What Is TRON（TRX）and How Does It Work?

2022-05-17, 23:22

Tron is a public blockchain seeking to become a core component of a decentralized internet. Their mainnet went live on May 31st.

To validate blocks and transactions, 27 Super Representatives rotate every six hours in the Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) mechanism used by Tron.

The TRON Virtual Machine (TVM) can be used to compile smart contracts written in Solidity. TRC-10 tokens are also supported on the network. TronGrid also offers full nodes in the cloud for developers to access.

BTT Token (BTT) and USD Tether (USDT) are some of the popular tokens supported by TRON. Since TRON was launched, it has become one of the most popular decentralized blockchains.

What is TRON (TRX)?

The Tron digital platform has its cryptocurrency, called Tronix or TRX, based on blockchain technology. The Tron Foundation, a Singapore-based nonprofit organization, founded in 2017, envisions Tron as a global entertainment platform that shares digital content effectively and cost-effectively.

Tron was initially only marketed in Asia, but it has gone global. Over 50 million accounts were active as of August 2021.

Tron is headquartered in Singapore and San Francisco and was founded by Justin Sun, the company's current CEO. The company's CEO is also one of the creators of BitTorrent, a file-sharing program.

Tron is a public blockchain developed for developers that offer the underlying infrastructure for creating smart contracts and decentralized applications, as well as a free publication, ownership, and storage of data. Unlike public blockchains (such as Bitcoin) that use a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, TRON employs the Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. TRON's features include the following:

The three-Tron architecture has three layers: the core, storage, and application layers.

TRON uses a DPoS algorithm to achieve a high TPS, which is more scalable than existing networks.

There are 27 Super Representative accounts in TRON, and each one generates and validates a block.

The Tron Virtual Machine (TVM) allows Ethereum developers to develop smart contracts on the TRON network using Solidity. Additional languages may also be supported in the future by the TRON project.

To create a truly decentralized internet, Tron has an ultimate mission of becoming the underlying architecture for decentralized applications. Some of its products are:

TronGrid:

TRON provides full nodes running in the cloud, allowing developers to work with the protocol without setting up a full node. The TRONGrid APIs make blockchain data (events, transactions, assets) accessible to developers. In the first two months of 2019, since TronGrid v2 was launched, there has been a steady increase in traffic and peaks caused by dApp launches, with an average of more than 12,000 requests per second and over 1 billion requests a day. With TronGrid v2, querying events has never taken longer than 100 milliseconds on average. As of April 17th, 2019, TronGrid v3 has been in the alpha testing phase and is expected to be released soon to the community with new features and improvements.

TronLink:

It is available on iOS and Android and is an extension for Chrome browsers. In addition to TRX, TRC-10 (e.g., BTT), TRC-20 tokens (USDT).

In the TRON network, TRX serves as the native asset. Examples of how TRX can be used include:

Service providers and merchants can receive payments for their services and goods on TRON.

Run native smart contracts for fees and commissions.

Delegating energy to run smart contracts or vote for Super Representatives by staking TRX.

TRON's key features

There are three layers in TRON's architecture: a core layer, a storage layer, and an application layer.

Core layer

The core layer is divided between smart contracts, account management, and consensus modules. The TRON platform implements a stack-based virtual machine and uses an optimized instruction set. Solidity was chosen for better support for DApp developers as the first smart-contract language, and further programming languages will be added in the future.

Storage layer

Block Storage and State Storage are the components of TRON's distributed storage protocol. The storage layer was designed to take advantage of the need for diversified data storage in the real world by introducing the notion of a graph database.

To store its blockchain, TRON has chosen LevelDB, a technology developed by Google and used by many companies and projects. This library supports various byte array functions, including singular get, put, and delete bi-directional sets and deletions and simple compression using Snappy.

In TRON, the full-node memory includes a KhaosDB that stores all the newly forked chains generated within a specified period, allowing witnesses to quickly switch from their active chains into the new main chains. Also, it can make blockchain storage more stable to prevent it from being abnormally terminated in an intermediate state.

Application layer

As TRON enables smart contracts and customized wallets to be created, developers can create a diverse range of dApps and wallets for the platform.

Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus algorithm

According to the TRON network's April 24th update, the network has over 1,200 nodes, with a block height exceeding 8 million. On average, there are around 2 million transactions per day. On top of that, there are over 2.6 million accounts on the blockchain. Moreover, 60 transactions per block are generated every 3 seconds and are rewarded with 32 TRX. For TRON's consensus mechanism, 27 Super Representatives (SRs) produce blocks using the Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) system. The top 27 SR candidates are voted upon every six hours by TRX account holders whose accounts have been frozen. In addition to voting for SRs based on projects sponsored by them to increase TRX adoption, voters may also choose SRs based on reward distributions. The TRON protocol generates a block every three seconds, with each block containing 32 TRX for Super Representatives. There will be 336,384,000 TRX annually awarded to the 27 SRs. The reward goes to a sub-account in the super ledger whenever an SR produces a block. While SRs can check their TRX tokens, they cannot directly use them. Instead, they can withdraw TRX rewards from their sub-accounts once a day, and the rewards will be transferred to the specified SR account. There are three types of nodes on the TRON network: Witness Nodes, Full Nodes, and Solidity Nodes.

