In the next 5 years, will TRON still be a leader in the cryptocurrency industry?

Author: Grapefruit, ChainCatcher
Editor: Marco, ChainCatcher

Since the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF on January 11, hundreds of billions of dollars in incremental funds have flowed into the Crypto world. Coupled with the approaching halving narrative and the long-term prosperity of the Ordinals ecosystem, these positive influences have propelled BTC prices to soar, breaking through the 2021 high (69,000 USD) and heading straight for 80,000 USD. The bullish trend in the crypto market has been thoroughly ignited.

During this period, the outstanding performance of the TRON network in terms of fee revenue has repeatedly set historical records. On March 5, DeFiLlama data showed that TRON's revenue reached 2.31 million USD, setting a new historical high and becoming the third highest-earning blockchain network after Ethereum and Bitcoin.

At the same time, core indicators such as the number of TRON network users, TVL, and transaction volume have also repeatedly broken historical records. As of March 7, the number of TRON accounts surpassed 216 million, and the daily active user count ranked first in the entire public chain market.

Behind the steady growth of "fundamental" data is the thriving ecosystem of TRON, active on-chain trading demand, and strong user growth.

In the past 365 days, TRON's network revenue reached 450 million USD, ranking third among all blockchain networks, only behind Ethereum (2.84 billion USD) and Bitcoin (710 million USD), and was rated by users as "the biggest winner in the crypto market."

The current prosperity and activity of the TRON network cannot be separated from the forward-looking decision made five years ago (2019) to support the issuance of TRC20-USDT. As of March 11, 2019, the circulating supply of USDT on the TRON network had exceeded 53.8 billion, with a market share of over 50%. In the past 30 days, the daily average transfer volume of USDT exceeded 15 billion USD, making it the largest stablecoin trading chain in the current crypto market.

TRON's achievements in the stablecoin sector are evident, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of its ecological landscape.

Three months ago, when the number of TRON accounts surpassed the 200 million milestone, founder Justin Sun stated that TRON is still in the early stages of development, with a future vision to serve 8 billion people globally. He also emphasized that continuing to increase the investment in stablecoins like USDT to solidify market position while attracting more developers, community users, and institutional investors into the TRON ecosystem is a key strategy for its sustained growth and success.

Currently, the value of crypto assets locked in DeFi applications on the TRON chain (TVL) has exceeded 10 billion USD, ranking second among all public chains, only behind Ethereum (55.6 billion USD).

In addition to stablecoins and the DeFi ecosystem, the TRON ecosystem is also actively laying out new tracks and seeking new growth points. The RWA product stUSDT, launched last year, has seen its locked amount exceed 1.3 billion USD in less than a year; in February this year, TRON announced the launch of a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution to enter the Bitcoin ecosystem, adding a new coordinate to its ecological landscape and unlocking new growth space in the trillion-dollar market.

Stablecoins Maintain Dominance, USDT Market Share Exceeds 50%

Since TRON supported the issuance of TRC20-USDT in 2019, it quickly captured the crypto market with its advantages of low fees and fast transaction speeds. The issuance of TRC20-USDT has seen explosive growth, surpassing its competitor Ethereum in just two years, and has maintained its dominant position for a long time. The TRC20-USDT contract contributes over 90% of the activity on the TRON network.

According to tronscan data, in the past 7 days, the TRC20-USDT contract was called over 14.3 million times, with over 2.9 million accounts making requests. The amount of TRX burned by the TRC20-USDT contract alone exceeded 88.61 million, equivalent to about 11.51 million USD, accounting for over 95% of the entire TRON ecosystem.

Stablecoins are not only an important bridge connecting fiat currency and the crypto world, but with the explosion of DeFi and the emergence of various on-chain applications, they have long become essential investment infrastructure tools. The fluctuations in their market capitalization have also become an important indicator for judging the bullish or bearish trends in the crypto market.

The increase or decrease in stablecoin market capitalization is often seen as a change in the overall money supply of the cryptocurrency market. An increase in market capitalization means more funds flowing into the cryptocurrency market, providing additional liquidity and facilitating trading activities across various chains.

