What is TON Coin and Gate Open Network?

TON Coin, or Toncoin, is the native cryptocurrency of the Open Network (TON) - a decentralized layer one blockchain that is one of the most ambitious attempts to create a truly scalable and user-friendly blockchain platform. Originally conceived by Dr. Nikolai Durov and developed with the support of Telegram, TON has evolved into a community-oriented project that combines cutting-edge technology with unprecedented accessibility through integration with one of the world's most popular messaging platforms.

The open network Gate stands out with its unique multi-block architecture, consisting of a master chain and up to 2^32 working chains, each of which can be divided into 2^60 shard chains. This revolutionary design allows TON to theoretically process millions of transactions per second while maintaining decentralization and security. As of 2025, approximately 3.5 billion TON tokens are in circulation out of a maximum supply of 5 billion, with the network processing over 1 million daily transactions.

The special significance of TON in the blockchain landscape is given by its official definition as the Web3 infrastructure of Telegram since September 2023. This partnership provides TON with direct access to Telegram's vast user base, enabling features such as internal cryptocurrency transactions, payment for Telegram Premium, and seamless integration of Web3 services into the familiar messaging interface. The combination of advanced technology and accessibility for a wide audience positions TON as a potential catalyst for the mass adoption of blockchain.

Why TON Crypto Matters: Issues and Solutions

The Gate open network eliminates a number of fundamental limitations that plagued early generations of blockchain technology. The primary problem addressed by TON is the blockchain trilemma, the seeming impossibility of simultaneously achieving scalability, security, and decentralization. While Bitcoin processes about 7 transactions per second, and Ethereum handles approximately 15-30, modern applications require throughput in the thousands or millions of transactions per second. TON's infinite sharding paradigm offers a solution by treating each account as if it existed in its own blockchain, and then effectively grouping these "account-chains" into shard-chains capable of processing transactions in parallel.

In addition to pure scalability, TON addresses a critical gap in usability that hinders the mass adoption of blockchain technologies. Traditional interactions with the blockchain require users to manage complex wallet addresses, understand gas fees, and navigate unfamiliar interfaces. The integration of TON with Telegram transforms this experience, allowing cryptocurrency transactions to be as simple as sending a message. Users can send funds using human-readable TON DNS names instead of cryptographic addresses, while the familiar Telegram interface eliminates the learning curve usually associated with blockchain applications.

TON also addresses the issue of economic inefficiency in existing blockchain networks. For example, in Ethereum, network congestion can lead to gas fees rising to hundreds of dollars for simple transactions, making the network unsuitable for everyday payments or microtransactions. TON's dynamic sharding automatically adjusts the network's throughput based on demand, keeping transaction fees minimal ( typically a fraction of a cent ) regardless of network load. This economic efficiency, combined with transaction completions in less than a second through Instant Hypercube Routing, makes TON suitable for real-world payment applications, from content monetization to cross-border remittances.

The History of the Gate Open Network: from Telegram to the TON Token

The path of the Gate Open Network began in 2018 when Telegram founders Pavel and Nikolai Durov launched the Telegram Open Network, raising an unprecedented $1.7 billion to create a blockchain platform for Telegram users. However, in October 2019, the SEC obtained a court injunction, claiming that the sale of GRAM tokens was an unregistered securities offering, which led to Telegram's exit from the project in June 2020 after a settlement of $1.2 billion.

The project gained new life when Anatoly Makosov and Kirill Emelyanenko founded the TON Foundation in 2021, leading the development of the open-source community and renaming the token to Toncoin. A turning point came on December 23, 2021, when Pavel Durov publicly supported the community-driven chain as "a continuation of our vision," and the official adoption of TON by Telegram as its Web3 infrastructure in September 2023 transformed it from a community project into a blockchain with mass appeal.

Features of the TON Token: How the Open Gate Network is Unique

1. The technology of infinite sharding

TON implements dynamic sharding, which can split the working chains into up to 2^60 shard-chains depending on the load on the network. This allows the network to process transactions in parallel, theoretically supporting millions of transactions per second while maintaining decentralization.

