Tron Cryptocurrency: A Guide To Investing And Trading

TRON (TRX) is a cryptocurrency that entered the market in 2017 and quickly gained a lot of attention. It is a decentralized blockchain platform aimed at the content and entertainment space, seeking to eliminate middlemen and reduce costs for content creators. TRON has zero transaction fees and is capable of 2000 transactions per second, putting it on par with major payment processors such as PayPal. It is also one of the largest decentralized networks in the world. To invest in TRON, you can create an account on a crypto exchange like Binance, Coinbase, or Remitano, or use a crypto broker like eToro. You can also use a P2P platform like LocalBitcoins or a Bitcoin ATM.

How to buy Tron (TRX)

Tron (TRX) is a cryptocurrency that has gained recognition over the past year and become one of the leading cryptocurrencies by market, trading volume and popularity. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to buy Tron (TRX).

Step 1: Choose a Tron Wallet

Firstly, you will need to get a Tron wallet. Examples of Tron wallets include Ledger, Exodus, and TronWallet for mobile. TronWallet is recommended by the Tron Foundation and is a mobile wallet available for iOS and Android. It doesn't require any signup or login, is completely open-source, and is relatively easy to use. Ledger, on the other hand, is a hardware wallet that allows you to store your TRX securely offline. It’s a multi-currency wallet that’s compatible with over 1,000 different assets aside from Tron.

Step 2: Locate Your Tron Address

Once you have your wallet, you will need to get your Tron address. A Tron address is a long string of letters and numbers that starts with a T. Here’s an example: TYRRb6uWsn11cZEmwaTWk6wDEnNcTT88pD.

Step 3: Find a TRX Exchange

The easiest way to acquire TRX is through a trusted exchange like Binance, which offers the easiest and fastest crypto-to-crypto exchange from Ethereum, Bitcoin, or USDT to TRON. Another option is Kraken, one of the largest exchanges in the world for buying TRX.

Step 4: Buy TRX and Withdraw the Coins to Your Wallet

After buying your TRX on your chosen exchange, make sure to withdraw the TRX to the Tron address you obtained in Step 2. Storing your Tron tokens on a cryptocurrency exchange isn’t recommended because exchanges can be hacked or even shut down.

Tron's history

History of TRON

TRON (TRX) was founded in 2017 by the Singapore non-profit organisation, the TRON Foundation, with the goal of creating a scalable blockchain and virtual machine that would allow content creators to share and monetise their content. The TRON Foundation was established by Justin Sun, a pro-blockchain enthusiast and protégé of Alibaba founder, Jack Ma. Notably, prior to the introduction of TRON, Sun had already made a name for himself in the blockchain sector as Ripple’s chief representative in the greater China area.

In 2018, the TRON Foundation purchased BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file-sharing system, with the intent of using the existing system to facilitate faster content downloads and uploads. The same year, Sun pushed TRON into the top ten cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalisation, which gave the platform's developers the resources, experience, and motivation to launch their own blockchain. This allowed TRON to migrate the platform from ERC-20 tokens that reside on the Ethereum network to TRX tokens that utilise TRON’s native protocol.

TRON's launch was a big deal. The 2017 TRON Foundation ICO raised $70 million to further the development of the TRON ecosystem. During the event, investors received TRX tokens in exchange for their BTC or ETH. At the time of the sale, TRX tokens had a market value of just $0.0019.

The content creation and sharing model didn't attract the following its designer had hoped for, so the blockchain was redesigned for decentralised application development. The foundation and blockchain were fully decentralised in 2021 and turned over to the community. The foundation became Tron DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation), governed by its users using smart contracts.

In May 2024, Tron DAO announced that Google Cloud had joined its list of "super representatives," trusted network nodes that propose new blocks for the blockchain. These representatives are voted in by the network after paying 9,999 TRX to become a candidate.

Tron's ICO raise

TRON's launch was a significant event in the world of cryptocurrency. The TRON Foundation's ICO in 2017 raised an impressive $70 million to further develop the TRON ecosystem. This successful token sale played a pivotal role in establishing TRON as one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalisation.

During the ICO, investors exchanged their BTC or ETH for TRX tokens, which, at the time, had a market value of just $0.0019. These TRX tokens are utility tokens issued by the TRON Foundation and serve as a medium currency for all TRC-based tokens. They reside on the MainNet, facilitating seamless transactions across the blockchain.

The TRON Foundation's ICO was a strategic move to raise funds before China's ICO ban came into effect. The funds raised played a crucial role in the development and expansion of the TRON project, including the acquisition of BitTorrent, a software programme for storing and distributing data and electronic files over the web, which gave TRON an additional 180 million users.

In addition to the initial ICO, TRON also conducted an ICO for its BitTorrent tokens (BTT) in 2019. This ICO, conducted on the Binance Launchpad, sold almost 60 billion tokens in under 15 minutes, raising a total of $7 million. The demand for these tokens was described as "astronomical" by Binance's CEO.

Tron's consensus mechanism

In a PoS model, users stake their own cryptocurrency to validate transactions. The more coins staked, the more likely a user is to be chosen as the next "block validator". In this way, PoS incentivizes users to hold their coins and play an active role in maintaining the network.

A DPoS model, like the one used by Tron, is a more democratic and decentralized form of decision-making. In this system, users vote for "witnesses" or "bookkeepers" who play the role of block validators. The top witnesses are chosen to validate blocks and earn rewards in the form of newly minted coins.

The DPoS model works as follows: when the blockchain system starts to operate, a certain number of tokens are issued and distributed to nodes in the system. A node can then apply to become a witness candidate using a portion of the tokens. Any token-holding node can vote for these candidates. The votes are counted, and the top N candidate nodes with the most votes become witnesses for the following period. After this period, the votes are counted again to elect the new witnesses, and the cycle continues.

In Tron, there are 27 witnesses, also called super nodes or super representatives (SR). These super representatives are elected every six hours by the community of users staking their TRX. The entire process is run by a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO).

The DPoS model has some advantages over the PoW and PoS models. It is more energy-efficient because there is no need for miners to solve complex mathematical problems. It is also less susceptible to 51% attacks because it would be very expensive for an attacker to amass enough stake to gain control of the network.

However, the DPoS model has been criticized for being too complex and opaque, making it difficult for average users to understand. There are also concerns that it could lead to the creation of "whales" who control large amounts of voting power and could manipulate the system for their benefit.

Where to buy Tron

Tron (TRX) is available for purchase on several exchanges. Uphold is one of the top exchanges for residents of the United States and the United Kingdom, offering a wide range of cryptocurrencies. However, Uphold is prohibited in Germany and the Netherlands. Paybis is another option, offering services to residents from 180+ countries, including Canada, Europe, the UK, and the USA. Kraken, founded in 2011, is one of the most trusted names in the industry, with over 9,000,000 users and a quarterly trading volume of over $207 billion. The Kraken exchange offers trading access to over 190 countries, including Australia, Canada, Europe, and the USA (excluding New York and Washington state). For residents of India, WazirX is a good option, as it is part of the Binance Group, which ensures a high standard of quality. Remitano is another option, a peer-to-peer exchange that operates in more than 50 countries and provides market liquidity and escrow services to those wishing to trade cryptocurrencies globally.

Frequently asked questions