In this round of rising prices, we have also seen an increase in stablecoin market capitalization. Since the beginning of 2024, the new market capitalization of USDT has exceeded 10 billion USD.

As USDT's market share continues to rise, TRC20-USDT is also experiencing a new round of explosive growth. Since 2024, nearly 5 billion USDT has been newly issued, including 1 billion USDT issued by Tether on the TRON network on February 24, and another 1 billion USDT issued on March 5.

According to DeFiLlama data, as of March 11, the market capitalization of stablecoins in the crypto market was 145.3 billion USD, with USDT's market capitalization at 102.2 billion USD, accounting for over 70% of the entire stablecoin market. The circulating supply of TRC20-USDT on the TRON network exceeded 53.8 billion, accounting for nearly 40% of the entire stablecoin market, with USDT's market share exceeding 50%, solidifying its status as the largest stablecoin circulation network.

Regardless of market conditions, the demand for stablecoin trading always exists. As the main infrastructure for stablecoins, TRON has the largest circulating supply of stablecoins globally. The market demand for USDT indirectly reflects the demand for the TRON network; the greater the demand for USDT, the more active the TRON network becomes.

According to tronscan data, in the past 30 days, the daily average transfer transaction volume of TRC-20 USDT exceeded 13.1 billion USD.

The monthly data report released by Coin98 shows that in February, TRON's on-chain transaction count, new account count, and daily active user count all performed impressively. Among them, the on-chain transaction count exceeded 129 million, the new account count approached 5.3 million, and the daily active user count exceeded 1.8 million, ranking first in the entire public chain market, far surpassing Bitcoin and Ethereum.

In addition, the activity of the TRON network also affects the supply of TRX. Since every on-chain operation burns a portion of TRX, the more active the network, the more TRX is burned. With the increase in TRON network transaction volume and account numbers, as well as the continuous expansion of the DApp ecosystem, the number of TRX burned in the TRON network will also increase.

According to tronscan, since October 2021, TRX has entered a deflationary state, with an annual growth rate of -2.98%, and the current supply of TRX is 87.9 billion.

In this regard, crypto user KK expressed surprise at the daily active user count of the TRON ecosystem, realizing that every time he transferred USDT, he was directly contributing to the TRON ecosystem, stating that TRON is simply winning effortlessly and is the biggest winner in the crypto market.

Continuously Deepening the Stablecoin Ecosystem, Aiming for a Market Value of 100 Billion USD

In its stablecoin layout, TRON has built a diversified stablecoin structure consisting of centralized stablecoins USDT, TUSD, USDC, and decentralized over-collateralized stablecoins USDJ and USDD. Through this diversified layout, TRON provides various stablecoin options for users with different needs and has established a more complete stablecoin system, reinforcing its leading position in the stablecoin field.

As of March 11, the total market capitalization of stablecoins on the TRON chain was approximately 55.8 billion USD, with nearly 40 million users holding them and over 2.5 million transactions in 24 hours.

The success in the stablecoin sector has not been achieved overnight; it is the result of TRON's continuous dedication. Founder Justin Sun has always placed great importance on the development of stablecoins and has publicly emphasized their significance in the crypto market multiple times.

As early as the end of 2020, when major public chains were hoping to promote on-chain ecological prosperity through DeFi applications, Justin Sun predicted that a relatively certain trend in the crypto asset field is that stablecoins, as payment networks, will have an increasing number of application scenarios, and stablecoin transfers will become a killer application in the cryptocurrency industry.

Additionally, he emphasized that stablecoins are a crucial part of the public chain ecosystem; without stablecoins, the public chain ecosystem is incomplete. Stablecoins not only preserve value and mitigate risks but also meet various investment and participation needs in ecological applications, becoming the largest and most critical traffic entry point in the industry.

In March last year, Justin Sun stated on his personal social media that TRON's development focus remains on stablecoins, setting a market capitalization target of 10 billion USD for TRON's stablecoins. During the "Outlook on the Future of Cryptocurrency in the Next Decade" dialogue at the Token 2049 event in Singapore last year, he stated that in the next decade, the most significant daily application scenario for cryptocurrencies and blockchain will still be stablecoin payment transactions.

