What is TRON – cryptocurrency that is using the technology to offer a content distribution platform

Blockchain technology has often been compared to the internet with its transformative power and the ability to encompass a wide range of products. Yet, the main focus on the emerging technology has been put on financial transactions and cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange. Some of the major cryptocurrencies in the world serve this exact purpose and while there are others that enable smart contract functionality which allows users to virtually build any application on the platform, few among the major cryptocurrencies have such a strong focus as TRON. TRON, which is a decentralized blockchain project, targets a specific need for a decentralized platform for content distribution in the entertainment industry.

While consumers in the entertainment industry might not be directly aware of the inefficiencies associated with centralized platforms, content creators are all too conscious of the disadvantages of having middlemen in the industry. Music publishing platforms, as well as video entertainment websites and other forms of content distributors, charge high fees for their services. Because they are able to attract a large audience, they have a bargaining power with content creators who are the ones responsible for the product. Nevertheless, the bigger chunk of the revenues still goes to the platform operators. There have been many incidents of singers and video bloggers protesting these issues but up until the emergence of blockchain technology there hasn’t been a feasible way to deal with the issue. The blockchain technology, on the other hand, has often been lauded for its ability to eliminate the need of middlemen and thus increase efficiency. Imagine a platform where content creators are paid in full for the products that they create and the consumers aren’t charged additional commissions and fees other than what the creators value their products for. Connecting the creators and consumers directly in this manner is exactly what TRON aims to do. While this clarifies the motif of the platform, to truly understand what TRON is and how TRON works, one should understand the history of its creation as well as some technical specifications.

History and background of TRON explained briefly

“TRON is an ambitious project dedicated to the establishment of a truly decentralized Internet and its infrastructure,” – states TRON’s websites. TRON was founded by Justin Sun. It launched its open source protocol in December 2017 but before that, in July, the founders established the TRON Foundation, which is responsible for coming up with the concept of the platform and giving it its current direction. The network continued to develop and improve on its services. In March 2018, it launched TestNet and Blockchain Explorer as well as a Web Wallet. Two months later, TRON launched its MainNet and migrated all ERC-20 tokens that circulated on the Ethereum blockchain to the proprietary blockchain. This gave the platform more independence. In fact, the day is known in the community as the TRON Independence Day. TRON’s history wasn’t controversy-free, which could be said for almost any major cryptocurrency. The whitepaper of the project was found to use the source code from Filecoin and IFPS without the proper citations. The authors blamed the breach on the volunteering translators.

Technical specifications of TRON outlined

What TRON does is that it employs a specifically designed set of consensus mechanisms which enable it to circumvent some of the issues associated with the identification and personal credit in online transactions. These issues are crucial to enable a fully functioning platform where consumers can pay the content producers for the offered services. Furthermore, to facilitate the transactions the platform uses point-to-point transactions. This is different from the settlement structures used in traditional centralized services where users have to pay a fixed fee to access the contents of the creators. On the TRON platform, network acts as a host that makes sure the transactions are authentic. Other than that, the network doesn’t interfere with the dealings between the producers of the content and the consumers. This functionality is at the core of what TRON stands for.

Advantages of TRON explained in detail

One of the biggest advantages of the TRON network comes from its core functionality. TRON allows for free and uncontrolled content publishing that can encompass a wide array of products. These products could include images as well as audio and video content. Users of the platform can upload, save and distribute such products at their will. This process is completely user-friendly as the participants in the network can use this functionality from their mobile phones using the mobile terminal and wallet. User-friendliness is one of the crucial factors when a content distribution platform is concerned. The creators of content will tend to flock to the platforms that attract a larger user-base as such platforms could lead to higher income. User-friendliness is directly associated with the size of the user-base of a platform.

