What is Toncoin (TON)?

TON is a Layer-1 blockchain, similar to well-known networks like Solana and Ethereum, and was originally developed by the Telegram team. It launched in 2018 as a scalable blockchain platform but was temporarily halted. Development resumed under the TON Foundation, changing the network’s name from Telegram Open Network to The Open Network. Now, TON Foundation is working with Telegram, aiming to bring TON’s Web3 technology to Telegram’s 900+ million users.

TON uses a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, where nodes stake Toncoin to become validators. This role involves securing the network and validating transactions, earning rewards in the process.

TON uses a unique mix of architecture and consensus mechanisms to enable quick, scalable, and secure transactions. At its core, TON includes a multi-layered network structure.

The network is made up of the masterchain, workchains, and shardchains. The masterchain coordinates the network, managing validators, staked assets, and synchronization across the network. Workchains are independent blockchains that support smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). For improved scalability, workchains are divided into shardchains, which allow for parallel transaction processing.

Sharding plays a crucial role in TON’s scalability. It divides each workchain into multiple shardchains, which handle transactions simultaneously. This distribution means TON can process more transactions at once, enhancing throughput and scalability. Shardchains manage a portion of the overall state, making transaction processing more efficient without overburdening every node with every transaction.

1. High scalability and throughput: TON is designed for high scalability and fast transaction processing. The combination of sharding and parallel processing, coupled with a Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus mechanism makes this possible. This setup allows for rapid transaction confirmation, making TON suitable for real-world applications that require handling numerous transactions without compromising network integrity.

2. Enhanced security: TON prioritizes security by employing strong consensus mechanisms, advanced cryptographic techniques, and thorough network validation. Its decentralized structure, with validator nodes spread throughout the network, ensures resilience against attacks and censorship. The network’s design supports a high level of decentralization, ensuring the safety and integrity of transactions and smart contracts.

3. Exclusive partnership with Telegram: On September 13, 2023, TON Foundation and Telegram began an exclusive partnership. TON Blockchain became the sole Web3 infrastructure supported and promoted by Telegram. This collaboration aims to bring blockchain services to over 900 million Telegram users, with the goal of creating a SuperApp comparable to WeChat. Through Telegram’s Mini Apps platform, TON offers easy-to-use Web3 services, including Wallet—a Telegram-native custodial and non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet. These Mini Apps simplify blockchain-based products by keeping Web3 elements ‘under the hood’, and are already being used for gaming, finance, social media, and more.

Today’s cryptocurrency landscape mainly serves tech-savvy users or speculators, failing to accommodate most of the global population or provide real-world use cases. Furthermore, with the walled garden mobile operating systems curbing cryptocurrency apps and the slow progress of user-friendly Web3 platforms, it’s no surprise many find it hard to dive into the ever-evolving world of Web3 and recognize its value.

Distinctly different in its approach, TON aims to provide easy-to-use tools and reliable and stable infrastructure to make onboarding easy and develop massive distribution features for Web3. TON’s integration with Telegram, the Telegram Mini Apps platform, and the integration of Wallet in Telegram will provide a perfect trifecta - a platform for builders to create Web3 mini apps, simple and intuitive to use, with all the viral mechanics Telegram is famous for, such as forwarding, inviting contacts, and sharing in group channels.

TON x Telegram is the only option for web3 apps looking to reach mass adoption, and together the ecosystem will create the world's first Web3 SuperApp. With TON, the ledger of accounts and Web3 infrastructure, and Telegram mini apps as the user experience layer.

For those new to TON Blockchain, start by exploring Wallet in Telegram. Wallet is the key stone that provides both custodial and non-custodial services with TON Space, and also serves as your unique one click login to the Web3 mini apps ecosystem in Telegram.for the various Mini Apps under development. These apps are featured in the TON-based Telegram Apps Center tapps.center. 

Dive into the apps center and see how you can use your TON to buy an eSIM, access ChatGPT, purchase digital gift cards, and more. This firsthand experience, showcasing the simplicity and accessibility of interacting with cutting-edge apps within the TON Ecosystem, is crucial. 

DeFi is a standout feature in blockchain too: go to DeDust and Ston.fi and stake LP tokens with a lock-in period to earn rewards. If you want to leverage your position, the EVAA Protocol Mini App offers crypto borrowing from a decentralized market. Conversely, conservative users might prefer the bemo Mini App, offering over 4% annual returns for contributing your Toncoin to pools that support network functionality.

The Open League, an ecosystem-wide competition designed to gamify the experience of using TON Blockchain, rewards users with Toncoin incentives and Collectibles for completing tasks, providing DeFi liquidity, and joining contests. It is a guided path for anyone with a Telegram account to earn tokens while getting started in crypto, with something for every different appetite for risk. Users can earn tokens with zero-risk token mining activities and quests or from high-risk liquidity pools and trading contests.