Investors guide to buying TRON in the UK
TRON (TRX) is a popular blockchain platform that intends to use its disruptive technology to reshape the world. However, the project is unique in that it has a grandiose vision of changing the entertainment arena and how payments flow in that industry. Creative content entertains us, but its distribution to the masses has always involved intermediaries that take what many consider to be an unfair cut of the proceeds. Major publishing houses, behemoths like HBO and Netflix, and producers in the music business stand between the artists and those that wish to enjoy their artistic contributions. TRON hopes to eliminate this perceived overhead with its approach.
Aspirations are one thing. Delivering the goods is quite another. For an initiative steeped in aggressively attacking the marketing industry model, TRON has often come under fire as being run by a bunch of hustlers whose words excite present progress. The stigma of blatant plagiarism in its initial whitepaper, which was corrected, persists today, throwing a pale over anything Justin Sun, its charismatic and vocal founder, announces in public. TRON, however, does have investor support and sports a market cap of $10.8bn. But over the past three years, it has slipped from being in the top 10 to 20th on the ranking hit parade. Can TRON make waves or will it drown?
Where to buy TRON
Why buy TRON?
TRON and its TRX token is one of the more intriguing cryptos in. It has a singular focus on the entertainment industry and promises to become a mainstay in how business is conducted in that arena going forward. Simply stated on its website, TRON “strives to construct a global free content entertainment system, utilizing blockchain technology. This protocol allows each user to freely publish, store, and own data”. Are Google, Facebook, HBO, Netflix, music producers, and major book publishers shaking in their boots? Not yet, but will they in the future?
TRON was launched with much fanfare in the fall of 2017 when its Initial Coin Offering raised $70m. TRX tokens are capped at 100 billion, but as of this writing, just under 72 billion are in circulation. The TRON Foundation holds the remaining 28 billion. When the TRON launch took place on the Ethereum platform, TRX was an ERC-20 token. It has since migrated to its Mainnet and TRX blockchain network.
The TRON platform architecture is also unique in that it is based on three tiers. The Storage layer is the guts of the block and content storage protocol. The Core layer host smart contracts, which use Javascript, although other more familiar languages are also being contemplated. Lastly, the Application layer is where developers can create proprietary smart contract apps and tokens, much like Ethereum. The intent is for content creators to own and control their product.
In January of 2018, an unfortunate scandal occurred when key portions of the TRON whitepaper appeared to be copies taken directly from Filecoin and IPFS project documentation. Despite the furore raised, Justin Sun, its young founder and popular spokesperson in the fledgeling crypto space, shrugged off the controversy, blaming the error on volunteers. Implicated English and Chinese versions of its whitepaper were quickly revised, and the TRON team moved on, but critics were quick to condemn the entire effort as mere marketing incompetence.
As TRON’s leader, Sun has a commanding presence in the crypto world. He has been recognised by Forbes as a key under 30 entrepreneur and influencer, has founded the mobile social app named Peiwo, and served as Ripple’s chief officer in China. His reputation has drawn a huge following and partnerships from the likes of Samsung.
Can TRON and Sun eliminate the middleman in the entertainment industry? Currently, the project is focusing on smart contracts and attracting users to its platform. Its team has laid out a five-step long-term plan, which it is gradually implementing, but as far as attacking the entertainment industry is concerned, progress is slight. Users are mainly in Asia, especially China. The TRON platform does support 1,400 dApps, 100,000 in daily active users, and over 16 million wallets. The hype is on growth, but whether TRON will achieve its long-term purpose is up in the air.
Step by step guide
According to the TRON network website, TRX is listed on over 130 of the world’s cryptocurrency exchanges. It is popular, and for this same reason, online brokers have also decided to list this controversial crypto. The eToro.com website can enable a TRX investment in five simple steps:
Step 1: In order to purchase TRON, you first need to open an account. The eToro process is easy. Have personal identity information at hand since regulations require the broker to secure this data from you. Press ‘Join Now’ when ready.
Step 2: Approval may take a minute. Your Desktop screen is your Command Centre. The next step is to deliver fiat currency to your account. Press ‘Deposit Funds’.
Step 3: The eToro site will give you several options, from bank transfer to other payment methods familiar in your local area. A credit/debit card option is depicted, but choose your favoured method and enter the amount you wish to transfer.
Step 4: Funds will soon appear in your portfolio. Once there, you may invest. Select ‘Trade Markets’, and then click the ‘Crypto’ designation at the top of the screen. You may need to scroll a bit to locate TRX. Press the ‘Buy’ button when ready.
Step 5: Your preliminary buy order will appear. Enter the amount you wish to invest and press ‘Open Trade’. The eToro website will do everything for you and will deposit your purchased units in your portfolio. It also will safeguard them in its wallet service unless you have a TRON wallet and wish to withdraw them to your personal wallet address.
Concluding remarks
Are TRON and its TRX token worthy of your consideration? If you believe in the ambitious pronouncements of its staff and young CEO and founder, then you might want to join its followers to wherever the project finally goes. TRON has its supporters, but there is also a cadre of very vocal critics that claim TRON is short-term fluff and could die with TRX values plummeting to zero. Justin Sun remains adamant that TRON will succeed, despite the negativity.
TRON has slipped in rank from the top 10 to 20th in the crypto rankings, but its market cap is still a respectable $10.8bn. Its TRX platform has had its problems, as have all blockchain platforms during their respective early learning curves, but the big bet on TRON is whether it can make a significant dent in the entertainment industry. Prices have recovered in 2021, rising from $0.0268 to $0.149. Of note, it rests at lower 55% than its all-time-high of $0.2316. Positive analyst forecasts see prices over $1 in five years while detractors predict zero. The risk of TRON is one of uncertainty.
