Last week the file sharing Bittorrent client that pays users for seeding and sharing bandwidth, Joystream, announced launching on the bitcoin cash (BCH) network. We decided to give the platform a test drive to show how to use the application that offers BCH incentives.
Also read: Lawsuit Challenges Google’s Ban on Crypto Ads in Russia
Joystream and Bitcoin Cash Mainnet
Joystream is a peer-to-peer application that uses bitcoin cash as an incentive for Bittorrent users that compensate each other for content within a distributed network. Originally the team started off with an attempt to use the bitcoin core (BTC) network but fees and transaction confirmation times became unreliable. On March 20 the application has launched on the Bitcoin Cash mainnet and is available for download in Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems (OS).
Experimenting With Joystream
Joystream & Bitcoin Cash
After downloading the appropriate platform for your OS and opening the software, users are greeted with a “terms of use” page, which asks the user to accept full responsibility when using the Joystream software. This would likely be due to seeders sharing copyrighted materials as there is no discretion to what you can or cannot download and upload. The platform also has an onboarding BCH faucet for users to test out the clients’ features and services. When I first opened the Joystream user interface, the faucet gave me $0.30 cents worth of BCH for purchasing files on the platform.
The interface is basically the same as any torrent engine that allows seeding and downloading all types of content. The difference is that you get a bitcoin cash wallet, and can earn small fractions of BCH by seeding material. You can also charge a fee for sharing rare material or other types of popular content. To start the experiment, Joystream gives you around five free torrent files so you can start downloading and seeding once the file is finished. There is also an upload section where a user can drag a downloaded torrent file or upload via a mirror.
The free content Joystream provides for testing.
I decided to go to my favorite torrent site and tapped a free ‘Kung-Fu Training Guide’ mirror. As soon as I did my computer asked me if I wanted to utilize Joystream for the upload process.
Joystream works with torrent mirrors, and the application will open as soon as you authorize it.
I initiated the process, and the upload began just like any other torrent engine. It shows the number of seeders and sellers in the download section and the revenue and the number of buyers in the upload section. If I wanted to sell the ‘Kung-Fu Training Guide’ book I could set any price I desired for seeding it to my peers. It’s likely that better content, or some exclusive material could be more valuable to Joystream users.
Joystream’s
