ON–274: Zoomed-in on TRON 🔬

📝 Editor’s Note:

Welcome to our sixth installment of Zoomed-in, an onchain deep dive series from OurNetwork. 

This week we're zooming in on TRON – a Layer 1 blockchain launched in 2018 which has quietly carved out a niche as a leading network for stablecoin transfers. With everyday utility often mocked as a pipe dream for crypto, TRON's usage stands out as evidence of non-speculative adoption. This is often overlooked due to regional biases, given that TRON's adoption is happening primarily outside the United States.

We are also happy to announce that Dune has recently integrated TRON. This gives our team, as well as the onchain data community, a whole new blockchain to decipher. In this issue, we bring data-driven commentary around Tron’s emerging use cases, user behavior, and applications using Dune’s data.

Let's zoom in on TRON.

• TRON's onchain data may come as a surprise — TRON's total value locked (TVL) has surged past $20B. Outside of DeFi, the major initiatives behind this figure are TRON's governance system, with nearly $6B staked, as well as JustCrypto, a cross-chain solution with $5B in TVL. Zooming in on DeFi, TRON ranks second across all blockchain networks, with roughly $8B in DeFi-based TVL. And in terms of wallets, there have been 2.62M+ daily active accounts on average over the past month, with this steady activity level demonstrating resilient demand, largely unaffected by market fluctuations.

• Of the active addresses in Q2, only 10% were created in that quarter, showing that those users are recurring participants on the network. There are 260M+ total user accounts on TRON as of September 2024.

• Driven by steady network activity, TRON generated $1.64B in revenue, derived from transaction fees, over the past year, including $218M in the last 30 days — TRON stands out as one of the few Layer 1 networks that has consistently remained deflationary, with an annualized inflation rate of -2.94% for the period from December 2019 through September 2024.

• Over 50% of Tether's total supply of over $119B circulates on TRON, making it the first blockchain to host a single stablecoin — USDT — valued at over $60B.

• As of September 2024 more than 90% of USDT transactions on TRON were worth less than $10k, and over 30% are below $100. These values suggest a significant portion of TRON-based USDT holders are retail users engaging in everyday transactions that are low-value and more frequent like remittances, micropayments, and peer-to-peer transfers.

• For TRON, the dominance of retail users and small transactions highlights its effectiveness as a scalable, secure, and low-cost blockchain for everyday financial activities. This user base drives sustained transaction flow, boosting liquidity and strengthening network resilience. In fact, the majority of sub-$10k transactions using USDT occur on TRON, showcasing the chain's unmatched utility in the real-world.

• In Q2, TRON averaged 6.3M daily transactions. For context, that's roughly six times what Ethereum's mainnet has averaged in 2024.

• In September 2024, users created roughly 200k+ new TRON wallets each day. The steady growth in daily new wallet creation highlights consistently strong network adoption and serves as further evidence of TRON's organic adoption.

• Oobit, Orbital, and UQUID — all consumer applications — are driving real-world adoption of TRON through key integrations that bring blockchain into everyday transactions. Oobit, a tap payment application, enable transactions with TRON-based cryptocurrencies at Visa and Mastercard merchants. Orbital, another payments platform focused on emerging markets, highlights that 98% of its stablecoin transactions, — primarily in USDT — occur on the TRON network. And UQUID, a banking platform, has further strengthens TRON’s real-world utility by allowing users in Argentina to top up their transportation cards with USDT on TRON. These collaborations showcase TRON's expanding role in powering practical, real-world financial solutions across the globe.

• Dune Dashboards:
  • Tron Network Overview by @tron_dao
  • Stablecoin Dashboard by @steakhouse
  • Tron User Data by @sliceanalytics 
• Wallet:
  • Tronlink
• Leading DeFi applications:
  • JustLend - Lending Protocol
  • JustStables - Stablecoin Lending
  • SUN - DEX
• Leading Consumer applications:
  • Oobit - Instant tap payments at existing Visa and Mastercard merchants, with TRON-based crypto converted to fiat currency in real-time.
  • Orbital - Corporate fintech services stack built on TRON-native stablecoins.
  • UQUID - A Web3 shopping platform which enables users to top up their SUBE public transport cards with USDT via the TRON blockchain.
• Broader ecosystem:
  • TRONNetwork
  • TRONDAO
  • Twitter
  • Telegram
  • Discord
  • Forum
  • TRONSCAN