TON (blockchain)
TON (The Open Network) is a decentralized, layer-1 blockchain project originally designed by the Telegram team. It was initially known as the Telegram Open Network, but Telegram relinquished its involvement after facing regulatory issues with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Development is now continued by an open-source community of developers.
TON aims to provide a fast, secure, and scalable platform for various applications, including decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized storage, and identity solutions. It is designed to handle millions of transactions per second through its unique architecture, including dynamic sharding.
Key features of TON include:
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Dynamic Sharding: TON uses a sharding mechanism where the blockchain dynamically splits into multiple sub-blockchains (shards) to handle increased transaction volumes. The number of shards can increase or decrease based on network activity, allowing for scalability.
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Instant Hypercube Routing: An efficient routing protocol designed to minimize latency when routing transactions between shards.
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Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Consensus: TON utilizes a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, where validators stake TON tokens to participate in the block creation process. This mechanism aims to be more energy-efficient than Proof-of-Work.
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TON Virtual Machine (TVM): TON’s smart contracts are executed on the TON Virtual Machine. TVM supports a Turing-complete programming language, enabling the development of complex decentralized applications.
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TON Storage: A decentralized data storage solution built on the TON blockchain, intended to allow users to store and access files securely and privately.
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TON Proxy: A technology allowing users to bypass censorship and access decentralized applications through a distributed network of proxy servers.
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TON DNS: A decentralized Domain Name System that maps human-readable names to blockchain addresses, making it easier to interact with services on the TON network.
The primary cryptocurrency of the TON blockchain is Toncoin (TON), which is used for transaction fees, staking, governance, and powering the network's ecosystem. The TON blockchain has a vibrant community and a growing ecosystem of decentralized applications, bots, and services.