Thanks to Justin Sun's forward-looking predictions and high emphasis, TRON has been rapidly advancing in the stablecoin field, leading the industry's progress. Today, the development of USDT and the excellent data of TRON's TRC20 confirm Justin Sun's predictions.

In addition to the founder's emphasis and persistence, TRON also has its own strategies for expanding its stablecoin presence.

Externally, it actively promotes cooperation with crypto trading platforms, facilitating funding channels and lowering the barriers for users to enter the crypto world, while continuously expanding partnerships with traditional enterprises to tap into market opportunities in traditional finance and broaden user application scenarios.

For instance, in January this year, TRON partnered with payment platform Pundi X to promote the use of cryptocurrencies in everyday consumption scenarios. The general manager of Pundi X stated that almost every crypto user in Turkey is using TRC20-USDT.

Internally, TRON continuously enhances products to improve user experience and builds a complete product system for stablecoin users, increasing their yield from holding stablecoins, including a suite of DeFi applications based on stablecoins, from deposits to loans to RWA.

In terms of enhancing stablecoin application scenarios and yields, TRON has launched products such as the "DeFi Suite" lending product JustLend, the stablecoin minting protocol JustStables, the cross-chain protocol Just Cryptos, and the DEX protocol SUN.io.

Additionally, in July last year, the TRON ecosystem launched the RWA-based product stUSDT, allowing users to invest USDT in short-term government bonds and other real-world assets to obtain higher yields. As of March 11, the value of USDT pledged in stUSDT has exceeded 1.3 billion USD, with a yield of 4.84%, ranking second in asset management scale in the RWA sector, only behind MakerDAO.

Through this comprehensive product system, TRON has not only attracted new users into the crypto world but also solved the problem of how to retain users on the platform.

From the perspective of the TRON public chain, the issuance of USDT will continuously increase the value carried by TRON, attracting more users into the TRON ecosystem, making on-chain transactions more frequent, and further solidifying the TRON ecosystem.

Currently, TRON's TVL has surpassed 25.7 billion USD, with the lending platform JustLend locking assets worth nearly 8.13 billion USD and the cross-chain protocol Just Cryptos having a TVL of 8.11 billion USD.

In terms of network revenue, in the past 365 days, TRON's network annual revenue reached 452 million USD, ranking third among all networks, only behind Ethereum (2.84 billion USD) and Bitcoin (710 million USD).

Through diversified layouts and continuous deepening of its related supporting ecosystem, TRON has formed its own moat advantage in the stablecoin sector, and the goal of reaching a market value of 100 billion USD is within reach.

Entering the Bitcoin Ecosystem to Tap into a Trillion-Dollar New Market

While steadily advancing its stablecoin business, TRON is also actively laying out new tracks and opening new battlefields. In February, TRON announced the launch of a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution to enter the Bitcoin ecosystem, which will open up new growth space worth trillions of dollars in the future.

Currently, Bitcoin has officially surpassed 70,000 USD, with its market capitalization soaring to 1.4 trillion USD, surpassing silver and ranking as the eighth largest asset globally.

Due to Bitcoin's lack of support for smart contracts, it has long existed merely as a value storage asset, with trillions of dollars in Bitcoin assets lying dormant in wallets or exchanges, unable to exert their liquid value.

However, with the development and prosperity of the Ordinals protocol and BRC20, Bitcoin, which was originally only a value storage and exchange medium, can now also serve as a venue for asset issuance, enriching the new asset types in the Bitcoin ecosystem, greatly expanding its use cases, and potentially unlocking trillions of dollars in dormant Bitcoin in wallets.

Since the Ordinals inscription craze, the Bitcoin ecosystem has attracted a large influx of funds, users, and developers. Faced with congestion on the Bitcoin chain and high Gas fees, this has provided an opportunity for the development of Bitcoin Layer 2, which is expected to bring innovative DeFi applications into the Bitcoin network.

