Tron (TRX), a crypto project that’s set to build “Web 4.0,” has recently seen the price of its token surge after reports suggesting its founder Justin Sun is in the final stages closing a deal to acquire BitTorrent, the company behind the popular torrent client uTorrent, surfaced.
According to TechCrunch, the company is being sold for $140 million in cash to Sun, a month after CryptoGlobe reported that the crypto project’s founder was working on said acquisition since Semptember 2017.
Reportedly, shareholders have recently been sent paperwork to sign off on the deal. Although some are said to be disputing its terms, TechCrunch’s sources claim these disputes won’t put an end to the acquisition, “given how long BitTorrent has been looking for a buyer.”
Neither Sun nor BitTorrent have publicly come forward about the acquisition, and as such it isn’t clear how the company’s platforms, which it claims to have over 170 million users, will be used. Speculators claim its peer-to-peer file sharing architecture will support Tron’s goals.
Some further added that BitTorrent may be used to help legitimize Tron, a move that’s seen as necessary after it was accused of plagiarizing FileCoin and Ethereum. The company’s platforms may also be used to mine tokens, thanks to its peer-to-peer architecture and large user base.
In response to news of the acquisition, Tron’s TRX token surged nearly 18 percent in the last 24-hour period, and is now trading at about $0.0496. Its market cap, considering the token’s total supply, is now close to the $5 billion mark.
Tron’s mission is to build a “truly decentralized internet and its infrastructure.” The TRX token itself is set to be used to pay for content on the network, according to reports. The cryptocurrency, which was born as an ERC-20 token, has recently launched its mainnet, which saw its value drop 5 percent after it failed to impress.
The coin, which was distributed through an initial coin offering (ICO), is currently migrating to its own blockchain. The process is expected to end by the end of this month. BitTorrent itself has been going downhill in the past few years, partly because of questionable management practices. Its large user base and P2P architecture are reportedly what Sun and Tron see in the company.
