Coin Guide: TRON ($TRX)

TRON is a Layer-1 blockchain that uses the TRON Virtual Machine to support the creation and deployment of smart contracts.

The latter, in turn, enables the creation and deployment of smart contracts to create decentralized apps and protocols.

Notably, TRON has successfully transitioned from its original use case to become one of the industry’s largest stablecoin issuers, becoming the leading cross-border payments platform of choice in emerging markets, not to mention building out a thriving TRON ecosystem in its own right. 

This guide will give you the full scoop on TRON and its native token $TRX.

What is TRON?

TRON is an EVM-compatible L1 blockchain enabling developers to create smart contract-based dapps.

The initial concept behind TRON was to create a decentralized content creation platform that eliminated the need for intermediaries. The idea would be to decentralize how digital media was shared, delivered, and monetized, allowing content creators to interact directly with their followers. 

TRON started out as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, until transitioning to an entirely new blockchain. However, the initial vision behind TRON as a decentralized content creation and distribution platform didn’t catch on as expected.

This led the TRON braintrust to shift gears and transition towards becoming a Layer-1 blockchain with a strong emphasis on a superior UX, speed, and scalability. The gamble paid off. Currently, TRON has become a leading stablecoin issuer, with the circulating supply of stablecoins hitting an all-time high of $60 billion. 

Based on on-chain metrics, wallet addresses using stablecoins on TRON are at an all-time high, with the volume of P2P stablecoin transfers on TRON outperforming that of Ethereum by twice or thrice.

To date, TRON is facilitating more cross-border payments compared to DeFi activity, and hosting a growing ecosystem that has barely scratched the surface of its potential. 

A brief history of TRON

The TRON Foundation, headed and founded by Justin Sun, was founded in Singapore back in June 2017. The TRON Foundation issued TRON as an ERC-20 token under the ticker $TRX in August 2017, during which the project’s initial coin offering was launched. 

Justin Sun founded TRON Foundation in Singapore in June 2017 before creating TRON, the independent peer-to-peer network. ERC-20 TRX was launched in August 2017 as a placeholder token on Ethereum, during which the project’s ICO was held. The TRON testnet was launched in March 2018. Shortly thereafter, the ERC-20 TRX token was migrated to the TRON blockchain after the network went live with its mainnet in May 2018. Finally, the TRON Virtual Machine was launched on August 30th 2018, enabling smart contract functionality on the blockchain. 

TRON abandoned its initial content creation and distribution platform after failing to make waves, which led to the blockchain being redesigned to support decentralized application development. The TRON Foundation and blockchain were devolved to the community and fully decentralized in 2021, while $TRX transitioned to a deflationary tokenomics scheme in April that year. 

Since then, TRON has become a leading stablecoin issuer. The TRON ecosystem has grown by leaps and bounds, with meme coins, NFTs, blockchain gaming, and DeFi protocols launching throughout 2024. At its 2024 peak, the TRON meme coin sector reached a $600 million market cap—with a real shot at growing to $1 billion in the near future.

What are the key features of TRON? 

Here are some of TRON’s most prominent features:

• Low transaction fees. TRON’s major draw is its low transaction fees and fast speeds that make it an ideal platform for cross-border payments. Transaction fees cost less than 0.1 $TRX tokens, with some transactions even having their fees waived. 
• TRC-20 token standard. TRON uses the TRC-20 token standard, similar to Ethereum’s own ERC-20. The TRC-20 token standard allows projects to create and issue tokens on the TRON network for a variety of purposes.
• High transaction speeds. TRON can support up to 2,000 transactions per second, achieving a transaction finality of just under three seconds. That makes it better than older blockchains like Ethereum or Bitcoin.
• Delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism. TRON uses a DPoS consensus mechanism along with the Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT) consensus algorithm to secure the network.
• Smart contract-based DeFi protocols. $TRX is widely used among DeFi projects, such as decentralized exchanges, lending/borrowing platforms, and staking/yield farming protocols. This allows $TRX holders to earn passive income and access financial services/rewards within the broader TRON ecosystem. 
• Decentralized app development. Blockchain devs can build and deploy apps on TRON for a variety of use cases such as DeFi, social media, blockchain gaming, NFTs, meme coins, and much more.
• High interoperability for cross-chain operations. The TRON blockchain offers high interoperability with other blockchains, making it suitable for cross-chain asset transfers and interacting with dapps and DeFi protocols on other blockchain networks.

What are the use cases of TRON?

