Blockchain is one of the most impactful technologies of recent times. It has single-handedly transformed various industries, including finance, health, and transportation. Blockchain technology first came into existence in 2009 when Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym. Bitcoin offered a simple version of blockchain technology in comparison to what we are going to look at now.
Today, we will go through the main technical difference between TRON, VeChain(VET), NEO, and Ethereum. All four of these blockchain technologies offer unique value. By learning the differences between them, you will be able to choose the right one for your project.
General Introduction
TRON is trying to build a truly decentralized internet. It is an operating system that comes with features such as high scalability, throughput, and availability. In short, TRON aims to decentralize the internet and make it easy for anyone to share digital content effectively in terms of cost. TRON is implemented in Java programming language.
VeChain(VET), on the other hand, is a blockchain platform that is specially created to improve supply chain management. VET also focuses on financial services and smart contracts, offering a reliable and scalable platform. It is implemented in multiple programming languages.
NEO can be described as a smart economy running on a blockchain. It consists of two major components, Digital Assets, and Digital Identities. It also supports smart contracts. In short, it can help digitize real-world assets and make blockchain more appealing to the masses. NEO is implemented in C# programming language.
Ethereum is one-step forward when compared to the blockchain used by Bitcoin. It allows developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) using smart contracts. This gives Ethereum flexibility and ingenuity to solve various kind of problems. It is a programmable blockchain platform implemented in C++, Go, Rust and Solidity.
Main Technical Differences between Tron, VET, NEO and Ethereum Blockchains
Now that we have a basic understanding of each of the blockchain platforms, we are ready to understand their technical differences. Let’s get started.
Table 1: TRON vs. VET vs. NEO vs. Ethereum
| Blockchain Technology/Criteria | TRON | VET | NEO | Ethereum |
| Founded | July 2017 | June 2015 | Feb 2014 | July 2015 |
| Forked From | Ethereum J | None | None | None |
| Implemented in | Java | Multiple programming languages | C# | Go, Rust, C++, Solidity |
| Targeted at | Decentralized Internet and its infrastructure | Internet of Things/Supply Chain Management Process | Smart Economy | dApps platform |
| Transaction Speed | 15 sec | 6 mins | 15 seconds | 6 minutes |
| Transactions per second | Up to 1500 trx per second | Up to 10,000 trx/second | 1,000 – 10,000 trx/second | 25 trx/second |
| Block Size Limit | – | None | Flexible – no limit | Gas limit per block – depends on contracts complexity that is being run |
| Programming languages Supported | Java, Scala, C++, Python, Go | Ethereum Solidity | Java, C#, Kotlin, Python,VN.NET and more! | Solidity |
| dApps support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Popular dApps example | 888Tron, TRONbet, TRXMarket | Sync, playDECENT, Lucky Airdrop | NEX, Moonlight, NeoAuth | Bancor, CryptoKitties, Aragon |
| Smart contracts support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Architecture | 3-layer architecture | 4-layer architecture | 3-layer architecture | 3-layer architecture |
| Core Components | Storage layer, core layer and application layer | TouchingPoints, Connection, Blockchain Core, Application and Services | Digital Assets, Digital Identity, Smart Contracts | Database, Code |
| Virtual Machine | Tron Virtual Machine | Ethereum Virtual Machine | NeoVM | Ethereum Virtual Machine |
| Features | Data liberation, Content ecosystem, Distributed digital assets | Vechain Thor(VET), VeThor Token(VTHO), Proof-of-Authority | Deterministic, Isolated, Terminable, | Decentralized, Cryptocurrency, Automatic, Open |
| Blockchain Storage | LevelDB, KhaosDB | NeoFS | Trie data structure | |
| Scalability | Scalable | Scalable | Highly scalable | Scalable |
| Consensus Algorithm | Delegated Proof of Stake(DPoS) | Proof of Authority | dBFT | Proof of Work |
Consensus Algorithm
At the core, each one of the blockchain platforms has its own consensus algorithm. TRON uses delegated Proof of Stake(DPoS), real-time voting for validating transactions. It is effective and ensures that no fraud takes place within the network.
VeChain, on the other hand, uses Proof of Authority Model. It is also an effective way to reach consensus. VET’s consensus algorithm is optimized and doesn’t require communication between nodes, which makes it an excellent pick for an enterprise solution.
NEO utilizes dBFT algorithm to reach consensus. dBFT stands for the Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerant. It combines the Delegated Proof-of-Stake(DPoS) and is effective at reaching consensus.
Ethereum currently uses Proof-of-Work(PoW) that requires nodes to solve complex mathematical equations. It is not an effective solution, and hence, Ethereum will move to Proof-of-Stake(PoS) in the future.
Summing-up: Apart from Ethereum, the consensus algorithm used by other blockchain platforms is modern and uniquely solves consensus within the network. However, we may soon see Ethereum move to PoS.
