Justin Sun’s Tron Revenue Sinks by Two Thirds later than Slashing Fees
Daily revenue for Tron’s block producers has plunged following a recent network fee reduction, according to a report from blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant.
Data shows that total daily fees collected by Tron’s Super Representatives — the entities responsible for validating transactions — fell to $5 million on Sept. 7, the lowest in over a year. That marks a 64% slide in just 10 days, down from $13.9 million the day before the change took effect.
For comparison, Tron’s daily fee revenue averaged between $10 million and $15 million throughout most of 2024, making the September decline one of the sharpest drops since the network’s launch in 2018.
The drop stems from Proposal #789, which lowered the energy unit price on the network from 210 sun to 100 sun. costs denominated in its smallest unit, sun — have fallen by about 60% since the adjustment went live on Aug. 29.
At , 100 sun equals 0.000001 TRX, and with TRX trading at around $0.12, the effective cost of a standard transaction is now less than a cent. That makes Tron significantly cheaper than ETH, where average transaction fees have ranged from $1 to $20 depending on network congestion.
Balancing growth and revenue
Community member GrothenDI, who submitted the proposal, argued the cut would make Tron more attractive to users and “ensure the sustainable and healthy development of the Tron ecosystem.” The backer estimated the move could unlock an additional 12 million transactions. One TRX equals one million sun.
Tron already processes more than 4.5 million daily transactions on average, according to Tronscan, compared with ETH’s roughly 1 million. If GrothenDI’s projection holds, Tron’s throughput could rise by more than 250% from its current baseline.
Despite the steep revenue decline, Tron continues to dominate transaction-based income among major layer-1 blockchains. Over the past 90 days, the network generated $1.1 billion in fees, capturing 92.8% of total L1 revenue, Token Terminal data shows. That puts it ahead of ETH, Solana, BNB Chain and Avalanche, even as its Super Representatives absorb lower earnings.
USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin, plays a central role in Tron’s fee dominance: more than 50% of Tether’s $118 billion supply circulates on Tron, driving constant demand for low-cost transfers. This makes Tron the primary settlement layer for stablecoins, especially in Asia and emerging markets where remittance costs are highly sensitive.
ETH remains the long-term leader, having generated $13 billion in fee revenue over the past five years, compared with $6.3 billion for Tron. Solana, by contrast, generated only $1.1 billion over the identical period, highlighting the scale gap between Tron/ETH and newer competitors.
The latest changes reflect an ongoing balancing act in blockchain design: lower fees can attract users and boost transaction volumes, but they also reduce Block confirmer income — a trade-off playing out in real time on Tron.
Some analysts warn that prolonged revenue compression could affect Super Representatives’ incentives, potentially if smaller operators exit. Others argue that over time, particularly if Tron consolidates its role as the dominant stablecoin rail.
