Toncoin $TON has drawn some attention lately after climbing into the top 10 crypto assets by marketcap, and dethroning Caradano ($ADA) in the process. That being said, $TON has not been an overly popular protocol among the crypto crowd; many would be remissed as to what $TON actually is. TON (The Open Network) represents Telegram’s foray into crypto. The encryption-based messaging giant has a long-standing history when it comes to the TON protocol, which consists of multiple components, perhaps most notably the TON blockchain which is rapidly rising in TVL, as well as TON Storage, TON Payments, and more.
TON Payments may be particularly interesting. The Move-based blockchains Sui and Aptos have both proliferated in recent times, but their origins can be traced back to the Libra/Diem project at Facebook, which was an attempt by the social media leader in leveraging their vast global social network to launch a private crypto to be used primarily for payments. This initiative was ultimately canned due to US regulatory issues, prompting team members to leave and start up their own blockchains which have gone on to receive massive funding. Telegram has very similar distributed network effects around the world, and naturally as a more ‘decentralized‘ ethos compared to Facebook/Meta. This is currently being emphasized with the Telegram Co-Founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, doing a bit of a media tour with an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s platform.
With the price of $TON holding up decently during the latest market cascade, and an emerging ecosystem of lending, liquid staking etc. on the TON blockchain, it’s definitely worth understanding what exactly TON is…
Stay informed, stay alert ⬇
Introduction
Despite many crypto natives spending hours every day on Telegram, the sudden surge in the price of $TON has caught many by surprise. It wasn’t until it flipped Solana in market cap that people started paying attention and keeping a close eye on what was going on with the TON project, originally developed by Telegram.
Behind the scenes, The Open Network (TON) is ushering in a new era of decentralized Internet infrastructure. This report provides a concise overview of TON’s components, its mission, and its potential impact on the digital landscape.
Overview
The Open Network (TON) is a multifaceted ecosystem comprising four key components: TON Blockchain, TON DNS, TON Storage, and TON Sites. At the heart of this ecosystem is the underlying L1 blockchain, which aims to onboard the next generation of users thanks to a strategic relationship with Telegram – that is 800M+ users around the world.
History
2017: Inception and Vision
In 2017, the story of the Telegram Open Network(TON) began with the brilliant minds of Pavel and Nikolai Durov, the founders of Telegram.
Their vision was to create a groundbreaking blockchain architecture that incorporated sharding, ensuring scalability, and maintaining transaction speeds as user numbers grew.
The Telegram Messenger team, under the Durov brothers’ leadership, started exploring blockchain solutions, ultimately deciding to design their own Layer 1 blockchain, initially known as Telegram Open Network.
2018: Record-Breaking ICO
TON embarked on its journey with an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) that raised a staggering $1.7 billion, making it one of the largest ICOs in history.
The selling point was to enable users to send and receive payments using the native $GRAM token within the Telegram platform.
2019: Documentation and Testnets
In 2019, the Telegram team released a series of documents detailing the TON blockchain’s design.
The first TON testnet went live in the spring, with a second testnet following in November.
This marked a pivotal moment as the project’s code became open-source, allowing developers to dive into its architecture.
2020: Regulatory Challenges
TON faced regulatory scrutiny in 2020 when the SEC filed a lawsuit, claiming that the $GRAM token was a form of security. The SEC argued that Telegram’s business model was opaque and that it failed to register offers and sales of $GRAM as securities, violating the Securities Act of 1933.
In May 2020, the Telegram team ceased TON development and support for testnet2. Amid ongoing legal battles with U.S. regulators, Telegram made the difficult decision to discontinue TON.
They reached a $18.5 million settlement and committed to returning funds to investors.
2020-2021: Community-Driven Development
The torch was carried by a dedicated group of open-source developers called NewTON, who delved into TON’s codebase and documentation.
They resumed active development, adhering to the original TON design outlined in its documentation.
2021: TON’s Resurgence
Testnet2 remained stable, leading the community to rename it Mainnet.
The NewTON team was rebranded as the TON Foundation, a not-for-profit community dedicated to furthering the network’s development.
TON transitioned from Telegram Open Network to The Open Network, and the token’s name changed from $GRAM to $TON.
By May 2021, TON had evolved into a stable and secure blockchain. Bridges to Ethereum (TON-ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (TON-BSC) were introduced in Q3, followed by listings on top centralized exchanges in Q4, marking a significant step in its journey.
2022: Building the Ecosystem
The year 2022 saw a renewed focus on developing a robust DeFi ecosystem within TON.
Initiatives like the TON Developers Program, TON Proxy, TON Sites, TON DNS, TON Payments, and TON Storage were launched.
TON continued its integration with Telegram, returning to its original roots.
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