2. Instant Hypercube Routing

Breakthrough technology that ensures almost instant message delivery between shard chains within a single block (around 5 seconds). Messages travel along optimal paths in a hypercubic network topology, with fast routes that can completely bypass intermediate chains.

3. Extended Virtual Machine TON (TVM)

TVM supports flexible arithmetic operations, including 64-bit, 128-bit, and 256-bit, built-in overflow checks, and custom complex data structures thanks to its cell-based architecture. Each cell can contain up to 128 bytes of data and four references to other cells, allowing for efficient representation of trees and directed acyclic graphs.

( 4. Self-healing vertical blockchains

The two-block mechanics of TON allow for correcting invalid blocks without creating permanent forks. Each block essentially represents a small vertical chain of blocks that can be extended to correct errors while maintaining the integrity of the network.

) 5. Consensus with Proof of Stake and BFT

The network uses a modified PoS consensus with Byzantine fault tolerance, ensuring security through economic incentives. Validators stake TON tokens and can be penalized for improper actions, creating a reliable security model.

6. Seamless integration with Telegram

Native integration with 900 million Telegram users allows cryptocurrency transactions to be as easy as sending messages. Users can conduct transactions using human-readable names through TON DNS, instead of complex cryptographic strings.

Use Cases for TON Crypto: Real Applications Today

Within Telegram, TON supports essential services, including payments for Telegram Premium, advertising purchases using cryptocurrency, and the innovative auction platform Fragment.com. These integrations have organically introduced millions of people to blockchain technologies through familiar interfaces. The DeFi ecosystem is thriving, with STON.fi as the leading decentralized exchange, handling hundreds of millions in volume while maintaining TON's characteristic low fees and fast transaction completion.

In addition to financial applications, TON supports a dynamic gaming ecosystem where true asset ownership through NFTs combines with high-performance gameplay that is impossible on slower chains. The TON DNS system has registered over 50,000 .ton domains, providing human-readable addresses that directly integrate with Telegram payments. Additional infrastructure services, such as TON Storage for decentralized file storage and TON Proxy for ensuring privacy, demonstrate the platform's vision of a full-fledged Web3 infrastructure built on a blockchain foundation.

TON Tokenomics

The tokenomics of the Open Network Gate is carefully designed to balance scarcity with sustainable network growth. With a maximum supply of 5 billion TON coins, the network implements a controlled inflation model that rewards validators while preserving long-term value. The current circulating supply is around 3.5 billion TON, while the remaining tokens will be distributed through validator rewards and ecosystem development over the coming decades. This distribution model ensures that early participants are rewarded while maintaining incentives for the long-term security of the network.

The inflation mechanism in TON is inextricably linked to network validation, whereby new tokens are issued as rewards for validators who ensure the security of the network. The annual inflation is intended to fluctuate around 2%, assuming that approximately 10% of the total supply is staked for validation at any given time. This creates a sustainable economic model in which validators earn about 20% annually on their stakes when performing their duties in good faith. However, this inflation is offset by a deflationary mechanism: when validators behave in bad faith by signing invalid blocks or exiting the network, portions of their stakes are penalized and burned, permanently removing these tokens from circulation.

The distribution of newly issued tokens follows a complex model that takes into account the performance of validators, the size of stakes, and participation in the network. Validators must stake a minimum amount of ###, which can be adjusted by the network governance, to participate in block production, with rewards distributed proportionally to the size of stakes and actual participation in consensus. The system also supports nominators who can delegate their tokens to validators, earning a share of the rewards and sharing the risks of potential penalties. This creates a robust economic security model where the cost of attacking the network significantly exceeds any potential gains.

Storage fees introduce another unique aspect to the TON tokenomics. Unlike Ethereum, where storage is effectively free after the initial deployment, TON charges ongoing fees for maintaining the state of smart contracts on the chain. These fees, calculated based on the number of cells and bytes stored in the blockchain, encourage efficient use.