TorrentHound has voluntarily shut down after Torrentz.eu did the same back in August and KickassTorrents (KAT) was shut down on the United States government orders in July. In the wake of their shutdown, The Pirate Bay (TPB) and Extra Torrent have recorded an increase in traffic as users migrate to new sites for their torrent needs.
Initial rumors surrounding the closure of TorrentHound were similar to those of Torrentz.eu. However, latest investigations suggest that the shutdown of the former was because of a lack of interest on the part of its team amid declining traffic numbers.
"It's a combination of less traffic, less revenue and our bills piling up," an anonymous founder of TorrentHound told Torrent Freak. "Then add on constantly getting bugged by anti-piracy agents, just wasn't worth the headache anymore."
TorrentHound becomes the third website among the top 10 torrent sites to shut down this year, either voluntarily or by force. According to the latest rankings by Alexa, TPB and Extra Torrents are the biggest beneficiaries of the shutdowns.
Both TPB and Extra Torrent were already experiencing traffic surge since the demise of KAT and Torrentz.eu. With TorrentHound biting the dust, it should be an addition to the popularity of the remaining two alternatives.
TorrentHound was founded in 2007, and therefore, the site had been in operation for almost 10 years. The website enjoyed a relatively large base of users with its millions of visitors per month, although it never reached the status of giants like Torrentz.eu, The Pirate Bay (TPB), and KickassTorrents.
It seems like copyright holders had no problem finding TorrentHound. For several years, the website became the target of different industry complaints and it was blocked in a number of countries. However, TorrentHound remained online, until recently.
It is unlikely that TorrentHound was facing solid legal pressure since it is currently connecting several "not terrible" alternative torrent websites on its homepage. Its voluntary shut down raises the question as to whether the remaining torrent giants will follow suit.
TPB owner previously expressed their confidence that the website will not shut down. They believe that The Pirate Bay will continue operations for the next 20 or 30 years. Currently, TPB is hailed the "King of Torrents" after experiencing traffic surge following KAT and Torrentz.eu demise.
Here is footage to have a glimpse of the top 10 alternatives following the shutdown of KAT, Torrentz.eu, and TorrentHound: