Have you ever used the Telegram app? If yes, then you have probably heard of The Open Network, which is a super-fast blockchain aiming to put crypto in every pocket.
The Open Network is a fast, scalable layer-1 Proof-of-Stake blockchain launched by the same people who created the Telegram privacy message app.
For those who don’t know what Telegram is, it is essentially WhatsApp but was created by the Russian Mark Zuckerberg, better known as Pavel Durov.
Durov is the founder of both VK and Telegram, with VK being the biggest social media platform in Eastern Europe and Telegram being one of the biggest messaging apps on the planet.
And I’m sure you can see why the comparisons to Zuckerberg exist.
Though, unlike Zuckerberg’s WhatsApp, Telegram had previously been banned in places like Russia as Telegram had been a bit too good at blocking access to messages on the platform, highlighting Durov’s commitment to privacy which I guess does make him quite a bit different from his Western counterpart.
But moving on, since Durov has already built a successful social media platform and privacy-focused messaging app, does that mean he can also make a successful blockchain?
Today, we find out!
What is TON?
Toncoin was originally known as Gram and was created by Telegram in 2018.
However, after being named Gram, but before being named The Open Network, Ton was also previously known as the Telegram Open Network.
It hasn’t been an easy ride for Ton to get established, as all these previous names might suggest.
Having first been in development until 2020, Telegram was eventually hit with a lawsuit from the SEC for being a securities violation.
Telegram appealed, though the securities violation was upheld which resulted in Telegram paying back over $1.2 billion to investors, and around $18.5 million in fines.
Naturally, this left a sour taste in the mouths of those in charge at Telegram and the project was discontinued.
However, as the project was open source and available to other developers and enthusiasts on GitHub it was not long before a committed group of supporters began taking over the development of the network.
It was around this time that the name changed from Telegram Open Network to The Open Network to better reflect who was actively working on the project.
Today, Ton is a high-performance, decentralised blockchain that claims to scale to over 1 million transactions per second, if required.
Naturally, if achievable, this would be one of the fastest blockchains on Earth.
So, how do they do it?
How does TON work?
Having originally only been able to complete around 55.000 transactions per second back in 2021, yet in as little as 3 years they have been able to potentially increase 20x their network speed leaving almost every other blockchain looking silly as Ton blaze away with network speed progressions.
How Ton achieved this is through sharding, which is not a process unique to Ton however the way Ton has been able to implement it has yielded incredible results.
For clarity, sharding is a scaling technique that involves splitting a blockchain network into smaller, parallel segments, known as “shards”, each capable of processing transactions independently to improve overall network throughput and efficiency.
In short, by breaking down the blockchain into smaller blockchains it is constantly able to scale to meet rising demand based on present user activity.
Though, platforms like Ethereum also use a form of sharding yet they still experience network congestion, meaning they cannot scale to user demand. So, how exactly has Ton achieved this?
TON sharding explained
Part of what makes Ton unique is its multi-level structure developed on the principle of sharding.
This principle uses multiple subnets on the same blockchain, where every shard has a specific purpose.
As such, each shard is unique and has its own data. It is these sharded subnets that have given Ton the potential to reduce latencies, avoid the buildup of unverified blocks, and increase the speed of the transaction process.
Another unique feature is called the Self-Healing Vertical Blockchain Mechanism. This is essentially a way for blockchains to deal with sharding scalability issues.
To best describe it, it might be best to imagine a busy city train station.
The best way to think of the “self-healing” process would be to imagine how train stations change the number of trains travelling and their departure frequencies based on how many people are expected to travel, such as during rush hour.
The Self-Healing Vertical Blockchain Mechanism is essentially that, an automated process that runs behind the scenes to keep operations moving by adjusting to the network’s demands.
Toncoin tokenomics
As TON is a Proof-of-Stake based blockchain, its currency can be used for all the classics such as payments, staking, and governance.
Now, here is where it may get confusing as there is no initial token distribution for Ton despite being a Proof-of-Stake network.
This is because Ton hasn’t always been a Proof-of-Stake network. Ton was originally a Proof-of-Work network which involved mining to generate new tokens.
Back in its Proof-of-Work era, 1.45% of the total tokens were mined by the Team and the remaining 98.55% was mined by early network users.
The network would then change from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake in 2022.
The original supply of TON was 5 billion, however since the network has an annual inflation of 0.6% this has increased to around 5.1 billion today, with around half of that making up the active circulation.
Just to note, you will find on some crypto sites that there are 3.4 billion TON tokens in circulation, however, according to CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko these are self-reported figures and they have both verified the lower 2.5 billion as a more accurate reflection of the number of TON tokens in circulation.
Is Toncoin worth the hype?
Ton has been a project in development for a while, and despite all its challenges has continued to go from strength to strength.
From being sued and dropped by its development company, to being picked up and revived by enthusiasts, Ton clearly has sincere and genuine supporters of this network who seemingly value it above all other layer-1 platforms.
Although, I suppose if Ton can achieve over one million transactions per second, you could easily see why.
Currently, it appears as if Ton has everything going for it: It has a solid foundation, a committed team of developers, name recognition, and a recent spike in interest.
Consequently, given how much effort these developers have put into the project after the platform was dropped by Telegram, and how much it has continued to grow since, it wouldn’t be crazy to imagine Ton’s best days could still lie ahead.
Though, as always, nothing is ever guaranteed in crypto, of course.
How to create a TON wallet
Step 1: Visit https://trustwallet.com If you already have a Trust Wallet, skip to Step 5.
Step 2: Download and install Trust Wallet from your mobile app store or your browser.
Step 3: Open Trust Wallet and create a new wallet or import an existing one.
Step 4: Once your wallet is set up, tap on the “Add Token” button.
Step 5: In the search bar, type “TON” to find the token.
Step 6: Tap on the TON token and select “Add to Wallet” to add it to your Trust Wallet.
After adding TON to your Trust Wallet, you will be able to view your TON balance and perform transactions with the token.
If you want to support the blog, please donate $TON to this address: EQCutyqx0cGIWk-5jRsQfqMcHy3DukE-cBrtB8GDJsMSSnq4
TonCoin FAQ
What is Toncoin?
Toncoin, also known as The Open Network (TON), is a fast, scalable layer-1 Proof-of-Stake blockchain launched by the same people who created the Telegram messaging app.
Who created Toncoin?
Toncoin was originally created by Telegram in 2018, founded by Pavel Durov, who is also the creator of VK and Telegram.
What was Toncoin originally called?
Toncoin was originally known as Gram, then as the Telegram Open Network, before being renamed to The Open Network (TON).
How did Toncoin continue after Telegram dropped it?
As the project was open source, a committed group of supporters took over the development of the network after Telegram discontinued it.
What is the Self-Healing Vertical Blockchain Mechanism?
This is a unique feature of Toncoin that automatically adjusts to network demands, similar to how train stations change schedules based on passenger volume.
What consensus mechanism does Toncoin use?
Toncoin currently uses a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, though it originally started as a Proof-of-Work network.
What is the total supply of TON tokens?
The original supply of TON was 5 billion, but due to an annual inflation of 0.6%, it has increased to around 5.1 billion.
How were TON tokens initially distributed?
During its Proof-of-Work era, 1.45% of the total tokens were mined by the Team, and the remaining 98.55% was mined by early network users.