The History of Tron’s Development: From a Startup to One of the Largest Blockchain Platforms

 

With a market cap of $20.7 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of over $570 million as of February 12, 2025, TRON is in the top 10 crypto coins by market capitalization.

The numbers are impressive, aren’t they?

Let’s take a step back and discover how it all began.

Who Is Behind TRON’s Success?

At the core of TRON’s success is the business acumen and strong educational background of its founder – Justin Sun.

He attended three universities from 2009 to 2013: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Peking University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

As a young entrepreneur likes to say, he is inspired by the best. Thus, he attended Hupan School, founded by Jack Ma, Alibaba’s executive chairman. There he studied business processes and even wrote a thesis about decentralized internet.

A short time later, he became a member of Ripple Labs’s team.

An interesting fact is that Sun also developed an app to date strangers – Peiwo, which later was connected to TRON. Peiwo enables its users with the feature of self-fulfillment through a cryptocurrency system on the platform.

Justin Sun’s passion for innovation and the limitless potential of blockchain technology made him move on and found the blockchain company.

How Was TRON Created?

Blockchain TRON traces its origins back to June 2017 in Singapore, when a young entrepreneur Justin Sun created an independent P2P network – TRON. Its token was launched 2 months after helping to raise $70 million.

In March 2018, TRON launched its test net named Blockchain Explorer and Web Wallet. Two months later, in May, Mainnet was released.

TRON’s creation was caused by the idea of a platform for the development of decentralized applications. The transactions between users were meant to be carried out in its own cryptocurrency – TRX.

Now TRON is beyond its initial goals. It’s possible to integrate TRON payment into websites to make transactions faster and fees lower. And there’s an urgent reason to use the TRON blockchain. According to Coin98 Analytics, the daily number of network users reached 1.8 million in March 2014, making it the most popular blockchain. Today, the number reaches 2.4M.

How And When Can TRX be Used?

TRON with its native cryptocurrency TRX can be used across various sectors. Let’s have a look at examples of how you can use it.

#1 Smart Contracts and DApps

TRON powers smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) on the network. Many platforms in gaming and entertainment rely on TRX to run their decentralized systems.

#2 Staking and TRansitions

TRX holders can stake their coins to make a profit. Additionally, staking allows users to participate in governance. TRX holders can vote on important decisions regarding network upgrades and changes.

#3 Payments and Transactions

TRX can be used for online payments, similar to traditional digital currencies. Many companies accept TRX as a means of payment for goods and services. It offers a quick and low-cost payment solution. Adopting a crypto wallet for business can improve the process of accepting and managing TRX payments securely.

#4 Trading and Investment

Another option of TRX is that it can be traded on many exchanges. Many traders view TRX as a long-term investment due to its growth potential. The Binance technical analysis tool proves it – it’s estimated that TRX price will rise by up to 29% in 2030.

#5 Gaming and NFTs

Gaming and NFT markets are rapidly growing in the TRON blockchain. TRX is used to purchase in-game items or trade digital assets in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). Game players and collectors use TRX to buy these digital assets.

#6 DeFi and Yield Farming

TRX is widely used in DeFi. Users can lend and borrow funds using this cryptocurrency, and participate in yield farming. DeFi platforms on TRON make it easy to access financial services without intermediaries.

#7 Cross-border Transfer

Low transaction fees and fast processing time, typical to TRX, make it an excellent tool for cross-border payments. Traditional banking systems often come with high fees and delays, but TRX provides a faster and more affordable alternative for sending money across the globe. It takes only 3-5 seconds to conduct a transaction.

Being a multi-use cryptocurrency, TRX works well for payments, DApps, trading, DeFi, and whatnot. The possibilities continue to grow as the TRON network expands.