Important facts:
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TON was originally developed by the founders of Telegram, who later abandoned the project.
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There are currently more than 500 applications that “inhabit” the TON network.
The Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency market is showing signs that the crypto winter is coming to an end. If history repeats itself as in previous cycles, the 2024-2025 biennium is likely to be a period of expansion for this industry, with new projects flourishing and capital hoarding.
One of the ecosystems that has developed relatively quietly during these declining years is the TON network. (The Open Network). This is a project started by Telegram but is currently in the hands of its user and developer community.
Hundreds of applications, wallets, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, gaming platforms, etc. have been developed on the TON network. Although there is currently no official connection between TON and Telegram, The vast majority of these platforms run as bots within the popular messaging platform.
How are TON and Telegram related? A short story
Telegram Open Network (TON) was a network developed by brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov, founders of the messaging application Telegram. Development of TON began secretly in 2017 and was officially announced in 2018. The project was ambitious and aimed at creating a platform that could be integrated into the app from Telegram to enable fast and secure payments and mass adoption of cryptocurrencies by connecting millions of Telegram users to the new technology.
However, in October 2019, the SEC halted TON’s $1.7 billion initial coin offering (ICO) on the grounds that the unregistered sale of Gram tokens was illegal, a fact CriptoNoticias reported at the time.
Later in 2020, Durov announced that Telegram would no longer be involved in the TON project after a lengthy legal battle with the SEC. After the separation, Several independent teams continued to develop ecosystems based on the original TON software (renamed “The Open Network”, no longer refers to Telegram).
TON, a thriving ecosystem
The TON network, capable of executing smart contracts and operating on the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, has an ecosystem in constant growth and development. During the crypto winter, developers seem to have laid the groundwork for the “spring” and “summer” breakthrough. More than 500 developments “live” in the TON network.
Among the most popular applications that can be found on Telegram related to TON are Ton Wallet and Telegram Wallet wallets. CriptoNoticias has reported how the advancements in these wallets are heavily impacting the price of Toncoin (TON), the network’s native cryptocurrency.
Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are also present on the TON network, with its own collections like TON Punks or Toned Ape Club (inspired by collections already existing on Ethereum) and some marketplaces like GetGems. The latter can be used both via a web browser and Telegram by connecting via the “Wallet” bot, as can be seen in the image below:
As far as play-to-earn games go, These include TonLanders, TonArchy and TonChess. Connecting to these games is done through a Telegram account. It is obvious that although Telegram and TON are different ecosystems, there is a constant symbiosis between them for the legal reasons mentioned above.
Finally, some of them Existing DeFi platforms on TON These are DeDust, Megaton Fi, StonFi and Optus.
The TON network has enormous growth potential
Despite many years of experience and a thriving ecosystem, TON is not one of the first networks that comes to mind when talking about decentralized applications. Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, Polygon or Tron are usually the best known.
Not only that. If we go to the most popular decentralized financial data trackers such as DappRadar or DefiLlama, we can see that TON is a forgotten network (in the first case, which is not even included) or marginalized (in the second case, which appears with data ) is obviously out of date).
But the closeness between TON and Telegram should not be forgotten. With more than 700 million monthly active users Telegram remains one of the most used instant messaging applications worldwide. This large user base offers enormous potential for the launch and growth of decentralized applications based on TON, even if the network operates independently of the Telegram platform.
TON’s strategy to take advantage of the Telegram community without having an official connection offers a unique opportunity for organic growth. Users already familiar with Telegram can discover the features of cryptocurrencies through interfaces and tools they already use. This could allow for a less steep learning curve for new users entering the cryptocurrency and decentralized applications space.
The Telegram bot integration is a testament to the ingenuity of developers who want to bring cryptocurrency technology closer to people’s daily lives. Through their familiarity and ease of use, bots allow users to interact with cryptocurrency services without leaving the application, carry out transactions, manage wallets, and participate in games or NFT markets.
Although the TON network is not (yet) the focus of major DeFi measurement indices, it continues to be a platform that attracts attention for its capabilities.
What to expect from the Toincoin cryptocurrency?
The home currency of the TON network is Toncoin (whose ticker is also SOUND). This is used – as is the case with Ether (ETH in Ethereum) – to pay commissions to validators.
It is a volatile cryptocurrency whose price fluctuates depending on supply and demand. At the time of this publication, each unit of TON is trading at $2.35, as seen in the CoinMarketCap chart below.
If TON only reached its all-time high of $4.5, it would have a percentage increase of 91.5%. But that has to be taken into account This all-time high in November 2021 was driven by the cryptocurrency bull market rather than its own developments.. Back then, the TON ecosystem was insignificant compared to what it is today.
TON will likely never reach the usage levels of the main smart contract-focused network Ethereum. But perhaps it could come close to competing directly with Cardano (ADA). This network also wants to specialize in smart contract execution, but has never managed to host a large application ecosystem (unlike what is happening with TON).
When the cryptocurrency TON reaches the market cap of ADA, at the current price it would be multiplied by 1.35 times. Each ton would then trade for $3.15.
Now what would happen if TON reached the market cap of ADA, but not at the current price, but at an all-time high? According to TradingView data, this happened on July 31, 2021, and ADA’s market cap was $89 billion on that day. Should TON reach this point, it would have to multiply its price by 11 from the current point. So each TON would trade for just over $25.
It is worth clarifying that these These are merely possible price predictions based on comparisons with another crypto asset.. This should not be construed as a forecast or financial advice. It all depends on several factors:
- May the TON network continue to develop at an accelerated pace as before.
- That Toncoin continues to gain acceptance (for example, reaching the two largest exchanges in the world: Binance and Coinbase).
- This Telegram continues to expand in a highly competitive niche like Apps Messaging.
- That the regulators do not file new lawsuits that directly or indirectly affect TON.
- May the cryptocurrency market in general accompany the rise.
If all this happens, The next few years could be good for Toncoin investors.
clarificationNote: This text is not financial advice or investment recommendations. Every investor should do their own research.