TRON and Ethereum are two cryptocurrencies that are often compared between one another in “VS” comparisons. But are these doing justice to the two crypto giants?
To give you a detailed comparison of TRON (TRX) and Ethereum (ETH), it’s important that we start with the parameters of comparison as well as what the coins are (and aren’t).
For the purpose of this article, we’ve focused on the following:
- Decentralization
- Network Security
- Transaction Speed
- Community Size
- Market Value
These 5 metrics give insight into the benefits of one coin over the other (i.e. which one you should invest more into!), together with a more technical comparison towards the end.
What is TRON (TRX)
As a decentralized network that aims to build a trusted ecosystem for content creators, TRON is focused on reducing the cost of accessing and publishing digital work.
Usually, content creators use centralized platforms to sell their work. In return, these intermediaries end up deducting a huge share of their revenue in the form of fees.
With TRON, creators are given access to clients who pay them directly. No platform fee is deducted and, as a result, it’s a win-win situation for both the creator and the client.
TRON was invented by a Chinese investor—Justin Sun—in 2016 using Ethereum’s ERC-20 token. They later ditched the protocol for an independent, native protocol in 2018.
The reason why TRON and Ethereum are often compared is that the former was created on top of Ethereum, with code allegedly being stolen from the former!
This has led to all kinds of trust issues in the TRON platform.
Sure, the technology is there, and it works… But, in many cases, management seems to be really focused on the founder’s success rather than improving the platform.
What is Ethereum (ETH)
A decentralized, open-source blockchain network featuring Smart Contracts, Ethereum is a platform for digital currency exchange and all forms of decentralized apps.
Ethereum’s global aim is to become the internet of the future, powering the Internet of Things in a decentralized manner.
Inspired by Bitcoin, Ethereum’s mainnet public blockchain was launched in 2015 and has continued to be a role model in the crypto industry.
The platform has grown to become the 2nd most popular crypto network after Bitcoin. In fact, Ethereum is home to over 2,990 dApps (here are some that we love).
Invented by Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum performs more transactions per second than BTC but a lot less than TRON. Its focus is on decentralization and security rather than speed.
Ethereum’s most infamous controversy was the DAO hack: a cyberattack that resulted in $50M USD worth of Ether being stolen from the network (then later retrieved).
TRON vs Ethereum: Key Differences
We’ve worked with and analyzed both digital coins long enough to settle the TRON vs Ethereum battle once and for all. Here are our 5 comparison metrics:
Comparison Metric 1: Decentralization
Decentralization is at the core of crypto. Tron and Ethereum are both decentralized blockchain networks that completely eliminate third-party involvement.
While Ethereum aims to create a worldwide decentralized network, TRON focuses on eliminating third-parties in the digital creators space (i.e. it’s more niche than ETH).
Despite both supporting development and deployment of decentralized applications, Ethereum has more dApps and nodes deployed on their network than TRON. More nodes and dApps on Ethereum mean that ETH is more decentralized than TRX.
At the time of writing, the total number of ETH nodes is 9155. In contrast, the total number of TRX nodes is just above 480, only 25 of which participate in transaction consensus.
Verdict: Ethereum wins the decentralization battle
Comparison Metric 2: Network Security
After the DAO hack scandal, Ethereum invested heavily in network security, making it one of the most hack-proof peer-to-peer networks live today.
The mainnet itself is extremely secure, with improvements made across the entire network since the incident to avoid any further breaches.
That can be said for Tron too, even though updates to their bug bounties program are scarce and there’s not much data around any of their breaches.
With both networks doing a good job at the mainnet level, the difference lies in how well their third-party dApps are being developed.
For each new dApp on either network, security always becomes a concern, therefore requiring strict guidelines for developers to follow:
- On the Ethereum side, the documentation is well laid-out, with clear guidelines on how to make your dApp as secure as possible.
- For Tron, we’ve only found a best practices document that doesn’t necessarily related to the development of decentralized apps.
It’s clear that Ethereum has worked more on their developer docs in regards to security, ensuring that all dApps are secured properly.
While hard to measure on paper, we can only assume that better developer documentation will lead to a more secure cryptocurrency network.
Verdict: Ethereum wins the battle on network security
Comparison Metric 3: Transaction Speed
The speed of transactions within the blockchain ecosystem varies depending on block time, its size, network traffic, and transaction fees. Being different networks today, TRON and Ethereum have a BIG difference in how long it takes to complete consensus.
In the world of financial services, the speed at which each transaction is completed is vital for the daily transactions happening across the globe that we’re all used to.
For companies whose aim is to become the future of decentralization and finance, this has to be put into high consideration to satisfy the needs of customers.
TRON employs an elective mode to increase transaction speed. Only 25 nodes perform transactions on the blockchain. The rest is used as a backup.
Currently, TRON’s transactions take up to 15 seconds, whereas Ethereum’s transactions take up to 6 minutes. However, Ethereum’s speed is set to increase after the release of Ethereum 2.0 which will use a proof-of-stake mechanism to reach transaction consensus.
Verdict: TRON wins the battle on transaction speeds
Comparison Metric 4: Community Support
The growth and adoption of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and TRON is highly-dependent on the support received from their respective communities.
