TON (The Open Network)
Telegram-connected blockchain — Toncoin, mini apps inside Telegram channels.
TON (The Open Network) is a blockchain originally created by Telegram, now developed by a decentralized community — integrated with the Telegram application and its 900M+ users.
History:
•2018: Telegram launched TON Gram ICO ($1.7B)
•2020: SEC halted project, Telegram withdrew
•2020: Open-source community continued development
•2023: Telegram officially adopted TON
Key features:
•High throughput (up to 1M TPS in theory)
•Dynamic sharding — automatically splits into shards
•Toncoin (TON) — native token
Telegram integration:
•Telegram Wallet — built-in TON wallet
•Ton Connect — login with TON wallet
•Mini Apps — Telegram bots that are actually blockchain applications
•Notcoin, Hamster Kombat — tap-to-earn games, viral 2024
Ecosystem:
•DeDust, STON.fi — DEX on TON
•Getgems — NFT marketplace
•USDT on TON — Tether native deployment
Why it's relevant:
•Direct access to 900M Telegram users
•Crypto onboarding through familiar app
•Mini Apps = Web3 without browser extension