Super excited about the JoyStream Bittorrent client (http://joystream.co) that was released by Dr. Bedeho Mender today. It’s a hybrid of a Bitcoin wallet and a Bittorrent client.

Normally, when you start a Bittorrent download, you connect to peers and you start downloading pieces of the file. You get whatever pieces available from other users sharing parts or all of the file.

High demand files can take a while to download all the pieces, and in whatever order they are available.

Enter Joystream.

When you start downloading a torrent, you’re given a option to bid for the download. You select say 5 cents and set a 9 hour expiry on your offer.

Then, other users sharing that file, who are running the JoyStream client, can take you up on that offer and give you download priority based on your bid. Compared to thousands of users with no bid, the results are impressive.

Files with terrible Upload/Download ratios suddenly can be available - simply bid a few cents.

Enter Joystream Video Streaming Mode.

Now, you can even stream video effectively with torrents! Since you’re paying for pieces of the file, Joystream can specify which pieces it will pay for next.

This means you can easily stream any HD movie and Joystream will buffer exactly the pieces needed. And you can skip to any portion of the video at any time!

Truly great work and an exciting day for Bitcoin.