In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, new projects and coins emerge regularly with a set of unique features and potential. However, not all projects in the space have an easy beginning. Such a project was The Open Network (TON). Luckily, it’s just the past, and it has overcome all obstacles put in its way.
This article delves into the TON Network and its features.
What is TON?
Any resolute blockchain space has some similar characteristics in that it should be scalable and have the capacity to support thousands and millions of customers at the same time. This is mostly the case because most of these projects are on the move to become the future of financial transactions. In this case, Toncoin meets all the stated criteria.
This decentralized blockchain solution, was conceived in 2018 and designed by Telegram co-founders- Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai. The project was initially called Telegram Open Network, or GRAM.
In its infancy, GRAMs were initially distributed through private sales, which led to the project breaking the record for the second-biggest sale in history. The fundraising campaigns registered a successful round, registering $1.7 billion of proceeds.
However, issues started arising in 2019 when the SEC classified GRAM tokens as unregistered securities and prevented Telegram from distributing them to investors. It seemed The Open Network was done before it even started. In May 2020, telegram ended its affiliation with the Open network.
A team of crypto developers did not abandon the project and went on with it under an open-source license and changed the project’s name to NewTON. Later on, it was rebranded to the TON Foundation.
Currently, the blockchain is known for its speed and scalability, low fees, carbon neutrality, and simplicity of use. The main objective of the TON ecosystem is to handle a whole economy that has a massive number of users and fully supports any decentralized app built on it.
Toncoin powers the TON Network, designed as a GRAM replacement and is unrelated to Telegram.
TON’s Mission and Use Cases
The original plan behind the creation of TON was to solve the blockchain trilemma, the challenge of reconciling scalability, security, and decentralization, which is a problem that many new networks face.
The TON foundation remains dedicated to the original network design, prioritizing the end users’ needs for fast and cost-effective payments. Its platform is designed for integration into easy-to-use apps for quick purchases, transfers, and storage. The main strengths of the project include high speeds, high scalability, simplified user interfaces, and a dedicated base of Telegram users.
One of its infrastructure, near-instant cross-shard interactions, ensures ultrafast transactions.
Additionally, it operates under a proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism, which means that it is more sustainable than Bitcoin. Instead of miners using computing power to mint coins, it relies on validators.
TON makes it easier for dApp building and is used in different ways;
- Paying for decentralized applications (dApps) and services.
- Rewarding validators.
- Voting on network changes.
- Validating all transactions on TON.
- Rewarding nominators who lend tokens to validators.
If a nominator wants to lend tokens, they join a pool and stake their assets. Smart contracts manage both nominators and validators, which makes it more secure. The contracts are executed through TON Virtual Machine (TVM), which supports sophisticated deployments.
Key Features
Decentralized Services
Developers can build third-party apps based on smart contracts when using the platform’s services. A user-friendly interface gives easy access to these products, combined with a searchable registry of all TON dApps and services. An example is the TON Diamonds, an NFT marketplace that offers a wide variety of collections.
TON Wallets
The network operates with both custodial and non-custodial wallets. Users have complete control of their assets in mobile wallets like Tonkeeper or Tonhub and web wallets like TON wallet.
TON Domain Name Service (DNS)
TON DNS allows for easy registration of domain names and usernames on the blockchain. The DNS replaces strings of numbers and letters with easily memorizable names.
TON Proxy
It improves the privacy of network participants by bringing decentralized VPNs and TOR alternatives into the blockchain. As such, dApps built and deployed in the network have some anonymity.
TON Storage
The storage services are off-chain through a P2P network. The feature in the network works similarly to torrents.
The TON Bridge
The TON Network utilizes decentralized cross-chain bridges to transfer and swap tokens from one chain to the other. Currently, the feature works between its native blockchain and Ethereum and TON and Binance Smart Chain.
Final Thoughts
Thanks to broad community support and practical focus, TON’s growth in recent years has been impressive. As we move ahead, the project is looking at the possibility of mass adoption. TON also continues to outshine some of the prominent Layer 1 projects, having fast block validation, sharing support, and other advanced features.
The project may as well become one of the mass-market cryptocurrencies that are able to fulfill the developer’s vision.