Introducing TON: A High-Performance Blockchain for Telegram's Web3 Ecosystem

Modified on Tue, 23 Sep at 6:38 PM

TON (Toncoin) has gained significant recognition among cryptocurrency enthusiasts as a digital currency and a core component of The Open Network (TON) ecosystem. Originally developed by the team behind the Telegram messaging app, the project encountered regulatory challenges before transitioning to the Ton Foundation. This journey serves as a testament to the resilience of its system and the ever-evolving nature of its technology.

This article delves into the technology and applications of Toncoin, providing a comprehensive overview of its use cases within the blockchain world.

What is TON (Toncoin)?

Toncoin (TON) is the native token of the TON (The Open Network) blockchain. Initially developed by the Telegram team, the project faced regulatory challenges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2020, forcing Telegram to distance itself from its blockchain endeavors.

Subsequently, the Ton Foundation took over the development, aiming to create a fast, cost-effective blockchain capable of supporting smart contracts.

Following the revival of the project and Telegram's departure, developers unaffiliated with Telegram assumed control of the ton.org domain and code repository in 2021. They established the Ton Foundation to continue the project's vision. As a result, the token was rebranded from Toncoin to The Open Network (TON), marking a new beginning.

Under the guidance of the TON Foundation, Toncoin's testnet was successfully upgraded to a mainnet by the TON community, marking its official launch. Toncoin, the native token, initially operated on a Proof-of-Work Giver smart contracts consensus mechanism during the testnet phase, before transitioning to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), demonstrating the project's commitment to decentralization and community involvement.

Architecture of TON — 1 masterchain, heterogeneous workchains, and homogeneous shardchains. – Source Coinmonks

The Open Network is a decentralized platform and internet protocol composed of several components, including the TON Blockchain, TON DNS, TON Storage, and TON Sites. The TON Blockchain serves as the core protocol, connecting the various infrastructure elements within the TON ecosystem.

TON aims to achieve cross-chain interoperability while maintaining a high level of security. It is designed to process millions of transactions per second (TPS) to accommodate hundreds of millions of users.

The TON Blockchain is designed to be a decentralized supercomputer or "super server" aimed at providing a wide range of products and services, fostering participation in the development of a decentralized internet.

Additionally, the TON Wallet enables Telegram users to transfer cryptocurrency fee-free to other Telegram users and serves as the primary way for users to interact within the Telegram application. TON Storage, TON Proxy (A decentralized VPN service), and TON DNS, or Ton naming system, function similarly to creating domain names for connecting with other digital currencies. They offer using ".ton" as a human-readable naming scheme for smart contract accounts or nodes on the network, simplifying the process of accessing decentralized applications. Users can employ short and simple domain names instead of long strings of characters and numbers, and these domain names can also be linked to wallet addresses.

TON DApps provides a platform for developers to create and deploy dApps. The combination of the TON Virtual Machine (TVM), scalable infrastructure, and a large user base creates opportunities for innovation, such as developing dApps for DeFi, building blockchain games, and creating decentralized social media to promote user privacy and data ownership.

The visuals showcasing a variety of services available on the TON (The Open Network) ecosystem. - Source: ton.org

Who’s Behind Toncoin?

The Telegram Open Network (TON) was initially founded by the Durov brothers, Pavel and Nikolai, who are renowned for creating the messaging app Telegram. However, due to regulatory challenges at the time, Telegram was forced to abandon the blockchain project in 2020. Subsequently, the open-source TON project was revived and taken over by a group of independent developers who were not affiliated with Telegram. These developers initiated and drove the creation of the network, continuing and developing the original TON without direct involvement from the Durov brothers or the Telegram company.

What is TON used for?

TON tokens serve several crucial functions on the TON blockchain:

Transaction Fees: TON is used to pay transaction fees on the TON blockchain, including cross-chain transaction fees. Network users are required to pay in TON to execute transactions, similar to how Ethereum users pay transaction fees in ETH.
Storage and Naming Fees: TON is used to pay for data storage on the TON blockchain and for domain names within the network.
Governance Token: Token holders can participate in governance by voting on network development proposals.
Staking: TON holders can stake their tokens to become validators and secure the network, similar to other Proof-of-Stake networks.

