Genesis (2018–2020)

Telegram introduces design and first implementation of TON Blockchain. The Telegram team releases a series of documents detailing the design of TON Blockchain. Telegram initially launched the TON Testnet to the public through a testing environment for the TON blockchain. During the early testnet phase, Telegram released testnet tokens, which had no value and were used for testing purposes.^[6]

To fund the development of the messenger and the blockchain project, Telegram attracted investments through a private Gram offering, but in light of regulatory complications, the Telegram team withdrew from the TON project (May 2020)^[7]

On July 2020 Telegram placed the remaining testnet tokens into special Giver smart contracts that allowed anyone to participate in future mining and discontinued support for the TON testnet.^[8][9][10]

A small team of open-source developers and Telegram contest winners Anatoliy Makosov and Kirill Emelyanenko, originally under the name NewTON,^[1] took a deep dive into TON's codebase and resumed active blockchain development, adhering to the principles outlined in the original TON whitepaper.^[11][12][13]

Development and launch (2020–2022)

After TON's private development phase, all of its code was released to as open source in September 7, 2019.^[14] The launch of the test network was initially scheduled for Q2 2018 with the main network launch in Q4, but the milestones were postponed several times. The testnet was launched in January 2019 with a half a year deviation from the plan.^[15][16] In May the company released the lite version of the TON blockchain network client.^[17] In September the company released the complete source code for TON nodes on GitHub, making it possible to launch a full node and explore the testnet.^[18][19] The launch of the TON main network was scheduled for October 31.^[20][21]

TON blockchain

The Open Network's fundamental infrastructure is a scalable multi-blockchain platform designed to support the creation and operation of decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Utilizing the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, it can theoretically support up to 2^92 accompanying blockchains.

TON's design philosophy involves leveraging sharding to attain scalability. Its blockchains are designed with the ability to split and merge automatically to adapt to fluctuating loads. This design feature ensures that block generation speed is independent of transaction volume, avoiding network congestion and maintaining low operational costs irrespective of demand.

Hypercube routing mechanisms in TON ensure efficient data exchange between any two blockchains, regardless of the network size. Due to the logarithmic relationship between the time taken to transfer data and the number of blockchains in TON, the network can scale to millions of chains without compromising processing speed.^[22][23][24]

TON employs an advanced proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Validator nodes use deposit stakes to vouch for their reliability, achieving consensus through a variant of the Byzantine fault tolerance protocol. This approach is resource-efficient and allows TON to devote the computing power of nodes to processing transactions and executing smart contracts.

The TON network comprises a masterchain and up to 2^32 workchains, each with its unique ruleset. These rulesets dictate various aspects of the workchains, such as account address formats, transaction protocols, and virtual machines for executing smart contracts and managing basic cryptocurrencies. The workchains function cohesively within the TON ecosystem while maintaining their individual characteristics.^[25]

Governance

Governance in TON is inherently decentralized and decisions for network modifications are contingent upon approval from the majority of validators. This is facilitated through the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism where validators can vote for network configuration changes or update their software to accept proposed changes.

Security

The TON (Telegram Open Network) incorporates security measures through collaborations with various Security Assurance Providers (SAP).^[26] These providers conduct testing and quality assurance for software within the TON ecosystem, aiming to enhance network security. The following is a list of SAPs associated with the TON Network such as Certik, Quantstamp, softstack (formerly Chainsulting), SlowMist, Hexens, Vidma, and Scalebit.

Toncoin (previously: Gram)

Toncoin is the principal cryptocurrency of The Open Network (TON) blockchain, and in particular of its masterchain and basic workchain. It is used for transaction fees, securing the blockchain through staking, deciding how the network develops, gas payments (i.e., smart-contract message processing fees), and settling payments.^[27][28]

TON Proxy

A network proxy and anonymizer layer designed for TON nodes, TON Proxy is akin to the Invisible Internet Project (I2P) and facilitates the creation of decentralized VPN services and blockchain-based Tor alternatives. This capability enhances online privacy and offers protection against censorship towards the facilitation of decentralized applications which may be more resistant to censorship.^[29] As of September 30, 2022, TON Proxy has been made compatible with HTTP Proxy.^[30]

TON DNS

Launched by the TON Foundation on June 30, 2022, TON DNS operates similarly to domain names associated with other cryptocurrencies, offering ".ton" as its domain zone. The program assigns human-readable names to accounts, smart contracts, services, and network nodes. This service simplifies the process of accessing decentralized applications by allowing users to use short and simple domain names rather than long strings of alphanumeric characters. Domain names can also be associated with wallet addresses.^{[citation needed]}

TON Storage

On December 31, 2022, TON Storage, a decentralized file storage system, was introduced. TON Storage is a distributed file storage system accessible through the TON P2P Network, resembling torrent-like technology that utilizes smart contracts for reliability. TON Storage provides a platform for the storage and exchange of large amounts of data using the TON blockchain network, in an effort to eliminate the need for centralized web servers.^[31][32]

TON Payments

Launched on June 30, 2022, TON Payments can be used for instant off-chain value transfers between users, bots, and other services. Security measures embedded in the system ensure that these transfers are as secure as on-chain transactions.^[33][34]