TON (The Open Network) Aims to Onboard a Billion Users, Particularly Due to Its Integration with Telegram

A lot of projects and firms, like Solana, have championed the vision of onboarding the next billion people into crypto. Among them is TON

The Open Network (TON) is aiming to onboard a billion users, and its integration with Telegram, one of the world's most widely used messaging platforms, is certainly boosting this plan.

Many projects and firms, like Solana, have championed the vision of onboarding the next billion people into crypto. Among them is TON, but can TON be the one to ultimately achieve this goal?

History and Overview of TON and TONcoin

Toncoin (TON) is the native cryptocurrency of The Open Network, a decentralized layer-1 blockchain originally developed by Telegram in 2018 as the Telegram Open Network (TON). Following regulatory challenges leading Telegram to hand off the project in 2020, the community took over development and rebranded it as The Open Network.

The legal issues with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Telegram’s $1.7 billion initial coin offering (ICO) for Gram led Telegram to settle with the SEC, paying an $18.5 million fine and agreeing to return unspent funds to investors.

After Telegram’s exit from TON, its takeover by the community, and the establishment of The TON Foundation, to promote and support the ongoing development of the network, the cryptocurrency, Gram, was renamed to Toncoin ($TON) as part of this transition.

Barely four years after the rebrand, in May 2024, the TON network achieved a notable milestone by onboarding over 1 million users in a single day. This demonstrates its potential for rapid growth. Also, as of July 2024, the TON ecosystem hosted over 1000 decentralized applications (dApps) and has a DeFi total value locked (TVL) exceeding $760 million.

The strength of TON

The Open Network has experienced significant growth in its user base over the past year, driven by its integration with Telegram and the launch of engaging applications within the ecosystem. Apart from surpassing 1 Million users in a single day, in 2021, here’s an analysis of TON’s successes and what can make it achieve the 1 billion mark:

Steady growth to 32 million Active Users

As of August 5, 2024, TON’s user base has surpassed 45 million wallets, showcasing steady growth and increasing adoption. The network has attracted a large user base due to its integration with Telegram, which has over 900 million monthly active users.

This growth can be attributed to the new applications launched on the blockchain as well as those that migrated from their previous blockchains to TON. First on this list is Notcoin.

In other news; Telegram’s support for TON sites will bring decentralized Web3 sites alive

Notcoin, built on TON, is a unique cryptocurrency project that gained significant popularity in 2024 by combining gaming, community engagement, and blockchain technology. Notcoin pioneered a tap-to-earn or clicker model on the Telegram messaging app, allowing users to earn tokens by tapping on a virtual coin on their screen.

The game quickly went viral, attracting over 35 million users at its peak, with more than 6 million daily active users (DAUs). The simplicity of the game and its integration with the popular Telegram platform made it an instant hit, as users could earn real cryptocurrency without any initial investment.

Other projects, though their tokens are not yet launched, include Hamster Kombat, Catizen, Tapswap, and Blum. These games have garnered millions of users, with Hamster Kombat alone boasting an impressive 239 million registered users.

The presence of these projects also led to exponential growth in active addresses on TON from 150,000 in September 2023 to over 1.2 million by July 2024. Particularly, in June 2024, TON’s daily active addresses peaked at a record 568,300, edging out Ethereum’s (without the Layer 2s) for the first time.

Transaction speed and fees

TON showed an impressive transaction speed capability of more than 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) during a public test verified by Certik. However, the average TPS according to TONscan is at 70 which is above 12.7 for Ethereum and less than 806 for Solana.

Transaction fees on the TON network are significantly lower than those of Ethereum and Bitcoin, ranging from $0.01 to $0.05 per transaction. The network’s focus on scalability and efficiency, combined with low transaction fees, makes TON an attractive option for users and developers.

Ecosystem integration with Telegram, and USDT

TON’s integration with the Telegram messaging app, which has over 950 million users, gives it a significant advantage in terms of user adoption and ecosystem growth. This integration allows TON to leverage Telegram’s existing user base