Tron Bought BitTorrent And Crypto Won't Stop Talking

The founder of a little-known cryptocurrency is making big waves.

First leaked last week, more details emerged Tuesday on how Justin Sun, the founder of a controversial cryptocurrency project called Tron (with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion), is acquiring the file-sharing service BitTorrent for as much as $140 million.

(A subsequent CoinDesk report pins that total at closer to $120 million).

If you just did a double-take, you're not alone.

A quick recap: Tron, the 10th-largest cryptocurrency in the world according to data published by CoinMarketCap, is in the midst of gearing up for its big software launch.

The project officially kicked off efforts in May to shift from the ethereum token it used for fundraising (in what's called a 'token swap') to new coins on a wholly independent blockchain, dubbed Odyssey 2.0. But the road to that point has been a tumultuous one, marked by allegations of plagiarism about its white paper.

As such, the acquisition was yet another opportunity for supporters and critics to spar.

Investors, you can guess, were more than ecstatic about the news.
For now, it seems Sun is content with staying tight-lipped about potential next steps for Tron as it relates to BitTorrent. (BitTorrent announced Tuesday that it doesn't plan to shift its services in light of the deal).

Still, it might be too early to tell just what's in store.