How is Ton (Toncoin) related to Telegram?

One of the most interesting features of TON is its seamless integration with the Telegram application. The goal is to bring blockchain technology to millions of users, facilitating the adoption of digital currencies and decentralized services in everyday life. Examples include:

In-app payments: Users can send and receive Toncoin directly within the Telegram application, making digital asset transactions more convenient.
Bot payments: Telegram bots can utilize Telegram Stars (Paid for with Toncoin) for various services such as subscriptions, e-commerce, and content monetization.
Microtransactions: TON enables microtransactions, allowing users to make in-app or in-game purchases, tip content creators, buy goods, or support charitable causes.

Telegram Integrates Toncoin (TON) Payments Source: ton.org

How TON and Telegram Are Revolutionizing the Gaming Industry

High-Throughput, Low-Cost Transactions: TON's scalable architecture enables a high volume of transactions per second (TPS), making it ideal for games with a large player base and real-time interactions. Moreover, its low transaction fees facilitate in-game purchases, asset exchanges, and other player-driven activities.
Enhanced Security and Decentralization: TON's decentralized ledger ensures transparency and protection against tampering. Its robust security measures safeguard assets and transactions from unauthorized access.
Leveraging Telegram's User Base: With over 800 million users, Telegram provides a vast potential audience for TON-based games. This integration fosters a thriving gaming community and facilitates seamless communication among players.
Smart Contract Automation: Smart contracts streamline game operations by automating tasks like item distribution, reward systems, and governance. Developers can also create decentralized applications (DApps) on TON, offering unique gaming experiences.
Play-to-Earn (P2E) Monetization: TON's support for P2E models empowers players to own and trade digital assets, creating new revenue streams for both players and developers. This incentivizes extended gameplay and contributes to the overall growth of the gaming ecosystem.

Examples of popular games on Telegram in 2024:

Hamster Kombat: This viral tapper game, released in March 2024, simulates cryptocurrency exchange operations. It has attracted over 300 million players and offers Airdrop rewards.

Catizen: A cat city management game with Airdrop rewards, Catizen boasts over 34 million players and an average of 3.5 million daily active users.

X Empire: Inspired by Elon Musk, this tapper game challenges players to navigate a fictional stock market. With over 20 million players, X Empire offers the potential for Airdrop income.

Supply and Token Distribution

From July 2020 to June 2022, TON utilized the Initial Proof-of-Work (IPoW) mechanism before transitioning to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system. This resulted in an initial total supply cap of 5 billion TON, with an initial distribution as follows:

72.5 million TON (1.45%) allocated to the team.
4.927 billion TON (98.55%) allocated for pre-mined tokens.

Subsequently, it was discovered that 85.8% of the mined tokens were associated with entities within the TON Foundation. Furthermore, 1.081 billion TON from 171 accounts were locked for a total of 48 months. This indicates that these Genesis accounts, which directly mined TON through the IPoW mechanism and never initiated any transactions, were locked.

The TON Foundation introduced a locker smart contract allowing TON holders to lock their tokens for 5 years, comprising an initial 2-year period followed by a 3-year linear release. As of 23 October 2023, approximately 1.033 billion TON, along with rewards of around 284 million, totaling 1.317 billion TON, were locked for the initial 2-year period. Starting from 12 October 2025, approximately 37 million TON will be added to the circulating supply every 30 days for a total of 36 installments.

As a result, the current total supply is 5,111,682,702 TON.

Source: tonstat.com

Interesting information about TON (Toncoin)

According to Coinmarketcap data on 2 October 2024, TON had a market capitalization of 13,912,332,406 USD or 454,729,820,257 THB.

At the time of writing, MNT was trading at around 5.50 USD or 179.80 THB per TON. TON reached its all-time high of 8.24 USD or 269.41 THB per TON on 15 June 2024.

References