TRON (“TRX”) is a virtual currency that was created with the purpose of fueling a shift away from the centralized World Wide Web to a decentralized Internet, by removing intermediary control over entertainment currently enjoyed by the likes of Facebook, Google Play, and iTunes.
Unlike Bitcoin and other true cryptocurrencies, TRON was not created to provide an alternative to fiat currencies, but to deliver a payment system and platform for creators to publish and be compensated for their works that are published and stored on the TRON blockchain.
TRON coins are can be earned by creators who have published on the TRON blockchain or can be used as payment for published entertainment and other TRON platform services.
There are a finite number of TRON coins totaling 100 billion that was released at the time of launch, of which 34.2bn had been locked up by TRON Foundation until 2020.
TRON was created and released in 2017 by Justin Sun and the TRON network is run by non-profit TRON Foundation that is tasked with running the network with openness, fairness, and transparency.
TRON is a peer-to-peer, open source blockchain with a proof-of-stake protocol that supports TRON’s superior scalability, TRON’s network currently handling 2,000 transactions per second (“TPS”).
As TRON’s transaction verification is based on a proof-of-stake protocol, there is no actual mining of TRON coins.
The blockchain has been developed for smart contracts and decentralized applications (“dapps”) to enable TRON users to freely publish and earn from content, without having to depend upon intermediaries such as iTunes and Google Play.
TRON allows “dapps’ creators to launch their own currencies, called TRON 20 tokens, on the TRON network, with TRON coins acting as the bridge cryptocurrency between a TRON 20 token created on the TRON network and other cryptocurrencies and fiat money.
TRON’s platform is 3-layered and is divided into:
- Storage Layer: Distributed storage protocol consisting of block storage and state storage, designed to better meet the need for diversified data storage.
- Core Layer: Supports the smart contract module, account management module, and consensus module
- Application Layer: Supports the creation and release of “dapps”, in addition to the creation and issuance of tokens.
The proof-of-stake protocol involves TRON coin holders locking their coins for a period of time, the longer the coins are locked away, the greater the benefits received on the TRON network, including voting rights. The concept is called TRON Power, the longer coins are locked away, the more TRON power received.
Some distinct differences and characteristics of TRON include:
- There are no physical TRON coins, only virtual.
- There are a finite number of TRON coins and there is no mining.
- The very nature of TRON’s decentralized blockchain means that the platform runs 24-hours a day, with no downtime.
- Coin holders vote for nodes, where nodes are elected and become “witnesses”, who produce valid blocks and are rewarded accordingly.
