Toncoin

The Open Network (TON), also called TON Blockchain, is a public, decentralised layer-1 blockchain platform whose native cryptocurrency, Gram (ticker TON, later GRAM), is used to pay transaction fees, stake and participate in validation, vote in on-chain governance, pay for blockchain-based domain names, and settle payments in applications built on the network. The chain uses proof-of-stake consensus with a Byzantine-fault-tolerant design, a multi-level dynamic sharding model in which the mainnet splits into shardchains under load and merges back, a masterchain that couples integrated workchains, a fully asynchronous actor-model execution model, and a custom stack-based TON Virtual Machine supporting modern cryptography and zero-knowledge primitives. Consensus is run through Catchain 2.0, a variant of the Simplex protocol. Code is open source, audited by external security auditors, and supported by a permanent bug bounty program and periodic cracking contests.

The platform positions itself around Telegram integration, offering access to a stated 1B+ Telegram users. Telegram-facing surfaces include a Mini-Apps and bots platform connected to the chain via TON Connect, Telegram gifts convertible into TON-based NFTs that can be auctioned and traded, blockchain usernames, collectible phone-number-independent IDs, purchase of Telegram Stars and Telegram Premium, prepaid giveaways, and payout of Telegram advertising revenue in the native coin. Broader Web3 infrastructure includes TON DNS, TON Storage/TON Torrents, TON Sites, TON Proxy, the TON Payment Network, and Cocoon AI for decentralized private AI computing. Blockchain primitives include jettons and NFTs, mintless tokens distributable for about a $1 network fee, gasless and sponsored transactions, liquid staking from 1 coin with instant withdrawals, on-chain text messaging with optional end-to-end encryption, and a native USDt stablecoin with roughly 1.4B circulating supply on TON.

Developer tooling comprises the Tolk statically typed language for the TON Virtual Machine (compiling to gas-optimized bytecode with IDE support in JetBrains, VS Code, Cursor and Zed), the Acton all-in-one CLI covering scaffolding, native tests, debugging, deployment and verification, plus AppKit, WalletKit, TON Pay, AgentKit and agentic wallets aimed at autonomous agent transactions.