Tron is a blockchain-based operating system that seeks to emulate the kind of functionality that platforms like Ethereum provide. It is decentralized, open-sourced, proof-of-stake-based, and has smart contract functionality. Its founder, Justin Sun, is a well-known entrepreneur and popular figure originally from Grenada. He has known ties to Jack Ma, China, Singapore and is the owner of Bittorrent.
TRX, the native token to the network, has famously been quite erratic. It reached a seriously high peak in late 2017 but has since struggled to emulate this success. It currently sits as the 27th largest coin/token on the market so does have room to grow.
This article will tell you everything you need to know about Tron, where you can buy it, how you can buy it, and advise if now is the time to buy in.
Best Way To Invest in Tron in 2023
Tron is a somewhat popular token in today’s market but certainly is best described as a fringe Altcoin with its recent market performance. For this reason, there are limited ways in which you can invest in it. Here are some of your best options:
What Is Tron - Quick Overview
Name and ticker Tron (TRX)
Date launched July 2018
Circulating supply | max supply: 101,810,000,000 | uncapped
Blockchain network Tron blockchain
Creators Justin Sun
Use-cases Credit card payments, WeChat compatibility, DeFi, dApps, DEX.
Social media Twitter | Telegram
What Is Tron – Explained
History
The Tron Foundation was founded by Justin Sun in 2017 in Singapore having raised around $70 million in its ICO. Tron originally evolved in stages, first with its testnet and as an ERC20 token before migrating over to its own peer-to-peer network in 2018. Shortly after this, Tron and Justin Sun acquired peer-to-peer file-sharing software BitTorrent which eventually led to the creation of the Genesis block and its resulting independence.
Tron founder Justin Sun has quite the reputation within the crypto space; famously, in June 2019 he bidded an astonishing $4.6 million to have lunch with Warren Buffet, only to then cancel and eventually have the meeting in 2020. He also had links to Chinese business giant Jack Ma and ended up being named in Forbes China 30 Under 30. Sun then resigned from his post as CEO of Tron in 2021 which has led to a fair amount of uncertainty surrounding the project - especially because this was midway through one of the token’s biggest slides on crypto markets.
Purpose
Some have often labeled Tron as an Ethereum clone, noting that really there aren’t many fundamental differences between the two platforms. Clearly, because of its roots and links to China and Singapore, it presented an option that was perhaps more viable and preferable for that part of the world. However, it soon became clear that this wasn’t going to be the case with China then cracking down on ICOs in 2019, and then cryptocurrencies in general shortly after.
Tron’s main attributes lie in its pricing mechanisms; it boasts zero transaction fees and supports around 2000 transactions per second. Sometimes this kind of model can attract Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks as networks can be easily flooded with high levels of transactions.
At its core, Tron has always sought to provide content creators with the independence to manage their own content, providing a means to bypass publishers.
Market History
The market history of Tron somewhat reflects the chaotic people that surround it. In little over a month, at the end of 2017, Tron famously surged from $0.003 all the way up to around $0.36. This peak was short-lived and soon plummeted all the way down to about $0.04 where it plateaued for about three months.
TRX never managed to really rally a high price per token after this and spent many years as a fringe coin that couldn’t manage to reach the highs it once had. However, this began to change in April 2021 when it managed to hold around a $0.13 average for a decent amount of time. The latest crypto crash has seen it plummet to around $0.05, in addition to the platform losing its longtime founder Justin Sun.
Today Tron sits as the 27th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, so clearly it has space to grow into, but the platform needs to find its place amongst the other big blockchains.
How To Buy Tron
To buy any token you will need an interface. There are a host of different options for you, but most will require you to verify your identity and create an account with some sort of platform. Here we have laid out your options.
You can buy TRX using any of the following platforms:
Brokerages:
TRX is available on a limited range of brokerages compared with other cryptocurrencies - however, it is supported by eToro.
Exchanges:
Almost all exchanges will list TRX because they offer a good range of variety and it's one of the popular tokens to trade on the market; exchanges provide slightly lower fees than most brokerages but can be more complicated.
Decentralized Exchanges (DEX):
These operate in the same way as a traditional exchange, but are unregulated and are not owned/operated by a singular entity. DEXs usually have a great range of coins for users to choose from as they are a key part of the blockchain metaverse and have almost no restrictions.
P2P:
Person-to-person exchanges offer great rates due to the lack of a middle man; it's best to think of this as swapping rather than trading.
How To Sell Tron
You can sell your TRX using any of the methods we have shown above under How To Buy Tron. Again, most platforms will require you to verify your identity and create an account; additionally, you will need to own the token directly or via a derivative.
With some platforms, like an exchange, you are able to transfer any holding of TRX you may already have to that platform and then sell it there. Whereas with something like eToro you will first need to buy TRX on the platform, and then also sell it there.
We advise that you first check the fees you may incur when transferring crypto assets from platform to platform as it can be quite costly.
Alternative Ways To Invest in Tron
As the crypto space merges with traditional financial products, we are seeing a notable expansion of the ways in which investors can own their assets. Tron is one of the top 30 largest cryptocurrencies, so there are some alternative avenues for the investment you can look into; however, it is somewhat limited compared to some other more popular coins/tokens. Here is a breakdown of some of the alternative ways you can invest in Tron:
Contracts For Difference
You can use brokerages to buy XLM CFDs; CFDs are a contract you agree to when you complete your purchase. They pay you rewards if the asset price rises or you incur losses if it goes down. You do not own or hold the asset with derivatives.
Exchange-traded Notes
ETNs are somewhat complex; they are types of unsecured debt securities that track an underlying index of securities. They are similar to bonds but do not include payments of periodic interest. You can trade ETNs on stock exchanges. There is now a VanEck Vectors TRON ETN that some will be able to interact with.
Trusts
Trusts are essentially a pot of managed assets of funds. They are legally managed by a legal entity that has the right to manage these assets for the benefit of a third party. Valkyrie now offers the Valkyrie Tron Trust to investors.
TRX is not currently available to buy in any of the following ways:
EFTs
Index Funds
Mutual Funds
Is It Safe To Invest in Tron Right Now?
The same especially applies to CFDs; 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
TRX is an interesting project. It clearly has a wide use-case that looks to emulate something similar to platforms like Ethereum but hasn’t really been able to secure meaningful traction. As the 27th largest cryptocurrency on the market today it clearly has a loyal following with holders that believe in the project. It is definitely worth noting that and taking into consideration that its founder, Justin Sun, has left the project and “left it to its holders”.
Many analysts predict TRX to slowly and steadily rise, but not by a very significant amount. But, with the direction of the platform now somewhat uncertain, perhaps there is room for growth in the platform.