An active and supportive community builds trust in the network. Both enthusiastic supporters and the developer community are vital for a decentralized network:
Enthusiastic Supporters
Ethereum has a little over 450K active followers on Reddit & Twitter while TRON has 7OK+ followers on Reddit and 490K + followers on Twitter.
This gives Ethereum a social rating of 23% compared to TRON’s 9.6%. Due to this, it’s clear that ETH wins the community support battle in the realm of supporters.
Developers
It’s essential to have a developer community in any blockchain network. A network is only as good as what’s been built on it and only developers can create these solutions.
Active developers are hard to find unless paid or motivated.
Ethereum has an average of 99 developers working on the core protocol and 216 building wallets, SDKs, websites, and other crypto software each month.
Instead, TRON has a little over 25 developers working on core protocol and 35+ working on other products. Clearly, Ethereum is a more mature platform development-wise.
Without a strong community backing up the networks, both TRON and Ethereum wouldn’t be as popular as they are today. However, Ethereum clearly has an edge on this.
Verdict: Ethereum wins community support battle
Comparison Metric 5: Market Value
If you’re interested in investing in crypto, you need to understand the size and worth of the blockchain network to analyse its trends and understand where the value lies.
As of 17th Nov 2020, TRON has a market cap of $1.77 Billion, while Ethereum tops at $53.32 Billion according to Cointelegraph. The cryptocurrency ecosystem is, however, a volatile economic space. The coin at the top can find itself at the bottom in a few months.
Verdict: Ethereum wins the market valuation battle
To get a more clear, summarized overview of the TRON vs Ethereum comparison, check out the following table and compare the benefits of each network below.
| TRON (TRX) | ETHEREUM (ETH) | |
| Decentralization (Nodes) | 450 (25 Active) | 9155 Active |
| Speed (Transactions per Seconds) | 2000 | 15 |
| Social Rating | 9.6% | 23% |
| Developer Community (Devs/Month) | 60+ | 315+ |
| Consensus Algorithm | Proof of Stake | Proof of Work |
| Market Capital | $1.77 Billion | $53.32 Billion |
The Benefits of TRON & Ethereum
While Ethereum is clearly the winner in most categories, there are reasons to use TRON over Ethereum depending on your use case. Here is a breakdown for both…
Benefits of TRON over Ethereum
- Transaction speed: as mentioned in our comparison, the transaction speed is much greater for TRON compared to Ethereum, making it a high-performing network.
- Scalability: TRX is more scalable than ETH. It has better processing speed and room for growth which is much needed for a decentralized network.
- Technology: Controversies aside, TRON’s technology is said to be more advanced than Ethereum’s varying consensus algorithm and currency.
- Content-focus: With a focus on empowering content creators like game developers and artists, TRON offers true value to their workflow.
Benefits of Ethereum over TRON
- Security: ETH is clearly more decentralized than TRX. There is no clear attack vector for hackers as they’d need to cover 3/4 of the network to breach it.
- Market capital: Ethereum owns a lion share on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Standing second after BTC, ETH offers better prospects for development.
- Smart contracts: Ethereum gives its users an opportunity to expand their apps by building and executing smart contracts on their network.
- Leader in Decentralized Finance: Also thanks to its smart contracts, ETH is the current leader in the DeFi ecosystem and growing at a rapid pace.
Even with all these points, it’s hard to make a firm decision between two cryptocurrency networks. It’s important to consider your use case.
Currently, TRON is more scalable than Ethereum.
Yet Ethereum is much more valuable…
Depending on your needs, you may choose to go with TRON over Ethereum. Our recommendation is to make a small investment in both ecosystems to choose which one suits you best—then go all in once you have a clear idea of which is great for you.
The Gold is in the Use Case
It’s easy to get lost in which blockchain network is best solely based on technical aspects. After all, blockchain technology is still pretty hard to understand for most folks.
Yet the “gold” is not in the technological details but rather in the use case (i.e. what you can do with the coins that you couldn’t previously do or that’s more convenient with them).
One of the big ways in which these two coins have helped an industry move forward is the online casino space. They are tremendous players in this ecosystem.
At Wolf.bet, we support both of them for our players.
And we love both in their own ways.
Having the flexibility to play games like Dice while choosing your preferred crypto is absolutely massive as it guarantees anonymity and quick gameplay.
Why not have a try yourself?
Frequently Asked Questions
At inception, Tron was built on top of Ethereum by using their ERC-20 token. However, Tron switched to its independent network in 2018, when the community was mature enough to justify the investment.
Even though Tron has some capabilities to expand into the DeFi world, Ethereum has proven itself a more reliable network time and time again, allowing it to capture most of the DeFi marketshare.
The biggest different is speed. Tron can do up to 2000 transactions per minute whereas Ethereum can only handle about 60. The avg. time for a TRX transaction is ~15 seconds compared to ETH’s 6 minutes.
While some popular people in the crypto sphere may have stated otherwise, it’s highly unlikely that Tron will ever overtake Ethereum due to its niche focus on content creation and entertainment.