Transaction Speeds and Transactions per second
When it comes to transaction speed, both TRON and NEO perform exceptionally well. A single transaction on these two networks takes 15 seconds, whereas the transactions per second are 1500 trx/sec and 1000 trx/sec, respectively. The NEO platform theoretically is capable of reaching 10,000 trx/sec.
Ethereum and VET also share the same transaction speed of six-minute per transaction, which is on the higher side. However, VET can process up to 10,000 trx/sec compared to an Ethereum’s 25 trx/sec. Ethereum scalability issue is not new, and their team is working hard towards scaling the platform using different techniques, including off-chain transactions.
Summing-up: Even though Ethereum is slower compared to other blockchains, it offers great value to the developer. The transaction speeds are more than enough for most of the dApps to perform efficiently. TRON, NEO, and VET are theoretically faster, but in real-world usage, they do not perform that impressively.
dApps and Smart Contract support
All four blockchain solutions offer dApps and smart contracts support.
Programming languages Supported
When it comes to programming language support, NEO supports different programming languages, including Java, Kotlin, C#, Python, and so on. TRON also has excellent support of programming languages including Scala, Java, Python, and GO. VET and Ethereum, both utilize Solidity for developing smart contracts and dApps.
Solidity is a well-known programming language which makes Ethereum and VET a good choice for development. NEO and TRON are also an excellent pick to develop dApps.
Architecture
Ethereum, TRON, and NEO have a three-layer architecture. VeChain, on the other hand, uses a four-layer architecture.
The core components of TRON consist of the storage, core, and application layer.
The NEO system consists of NeoX, NEO contract, NeoFS, NeoQ, and more. NEO also relies heavily on the smart economy idea where it is divided into digital assets, digital identity, and smart contracts.
The four-layer technology stack of VeChain is impressive. It consists of TouchingPoints, Connection, Blockchain Core, and Applications & Services. However, it can be abstracted to two major layers, including the business abstract and the blockchain abstract layer.
Source: VeChain White Pape
All of the four blockchain solutions have their own Virtual Machine, which takes care of more intricate functionality, including transaction validation, consensus, speed, and so on. VeChain utilizes Ethereum Virtual Machine.
The database storage used by TRON, VeChain, NEO, and Ethereum are LevelDB, Chaos, NeoFS, and Trie data structure, respectively.
Direction and dApps
Each blockchain solves a particular purpose. This means that they are best suited to solve a specific set of problems.
NEO’s focus is to build a smart economy where it would become effortless to digitize real-world assets with the help of dApps, smart contracts, and digital identity. A few of the great dApp projects running on NEO blockchain include HashPuppies, NEO Health, Travala, and NeoLand.
Ethereum is a blockchain platform where developers can create dApps related to different use cases, including computing, health, decentralized exchanges, and so on. Examples of Ethereum dApps worth noticing include Maker, IDEX, and Crypto Kitties.
TRON aims to revolutionize the internet. It is an ambitious project. TRON already has some noticeable blockchain dApps running on the network including BitTorrent, TronWin, Love.Pet, and TRONBet.
Lastly, VeChain wants to thrive in supply chain management by building a distributed business ecosystem with a trust-free environment. A trust-free environment is an environment where there are no trust issues. That means, there is no need for self-trust or a third-party trust. It is also an ICO/dApp platform where developers can create dApps. VeVot, VeSCC, My Story, and VeVid are the most promising VET dApps out there.
What’s next? Things to know
- Only NEO comes with Quantum computer-proof, which makes it the hardest blockchain solution to be broken by raw computational power. It uses NeoQS to achieve a quantum safe state. Other cryptocurrencies or blockchain solutions are not quantum computer-proof.
- Out of the four blockchain platform, two platforms, NEO and Ethereum have their own crypto asset that acts as a fuel to validate transactions. For NEO, it is GAS. Ethereum, on the other hand, utilizes Ether to fuel network transactions.
Size of the developer ecosystem
Technically, you may find Ethereum lacking in multiple aspects including transaction speed, transactions per second, or even the use of consensus algorithm. However, when it comes to practical application, Ethereum is ahead of the curve. It is an advanced blockchain platform with the most number of dApps. This is because Ethereum has the most prominent developer community out there. In contrast, NEO, TRON, and VET are less appealing as their developer communities are still growing. This is a problem which needs to be addressed for the continuous growth of blockchain platforms. At Education Ecosystem helping to solve this problem by providing developers with a place where they can learn how to build real products and applications on these platforms.
Conclusion — Which one should you choose?
Choosing your “next” blockchain platform can be tricky. For starters, you need to figure out your current needs while keeping your future goals. If you are looking for the best possible dApp ecosystem, then you cannot go wrong with Ethereum or NEO. Both offer a great community with excellent documentation. NEO provides more flexibility when it comes to learning new blockchain technology as it allows for multiple programming language support. TRON and VET are also great platforms with huge communities backing them up. But, they lack adoption.
So, which blockchain framework are you going to use? Comment below and let us know.