BitTorrent is Selling For $140M To Justin Sun and Tron (techcrunch.com) 46
BitTorrent, an early mover (and currently the largest player) in decentralised computing architecture to distribute and store data, is being sold for $140 million in cash to Justin Sun and his blockchain media startup Tron, TechCrunch has learned. From a report: Variety yesterday reported that a sale of the company to Sun closed last week, without naming a price, following rumors that circulated for at least a month that the two were in negotiations. Shareholders have now been sent the paperwork to sign off on the deal, and that has detailed the $140 million price. Some are, we understand, still disputing the terms, as more than one person claims to have made the introduction between Sun and BitTorrent. A source says it's unlikely that the disputes will actually kill the acquisition, given how long BitTorrent has been looking for a buyer. BitTorrent most recently said it has about 170 million users of its products.
Re: (Score:1)
"Treason," is not the word you're looking for.
It has two components that do not apply:
1.) No United States citizen has declared war on the United States.
The last time that happened was the Civil War.
2.) The United States has no list of enemies.
The last time that happened was WWII.
*The United States has, at times, considered a list of enemies, but the idea fell through because of the complications that arise in that it would nullify many treaties that the United States has with other countries.
Re: (Score:2)
Because they're not the currency of the present.
Seriously? (Score:4, Insightful)
Have the Slashdot editors been replaced with drunk monkeys?
Re: (Score:3)
Sounds like BitTorrent is about done for.
But who cares about a single adware-ridden client when you have so many better alternatives? It's not even the original client but something that company bought to replace its buggy and bloated old code, then proceed to mismaintain.
Re:Less than a buck a user? (Score:5, Insightful)
My response was more: Wait BitTorrent is a company? With actual Value??
Most of the torrent sites I'm on banned their client a long time ago for lots of good reasons.. I mean maybe 170M users worth of basic "I downloaded this" user data is technically worth "something" these days but I could think of so many better things to blow $140M on...
NothingOfValueWas..Bought.
Re: Less than a buck a user? (Score:1)
Yea I would have purchased some hookers and blow. At least with the blow I can sniff half and make my money back on the other half. The hookers...well, you sell them the blow in return for sex. It all works out in the end.
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Users don't even mean anything other than a gauge for house useful the tech is. You can use the protocol without ever touching any software or network this company owns or operates.
Re: (Score:2)
"How useful." The commenter was obviously posting from a mobile device, as how->house is consistent with what would be expected of an on-screen keyboard and autocorrect.
Re: (Score:2)
I posted from a desktop computer. I can only guess I got as far as "ho" and started thinking ahead to the word useful and got the "u" in there and then filled in the only word that came to mind that started with hou.
Re: (Score:2)
Is it really related to TRX?
Well, this thread got derailed.... (Score:3)
A buck per ... (Score:2)
... customer?
How cheap.
What is there to sell? (Score:3)
Re:What is there to sell? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Most normal people just type it as uTorrent, spelling visually.
More blockchain? (Score:2)
I know blockchain is a cool technology. Decentralised database with entirely untrusted nodes? Cool. But enough already! It's a niche idea, with very niche applications. I wouldn't trust any company that emphasises their use of blockchain. Blockchain should be a tool to support a real application, not an end in itsself.
Who the fuck is Justin Sun? (Score:1)
What has he done?
And why should I care that he is buying a company that created an open source protocol??
Re: (Score:2)
You shouldn't care about Justin Sun. You should care about the buying of bittorrent. It's just like if Mozilla was bought by person X. The fact that it's Mozilla is what's interesting.
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed. It's hard to stomach that such an interesting and important technology that really launched so much ancillary research and development will be in the hands of a single person who is known for plagiarizing ideas from another.
I really think that, despite the way that it is unfortunately associated with copyright violations, BT is a very valuable technology.
Justin Sun is doomed. (Score:1)
This is my opinion, nothing more.
Yes, that is one really bad clickbait subject, and, as you know, not my style but I have to say this, in full, to as many of you as can read and comprehend.
Go to his Linkedin.
Spend a minute researching what he lists as his kung-fu.
It is ALL BS.
This guy is an extremely photogenic shill master.
Very eloquent, very skilled, very good looking.
Hell, I'd flip that and I'm not even BI or gay.
But when comes to money?
FUCK NO.
STAY FAR AWAY from anything he is involved in!
Thank me later