all kinds of content increasingly being walled off – whether it’s Netflix, Disney, YouTube, or whoever. Both BitTorrent and TRON believe the internet shouldn’t be controlled by centralized, for-profit companies and should be in the hands of the people across a global, borderless economy.

How did the acquisition come together, and what role does the acquisition play in TRON’s mission to take blockchain to the masses?

Prior to the acquisition, BitTorrent was looking for ways to incentivize its users. The opportunity to join forces with TRON arrived at the perfect time. Now, we’re combining an already successful peer-to-peer network with new blockchain technology to give content creators the freedom to distribute that content directly to users – eliminating middlemen who control what’s seen and how much they make from their content.

As part of Project Atlas, there are plans to migrate BitTorrent’s 100 million users to TRON’s network. Factoring in the notorious scalability issues associated with blockchain, how is TRON going to ensure that its network can handle 100 million users?

There’s really no limitations on the number of users or people in a blockchain community. If you’re asking about transaction processing speed that’s crucial to efficiency in the marketplace, tests have shown our TPS is far superior to most networks. With a technology that advances every day and constant investment in R&D, we are convinced our network will have the capacity to handle our current and future audience.

How is TRON going to ensure its network stays decentralized, while also welcoming millions of new users?

Decentralization is at the core of what TRON and BitTorrent are about. We have teams around the world who understand this is priority one, and who are working to maintain the same great standards both companies have been known for. On the technical side, we use Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) that allows users and superdelegates to engage (and not monitor) the community regardless of size so that it stays decentralized. We welcome more individuals and companies to join the network governance and together accelerate the decentralization of the internet. New programs like TRON Accelerator , a $1 million USD developer program, will also ensure that the network stays decentralized and open to innovation coming from the developer community.

What role will the native TRX token play in BitTorrent’s migration to the TRON network? What mechanisms have TRON prepared to ensure that users will benefit from using TRX along with BitTorrent?

The TRX token will be central to the integration of BitTorrent and TRON technology. We’ll be talking more about this in coming months, but as a teaser consider the idea that BitTorrent users will be incentivized to seed more content into the network, create an economy of goods and services within the network and, if they choose to, withdraw money out of the network.

Do you have your own questions about Project Atlas? Join their Hard Fork Decentralized event on December 12 in London, UK. Signs-ups are almost full, so be quick!

Don’t have a ticket yet? No problem – we’re offering a limited amount of free tickets just for this event.

Hope to see you there!

Google will let regulated businesses advertise cryptocurrency in US and Japan

The internet search Goliath that needs no introduction, Google, has just announced that it will loosen its grip on cryptocurrency advertising from next month.

In a recent policy update , the Mountain View tech firm revealed that it will allow some cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise. But only in the United States and Japan.

“The Google Ads policy on Financial products and services will be updated in October 2018 to allow regulated cryptocurrency exchanges to advertise in the United States and Japan,” the announcement reads.

In order to operate legally, advertisers will have to be certified with Google for the specific country where they plan to serve ads.

After the policy updates launch in October, digital asset exchanges will be able to apply for certification.

While the launch is pegged for sometime in October, there is no exact date at the moment. Google has not stated how it will roll out and enforce the policy.

The announcement states that Google will update the financial products and services pages when the policy comes into effect. So it would appear that we can expect full details in due course.

Google has been keen to regulate cryptocurrency across its platforms. A couple of months ago the Big G announced a ban on cryptocurrency mining apps on the Google Play Store.

If you’re interested in everything blockchain, chances are you’ll love Hard Fork Decentralized. Our blockchain and cryptocurrency event is coming up soon – join us to hear from experts about the industry’s future. Check it out!

Hello Big Brother: EU wants to manage your digital identity on the blockchain

Blockchain promised us freedom and liberation from centralized authorities like governments, but in the latest report from the EU Blockchain Forum (EUBF), the technology is starting to sound more like 1984 than ever before.

The EUBF’s latest report details that for blockchain to realize its potential within government institutions, they must focus on using the technology to build two things: digital identity systems, and digital versions of their national currencies.

“Digital identity is the fundamental building block and a key area for governments to focus on,” the report reads. “ Another important building block … is having digital versions of national currencies on the blockchain, for example through blockchain-based central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Government controlled digital identities

According to the report, digital identities should be a prerequisite before any future institutional blockchains are developed. The EUBF believes blockchain could provide a platform on which everyone has a “trusted” state-owned digital identity.

The EUBF furthers its argument for state-owned blockchains by implying that the government would be a better custodian of our online identities than centralized bodies like Google or Facebook, due to data breaches and hacks that they have witnessed. So take your pick, who would you want as the custodian of your digital identity, the government or Facebook?

While the report does state that the blockchain identity systems should be “user-controlled” and “self-sovereign,” it doesn’t change the fact your entire identity would be part a government system that could be used to track your every move online.

Indeed, just because a user has control over their data it doesn’t prevent the government, from tracking data requests and using that to surveil citizens. If the blockchain were public, anyone could view this information.

It also doesn’t make it immune to phishing, hacking, scams, fraud, or theft. The blockchain is often seen as a panacea for a swathe of modern problems, but it’s not always the most ideal solution.

Tokenized fiat currencies

If government owned digital identities exist along side government-backed tokenized fiat currencies, it would be very easy to attribute spending habits to an individual identity.

Furthermore, state-owned digital currencies would potentially be subject to the same manipulation as conventional fiat. Unlike Bitcoin, a state could in principle, just create more of it. It goes against the entire point of the technology.

Of course, this is mostly conjecture as the EUBF’s report is little more than a collection of recommendations for EU governments. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the EU commission. But the recommendations are stark; there clearly needs to be a deep and detailed discussion about how systems of this nature should be implemented.

The blockchain big brother

Any time that a government starts talking about blockchain for digital identity it starts to sound more 1984 than the libertarian utopia that Bitcoin and blockchain originally promised.

It all sounds eerily similar to David Chaum’s 1985 paper, “ Security without identification ” in which he predicted the “dossier society.” This state of society is reached as a result of the continual uploading and sharing of personal data online. Eventually, it allows all corners of our lives to be connected effectively ridding us of any anonymity or digital self-sovereignty.

Indeed, earlier this year the UK government talked of how it could use blockchain to provide a chronological record that allows for the reconstruction and examination of a sequence of events, that lead to a specific event. Depending on how it’s implemented, a government-owned could be the beginning of a digital big brother.