Safety is another big issue when content distribution platforms and blockchain services are concerned. As the content will have to be paid for, the users will have their finances on the line so they have to trust the network to keep their funds safe. How TRON operates, is that it uses the Lamport digital signature that allows it to withstand quantum computer attacks. In addition to these measures, TRON uses Security Sandbox mechanism which makes sure that the users operate within the limits. TRON uses Proof of Stake based on Fast Paxos algorithm, which means that most states in the network are consistent. This ensures high consistency which is another guarantee of safety. Besides safety, privacy is a priority for many users of such platforms. Naturally, blockchain technology has its ways of going about the issue. While blockchains are decentralized and open, it doesn’t mean that the users can’t hide the recipients’ address and the amount transferred which is exactly what TRON does. This way, the user data is compromised and no one will know who they paid and how much if they don’t wish so.

Scalability is a huge problem among blockchain networks. Scalability refers to the ability of a platform to handle an increasing number of transactions. As most such platforms are designed to allow for some form of transactions, scalability is one of the most central features. For example, Bitcoin has been criticized for its lack of scalability, which is why there have been several forks of the Bitcoin blockchain which have a better approach towards the issue. It is also one of the main reasons why Bitcoin hasn’t been adopted as a method of payment by many individuals and merchants. Scalability issues are associated with longer waiting times and higher fees. For content distribution platforms scalability is also very important. Some of the platforms that exist today see a huge traffic, which could overload many blockchain networks. TRON stores more information through sidechain expansion, like a contract certificate with legal effect. This way the scalability issues for the platform are reduced.

What is TRX – review of the cryptocurrency

Tronix or TRX is the native cryptocurrency of the TRON network. The main function of TRX is to serve as a means of transacting within the network. It will be used by the consumers on the platform to pay the content creators. The content creators will then be able to cash out on their earnings or pay for various blockchain services in turn with the earned funds. This makes TRX an indispensable part of the network. If the platform becomes widely adopted there will be a natural demand for the cryptocurrency so the investors now are guaranteed gains if they think the platform has chances to become more widespread. This is an important aspect of what TRX stands for. TRX is based on the ERC20 Ethereum Standard.

Another big part of the network which facilitates the use of TRX is the TRON Wallet. The website lists three things that are important for users to understand before starting to use it. “1.TRON wallets on all platforms are created by community developers and are only recommended on TRON’s official website. 2. If you have trouble using TRON wallet, please contact its developer through the corresponding github link. 3. Always remember that it is your responsibility to choose your wallet carefully and adopt good practices in order to protect your TRX,” – state the three points.

Introduction to TRX price and market capitalization

TRON was introduced in late 2017, which means that the cryptocurrency didn’t have much time of stability before the boom began and the prices started to pick up at astronomical rates. For a few months after the introduction, the price of the cryptocurrency fluctuated around the value of $0.002. There wasn’t much oscillation before December when the jump occurred. In a matter of days, the price of a single TRX coin increased from $0.002 to $0.3, which is a rate of growth heard of only in the realm of cryptocurrencies. The holders of TRX became more than 100 times rich virtually overnight. The market capitalization of the cryptocurrency at the peak was just under $20 billion when a few months ago it stood at only $20 million. Unfortunately, the peak didn’t last for long and the price dropped at a fast pace to about $0.04. Then, it started to vary with a slight increase in April 2018, but the negative momentum took over again. As of December 2018, the price stands at $0.011, which is still a huge increase over the starting price but nothing compared to the peak. The market capitalization of TRON as of December has dropped to just under $1 billion.

In conclusion, what TRON stands for, is the freedom of content publishers and consumers to reach each other without the middlemen raking in profits simply for facilitating the transactions. With the blockchain technology, there is no longer the need for such middlemen and the content publishers can be fully renumerated for their services. Consumers, on the other hand, will only have to pay the amount the creators value their products and no more. This way, TRON is using the advantages of blockchain technology to improve an aspect of modern society. If the platform becomes adopted for the use it was created for, there will be a natural demand for TRX, which is the native cryptocurrency of the network.