TRON has come a long way from its initial conception as a decentralized content creation and distribution platform. It is now better known as the leading stablecoin platform for cross-border payments, as well as becoming home to a variety of decentralized apps, DeFi, blockchain gaming, and NFTs. Here are some of TRON’s leading use cases:

• Stablecoins. TRON has successfully integrated DeFi into its use cases thanks to the strength and widespread use. To date, TRON is second only to Ethereum as largest stablecoin issuer, with TRON sitting at a $60 billion stablecoin capitalization. TRON’s widespread usage as a cross-border payments solution for both retail and institutional investors is proof positive of its stablecoin volume being a major economic driver in its adoption.
• Decentralized finance. Since its transition, TRON has hosted prominent DeFi protocols such as JustLend, SUN, JustStables, and JustMoney, all of which provide a suite of financial services within the TRON ecosystem. Thus far, TRON is also second only behind Ethereum in total locked value within the ecosystem, beating BSC, Polygon, and Arbitrum by a long shot. TRON also boasts the largest number of active users, outperforming Ethereum in this metric. 
• NFTs. TRON has also released its own version of the ERC-721 token standard called TRC-721 in March 2021, ushering in the blockchain’s entry into the NFT sector. TRON NFTs are stored on BitTorrent, acquired by TRON founder Justin Sun in 2020, and traded on a variety of NFT marketplaces such as the ApeNFT Market. 
• Meme coins. With its robust core infrastructure, low transaction costs, fast transaction speeds, and massive user base, TRON has become home to a wide array of new and exciting meme coin projects. As meme coins continue to appeal to global audiences as the first onboarding point for new crypto users, TRON is poised to capture a substantial share of that market. 
• Blockchain gaming. Ever since supporting smart contracts, TRON has opened the door to blockchain gaming. Smart contracts enable developers to deploy decentralized apps such as play-to-earn games that run automatically on the TRON blockchain.

How to store $TRX tokens?

As always, it’s important to use a secure and reliable crypto wallet to keep your $TRX tokens in. Here are some of the leading TRON wallet solutions out in the market right now:

• TronLink. TronLink is a TRON-native wallet allowing users to interact seamlessly within the TRON ecosystem. With 10 million users and counting, TronLink has established itself among the leading crypto wallets combining industry-grade security with multi-layer encryption. With TronLink, you can stake $TRX natively within the wallet, manage your NFTs, and access TRON dapps. 
• Klever Wallet. Klever Wallet isn’t just another wallet to store your $TRX in—it also prioritizes self-custody. Focused on TRON, Klever Wallet has since supported more cryptocurrencies and digital assets across different chains. You can also stake, swap, and interact with Klever Wallet.
• Trust Wallet. Trust Wallet is another wildly popular cross-chain crypto wallet linked to leading crypto exchange Binance. The wallet supports a wide array of cryptocurrencies and allows users to swap between chains directly from the wallet. Due to its versatility and Binance backing, Trust Wallet has been a popular choice for many new and experienced crypto users.

What dapps can you use with TRON?

Ever since TRON transitioned from its initial vision as an entertainment/gaming-focused blockchain, it has developed a thriving ecosystem featuring DeFi, blockchain gaming, and NFTs. Here are just some of the decentralized apps you can use on TRON:

• JustLend. JustLend is one of the leading lending and borrowing protocols on the TRON network. Lenders can engage in decentralized lending fully governed by smart contracts, while borrowers can avail of flash loans and look for the best deal that suits them. Lenders can also stake their $TRX or stablecoins for higher yield. 
• TronNRG. TronNRG is a decentralized app where users can lease out and provide energy or computing resources to the TRON community and earn passive income by swapping their $TRX for $NRG and depositing them into the protocol for yield. 
• Tron Ninja. Tron Ninja positions itself as the first GameFi protocol on TRON, cashing in on the play-to-earn hype that peaked during the 2021 bull run. With Tron Ninja, users can link their TronLink wallets to play arcade games and earn $TNT tokens while playing. 
• SocialSwap.io. SocialSwap is an automated market maker-based decentralized exchange on TRON enabling cross-chain swaps with ease. Users will be able to swap a variety of TRC-20 tokens, as well as wrapped Bitcoin and Ethereum on TRON. 
• Transit Swap. Transit Swap is another decentralized exchange on TRON enabling multi-chain swaps between different blockchains from the TRON network.

What are the future prospects of TRON?

TRON navigated a tricky transition from its initial conception as a content creation and distribution protocol to becoming a massively successful Layer-1 blockchain platform and cross-border payments platform.

With its high-throughput, high-performance architecture supporting smart contracts, cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, gaming, and NFT applications, TRON has positioned itself marvelously within the broader crypto ecosystem, becoming the tenth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap off the strength of its offerings. 

But it’s clear that the TRON community isn’t content with resting on its laurels—in fact, the TRON DAO continues to implement strategies and hit milestones to grow the ecosystem beyond its present portfolio.

For instance, in 2024, the TRON DAO recently implemented a Grants Program to promote the development of new protocols on TRON. This was followed by a $100 million AI development fund, as well as a TRON Grand Hackathon. 

Another major development expected to spur even further growth for TRON is its planned expansion to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Last Q1 2024, TRON Founder Justin Sun revealed plans that TRON is building a Bitcoin Layer-2 scalability solution.

This would allow the $1 trillion Bitcoin ecosystem to gain access to TRON’s massive stablecoin capital which is already sitting at a $60 billion market cap. If the TRON braintrust delivers, this could result in a substantial run for $TRX in the coming years. 

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