Today, various Layer 2 solutions for Bitcoin are flourishing. In addition to well-known old projects like Stacks, RSK, Liquid, and RGB, there are also new players like BitVM and Merlin, as well as newcomers like Nervos, making the transition or entry into Bitcoin Layer 2 a new opportunity for both old and new projects.

Always at the forefront of trends in the crypto market, TRON's layout in Bitcoin Layer 2 seems to be expected by users.

According to public information, TRON's Bitcoin Layer 2 solution is implemented through a roadmap of three phases: α, β, and γ, which can be understood as a gradual process in three steps.

The α phase connects asset cross-chain interoperability between the Bitcoin network and the TRON network, with TRON DAO Ventures involved in Ordinals and Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions;

The β phase connects other Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystems and collaborates with multiple Bitcoin Layer 2 protocols to enable asset interoperability between the TRON network and major Bitcoin Layer 2s;

The γ phase integrates TRON, the cross-chain interoperability protocol BTTC, and the Layer 2 solution of the Bitcoin network to build a unified Bitcoin Layer 2 super hub.

Through the "α, β, γ three-phase strategy," TRON can not only facilitate the cross-chain flow of assets in the Bitcoin ecosystem and achieve value capture but also bring its existing user base of over 200 million and more than 55 billion USD in crypto assets into the Bitcoin ecosystem, injecting financial vitality into it. Meanwhile, TRON itself can siphon BTC and quality assets from within its ecosystem to achieve new growth worth trillions of dollars, opening up another new growth battlefield beyond stablecoins.

Five years ago, TRON made a wise decision to support the issuance of TRC20-USDT, which ultimately allowed it to carve out a unique path in the public chain market and achieve great success. If today's Bitcoin Layer 2 solution succeeds, it will become another new track with a trillion-dollar imagination space, just like stablecoins.

On March 4, Justin Sun announced on social media that the inscription market based on TRON, developed by the NFT market APENFT, is about to launch.

The Success Behind TRON

Looking back at TRON's past journey, it seems to have successfully captured every wave of crypto narratives. From the foresight of supporting USDT and laying out stablecoins five years ago, to the Just and Sun series products and the NFT market APENFT during the DeFi and NFT boom, and the launch of stUSDT under the RWA narrative last year, as well as the recent decision to enter the Bitcoin ecosystem, TRON has keenly grasped every rotating narrative, delivering products that have gained industry recognition and achieved good results.

TRON's past achievements stem from Justin Sun's accurate positioning of the crypto industry, enabling TRON to respond quickly and make the right choices when each wave of narrative arrives.

Justin Sun stated at the Korea Blockchain Week last year that he has been working in the industry for 11 years, and most of his friends have chosen to retire, but he still feels excited about new things in the industry, spending three hours a day understanding new projects and industry trends.

It is precisely because of his unwavering commitment to deepening the front lines, from public chain platforms and ecosystems to DeFi, stablecoins, NFTs, and RWA, that Justin Sun has been able to promote the industry's hotspots.

Whenever a new crypto narrative emerges, TRON opens new product attempts in new tracks. This bold leveraging of trends has created new opportunities, opened up new growth spaces, and expanded its ecological landscape.

Today, TRON has laid out in popular industry tracks such as stablecoins, DeFi, and RWA, with its ecological products achieving remarkable results in various sectors or sub-tracks, forming a positive rotation among products. Regardless of market conditions, TRON can steadily move upward.

TRON's current success is not accidental; it is the inevitable result.

As Justin Sun expressed in his message to HODLers who are steadfast in the crypto front lines in 2024: "In the crypto field, as long as you continue to learn, experiment, and iterate, you will surely achieve great success. Because Web3 is a place where new things emerge endlessly, and innovative gameplay is repeatedly iterated. Always stay 7*24 online; there are two opportunities a month and twenty-four opportunities a year, and you will always catch at least one. Never be afraid of failure, because one success is enough."

This statement is not only suitable for investors; TRON seems to be adopting the same strategy, completing its transformation through each product iteration and upgrade.