“These factors along with the key values of net neutrality, data liberation, blockchain flexibility, and experience of the TRON team make it one of the few true unicorns amidst a savanna clustered with rhinos”.

Created as a decentralized content sharing platform that leverages blockchain and peer-to-peer network technology, the Chinese/Singaporean token called “Tronix (TRX)” and brainchild of millennial Chinese entrepreneur Justin Sun, is positioned to transform the global entertainment industry currently valued at one trillion USD.

As referenced in their whitepaper [Link has now been removed], the Tron team are supporters of Sir Tim Berners-Lee (founder of the world wide web) and fuelled by a conviction that protocols, from the moment of their conception, are an asset for us as human beings, rather than a profit-making tool for sub-communities or organizations. In lieu of this, Justin has proposed a more comprehensive vision and use-case for this technology to serve as a decentralized version of the internet and with a specific focus on gaming and entertainment.

In essence, TRON aim to allows users to publish, store and own data freely. It also provides ownership and inherent control as per the direction, price, transparency, and distribution of their creative work essentially eliminating the need for intermediary platforms such as the Apple’s iTunes or App Store and Google Play. The current TRON team extends from Beijing to Seoul, Tokyo, San Francisco along with numerous other regions around the world and totals more than 100 people. The strong foundation of TRON is made up of innovative and experienced technologists previously employed by Chinese internet giants like Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu.

Key features of TRON:

There are several key features that either potential or existing investors should understand when it comes to TRX:

• Net Neutrality and Data liberation. Tron’s intention is a fully democratic web space in which every creator is in control of their content. This is the fundamental mission of Tron, as referenced in their Web 4.0 statement. We all have a stake in the web economy.
• Point-to-point transactions is another prominent feature – users and content creators can avoid centralized payment processors by using TRX.
• Blockchain flexibility – to enhance its utility and liquidity, TRON supports several blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Qtum, and EOS.
• Gaming currency exchange – TRON will allow gaming companies to issue game-specific currencies that can be freely traded with other game publishers via TRON protocols.
• Trust in gambling – TRON wants to add to the online gambling industry by creating a cross-platform system that provides authentication without going through centralized channels.

TRON Power (TP) and TRX:

• TRON Power: TRON users will be able to receive and acquire TRON Power by locking their TRX tokens away for a specific period. The longer users hold onto their TRX tokens, the more TRON Power they will receive. TRON Power holders will be able to enjoy greater privileges in the TRON ecosystem, inclusive to voting rights.
• TRON’S Native Currency: TRONIX (TRX) TRON’s own currency called Tronix (abbreviated TRX) is used by the platform to create a functional economic ecosystem. While the TRON ecosystem will eventually support different types of cryptocurrencies, TRX will be used for the conversion and circulation of currencies within the network. TRX is especially notable as it combines the transactional capabilities of both Bitcoin and the functionality of Ethereum.

How Does TRX Work?

TRON’s protocol has a native economic system that uses TRX to enable interactions between content creators and their supporters or network. By using TRON tokens, content creators such as artists, musicians.  won’t need to pay high mediary fees to centralized content platforms

Along with providing a free platform for content creators, another key focus of TRON is to provide its users with a social media network,  an alternative currency (TRX) for transactions, a payment platform, and an autonomous ecosystem. TRON plans to achieve these separate milestones in six phases commencing in 2017 and ending in 2023. We’ve elaborated briefly on each of these distinct phases below:

• Exodus – Exodus is a free platform that allows peer-to-peer distribution, storage, and uploading.  The Exodus platform will be designed as an entirely open and stable platform for publishing, storing, and disseminating data.
• Odyssey – Odyssey will be utilized as an attempt to incentivize early adopters to create and distribute content on the platform by using a proof-of-stake framework.
• Apollo – Apollo will allow content creators to distribute their own tokens and also offer the public an option for investment support of brand or companies created on the platform similar to that of current ICO models.
• Star Trek – Star Trek will function as a decentralized gaming and forecasting platform similar to “Augur” that allows anyone to build and release fully autonomous games freely.
• Eternity – Alongside creating and distributing games on TRON, developers will also be able to crowdfund game development and source investor support.

TRX Coin supply:

Unlike other cryptocurrencies, you are not able to mine TRX. At the time of writing, the circulating supply is 65,748,111,645 TRX with a market cap of USD 2,120,153,057 and a total supply of 99,000,000,000 TRX.

Who is Justin Sun?

As referenced by Forbes: Justin Sun is a Chinese entrepreneur,  notable for previously creating “Peiwo,” an application that has been likened to the Chinese equivalent of “snapchat” through matching and connecting users by analyzing 10-second voice samples and mutual interests.

The Peiwo app also provides a multitude of channels for users to meet like-minded friends such as online games, talent shows, and live streaming. Similar to the pairing function on tinder, Peiwo has since facilitated more than 4 billion matches to date.

In 2014 Justin Sun also became a Davos Global Shaper and was the former representative of Ripple XRP in China. At just 26 years old, Justin Sun was selected by globally revered tech pioneer and investor Jack Ma to study at the Jack Ma Hupan University for entrepreneurs which, according to numerous sources, has an acceptance rate lower than Princeton.

Justin is also the Chief Representative and Advisor at Ripple Labs (who are also close investors of Tron) and has featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.

Where can you buy TRX?

TRX can be purchased on a majority of the large crypto exchanges such as Huobi Pro, OkEx, and Binance for either ETH or BTC.

Where can you store TRX?

TRX is an ERC-20 token, which integrates with any hardware wallet that supports the Ethereum blockchain such as Ledger Nano S and Trezor. You can also store Tron using on MyEtherWallet (MEW).

Conclusion:

In the cryptocurrency industry, there are three main categories of technologies in which to invest.

The first is broadly synonymous with digital currency’s primary use-case and solves for exchanges of money and stores of value; the second relates to decentralized applications (dApps) built on the blockchain; and the third involves protocol level technologies such as Ethereum, NEO, ICON and in this instance TRX. On which these applications are developed and which relate to the infrastructural and architectural innovation of the industry because they provide the most utility to developers building the eco-system.

However, after all the ICO marketing campaigns and crowdfunded innovation that, as of 10 April 2018, has estimated to birth over 1565 coins, a few simple, often overlooked questions that we should also ask ourselves include; who is using it, why are they using it, and how easy would it be to replicate the proposed technology or service?

Moreover, nestled within today’s trailblazing, and at times nefarious melting pot of distributed ledger technology two main categories could be a relatively safe balance that provides clear answers to all the above questions and more. The first are protocols (because of the social value and market demand for developers) and the second is exchange tokens.

Why is this?  At the risk of generalizing, it is because these platforms serve as the primordial backbone of the industry. These factors along with the key values of net neutrality, data liberation, blockchain flexibility, and experience of the TRON team make it one of the few true unicorns amidst a savanna clustered with rhinos.