Witness nodes are created by SRs and are primarily responsible for producing blocks and voting on proposals.

Full nodes provide APIs and transaction broadcasts.

Nodes in the Solidity network synchronize blocks from other full nodes and offer APIs that can be searched.

27 Super Representatives

Principles of operation

Each account on the TRON network has the chance to apply to become a Super Representative (SR). Anyone can also vote. In this case, the 27 top candidates will become SRs, with the right and obligation to generate blocks. Every six hours, votes are counted, and SRs are updated. However, a candidate for SR has to pay a fee to prevent malicious attacks. A maximum of 9,999 TRX will be burned from the applicant's account when they apply to become an SR. After the tokens are burned, the account is eligible to participate in the SR election.

Election process

All votes done in the TRON network are conducted with TRON Power, otherwise known as TP. The TRX tokens that the user stakes can be used to acquire TRON Power (TP).TP is based on the following formula: 1 TP = one TRX frozen to get bandwidth. Kindly note that every TRON account has the right to vote for its SRs. Users who unfreeze their assets after 3 days will not have any frozen assets and lose all their TP accordingly. Due to this, all current and future votes are invalid unless TRX is once again frozen to vote.Because the TRON network only records the most recent vote, each subsequent vote will invalidate all previous votes.

Creating proposals, voting on them, and withdrawing them

SR accounts can only propose changes in dynamic network parameters. SR's vote on proposals, and any member who fails to vote within 3 days of creation will be considered a veto. Proposals remain active for 3 days after they are created. During the 3-day voting window, you can change or retrieve your vote. By the end of the period, either the proposal progresses (19+ votes) or fails (and ends). The proposer can withdraw the proposal before its implementation.

Table 1 - System for approving proposals

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Table 2 - Mechanism for calculating vote rewards

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Table 3 - Block reward calculation system

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TRON Virtual Machine (TVM)

The TRON Virtual Machine (TVM) is a Turing-complete virtual machine developed by the TRON ecosystem.TVM is compatible with EVM, making porting Ethereum applications to TRON easy. While Ethereum's EVM operates on the principle of gas, TVM works on the principle of bandwidth rather than a fee structure. Instead of a transaction fee, TVM smart contracts are free to execute. Through bandwidth points, spam can be prevented, while contracts can be freely used. Soon, other VMs will be supported by the Tron Virtual Machine, as it is mainly compatible with Solidity. The Tron Virtual Machine implements a compiler that translates Solidity smart contracts into bytecode executable on Tron's virtual machine, much like Ethereum's EVM. In addition, TVM can access blockchain data and invoke External Data Interface using the Interoperation layer. You can find more information about the Tron Virtual Machine in its official documentation.

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How Tron works

With Tron, you can easily distribute files, images, videos, and other entertainment content in a decentralized fashion without worrying about media tech giants such as Netflix or YouTube getting in between.

To achieve this, Tron uses some of Ethereum's technology. Tron uses a virtual machine, the Tron Virtual Machine, similar to the Ethereum cryptocurrency. Virtual machines are computer programs that let network participants (called nodes) execute Tron-based smart contracts. A smart contract is an automated program that automatically executes itself when certain conditions are met. A smart contract, for example, will trigger when Bob sends 1 ETH to a certain wallet and sends him a loan for 2 ETH.

The TRX token is secured by delegated proof-of-stake, which requires token holders to deposit their TRX into a wallet and designate a delegate to do the validating on the blockchain on their behalf. As part of Tron's network, a rotating group of 27 representatives called "super representatives" verify new transaction data every six hours, and they are then added to the blockchain.

Tron's focus on decentralized file-sharing separates it from competitors such as YouTube.

The Tron architecture is divided into three layers to facilitate the decentralization of media and files:

At the core layer, we have the smart contract layer, the account management layer, and the delegated proof-of-stake layer.

File and other large data pieces are stored in the storage layer.

The application layer is where Tron developers can create decentralized applications on the blockchain.

Tron, a potential powerhouse

Tron was developed as a direct competition to the media industry, including companies like Amazon and Netflix. Their slogan is "Decentralize the Web," They aim to remove the corporate middleman from the media consumption process.The future success of cryptocurrencies depends at least in part on the quality of the software they provide to their users.

As with other Initial Coin Offerings ("ICOs"), cryptocurrency investment is highly risky and speculative. This article does not constitute a recommendation to invest in cryptocurrencies or other ICOs by gate.io or the writer. It is good to always consult with a qualified professional who understands your situation.

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Gate.io provides a platform for crypto traders to transact TRON (TRX). Here's a live chart from gate.io:

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Author: Gate.io Observer M. Olatunji
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* This article represents only the views of the observers and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
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