Peer-to-peer file sharing platform BitTorrent has been acquired by Justin Sun, the founder of blockchain startup Tron, according to Variety.
Justin Sun is a UPenn Alum and former chief representative of Bitcoin settlement’s platform Ripple in China. He is best known for TRON platform, which officially began its migration to an independent public blockchain on May 31st. According to the official website, TRON mainnet will officially become independent on June 25, 2018 Singapore time.
In an online post, BitTorrent has clarified that there would be no changes in its business model, adding there are no plans to enable cryptocurrency mining.
“We wish to reiterate that BitTorrent has no plans to change what we do or charge for the services we provide. We have no plans to enable mining of cryptocurrency now or in the future,” the post reads.
While TechCrunch reported that the acquisition will cost around $140 million, CoinDesk confirmed the acquisition from BitTorrent co-founder and former president Ashwin Navin who said that the actual acquisition cost was $120 million.
"The value of the deal is about $120 million. I think there are some numbers out in the public that were wrong, I think the value is lower than that," Navin told CoinDesk.