The Open Network (previously Telegram Open Network, TON) is a Layer 1 blockchain, originally developed by the Telegram team. This project was first proposed in 2018, aiming to provide fast, secure decentralized payments, digital identity, and other services for more than 500 million Telegram users. Although TON encountered regulatory challenges in 2020, leading to Telegram abandoning the project, the open-source community took over, continuing the development. By September 2021, TON was officially relaunched and started gaining attention .

As of 2022, according to official documents comparing TON with Ethereum and Solana, TON remained one of the few truly scalable blockchain projects. It was capable of executing millions of truly Turing-complete smart contract transactions per second. This scalability positioned TON as one of the most advanced blockchain technologies, capable of supporting both financial and decentralized applications.

In July 2023, the explosion of Telegram Bots, particularly the popular Unibot, brought more attention to the TON blockchain. These built-in bots made it easier for traditional Web 2 users to engage with cryptocurrency trading and payments, providing a seamless bridge to Web 3 services. As Telegram’s official blockchain, TON captured this new user influx, positioning itself well in the rapidly evolving crypto landscape.

By 2024, TON’s growth continued at a rapid pace. The platform gained significant user adoption, and its native token, Toncoin, saw remarkable growth. However, in August 2024, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was arrested in France, leading to a sharp decline in Toncoin’s value, dropping more than 15% within hours. The token fell from $6.80 to $5.24. Despite this setback, the TON community remained strong, and Toncoin began recovering as investors showed confidence in the project’s fundamentals.

Above are only for introduction, not intended as investment advice.