When we talk about cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology, we should be witnessing an infectious adoption on a global scale. These technologies can further enhance self-governance, thereby improving the security in the world. The obvious ensuing step that should be taken is a mainstream adoption of this technology.
There are a good number of reasons why mainstream adoption hasn’t been achieved yet. One of these reasons is that cryptocurrency and Blockchain inventors are yet to create a singular product that can function as a sort of Blockchain ecosystem. Such a product is sure to gain acceptance on a global scale.
This is the concept the Telegram Open Network is aiming to achieve. This guide aims to educate the reader on what the Telegraph Open Network (TON) is and how it is positioning itself to achieve global mainstream adoption.
What Is Telegram Open Network (TON)?
The Telegram Open Network will be a game-changer for social messaging. The Blockchain is a project born of social media behemoth, Telegram, which will be launched at the end of October.
So far, a total of $1.7 billion has been raised in funding for this project through 200 private investors via an Initial Coin Offering. This project can be a very lucrative venture for new investors to hop on considering the insane amount of users that the platform has. One of the major focuses of this project will be on Blockchain scaling. Blockchain scaling has lasting issues stalking the crypto space and TON claims to have the remedy to this.
The major challenge facing Existing Blockchains is its inability to scale enough to process large amounts of transactions suitable for mass adoption.
TON is also planning to provide adequate security for users. The primary goal of this technology is to boost cryptocurrency adoption across the globe and this would be impossible if they fail to provide round-the-clock security and insurance for its users. The decentralized nature of TON is going to be of great essence to this cause.
The Telegram Open Network project is not some other conventional ICO. This technology is also not built on any pre-existing Blockchain, instead, TON comes with its very Blockchain, the TON Blockchain. This system also has its cryptocurrency, GRAM coin, its consensus mechanism, and its virtual machine.
The native coin, GRAM, can be utilized for several functions on the Blockchain including micro-payments, providing access to DApps, payment of fees and also, generating value for messages via the Telegram Messenger app.
This Blockchain boasts of being able to facilitate transactions in a matter of seconds with limited or no charges. The TON platform comprises of a Blockchain and 292 supplementary networks. The Blockchain will possess the ability to support “sharding technology”, which is guaranteed to improve transaction speeds.
Sharding is a method for splitting the whole network into a bunch of compartments called shards, that incorporate their autonomous piece of state and transaction history. The central principle behind sharding is to conduct transactions in a parallel manner to distinguish data into several small Blockchains that can communicate with one another.
The public Blockchain also features a decentralized application platform and a peer-to-peer sharing and hosting economy.
In the Telegram Open Network’s white paper statement, the Company is planning on merging the messaging app platform with a wide array of other characteristics. The function will be most useful for knowledgeable crypto users.
History of TON
Back in 2013, some tech enthusiasts yearned to create a system that offers freedom by way of encryption. This was the desire that makes TON a reality today. TON was created to sustain a stringent independent nature and also to be a not-for-profit entity. The company followed in the of its mentor, Wikipedia, by creating a ‘.org’ domain to accentuate its non-commercial nature even further.
Telegram is an instant messaging cloud-based voice-over-IP service that was created by Telegram Messenger LLP. The founding fathers of the company are Pavel Durov and Nikolai Durov.
The ideology of substantial decentralization by the founding fathers is also witnessed in the physical foundation of TON. The company makes use of a server design that is scattered across several independent server clusters to guarantee data encryption.
Due to impressive features like encryption, speed, and autonomy, Telegram witnessed an extensive reception from millions of users in just a few months after its release. Subsequently, Telegram has evolved into a system that grosses over 12 updates in a year. In the first quarter of 2016, the system had 100 million active users and was delivering as much as 15 billion messages daily.
In the last quarter of 2017, the system received 170 million new users and was delivering as much as 70 billion messages daily basis. As of March of 2018 Telegram had 200 million active users. As of today, 500,000 users are added to the platform daily basis. Experts claim that these figures are only going to continue growing exponentially manner over the years.
Telegram says it is planning on using these remarkable figures to facilitate the widespread adoption of its cryptocurrency.
Features of TON
Information about the protocol as well as information about validators and their balances are stored on the Blockchain. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, GRAM does not provide support for mining, instead, the validity of transactions on the platform are determined by ‘validators’ who receive a small commission for every completed task.
There are also ‘working’ Blockchains which enables the user conduct smart contracts. These Blockchains are configured with different rules and make use of various Virtual Machines to execute the smart contracts.
Based on its white paper release, the Telegram Open Network will have several components including:
1- TON proxy:
This is a mechanism on the network that will help users mask their identities and create a decentralized virtual private network (VPN) to guarantee online privacy. This mechanism is done in a bid to ensure that the services being provided, including Telegram, has adequate protection form censorship.
2- TON storage:
This is described as a file storing mechanism used for the storage of arbitrary files that possess torrent-like access technology and contracts used to implement availability.
3- TON services:
This is an inaugurated platform that will be used to guarantee decentralized browsing experience and also for smart contracts.
4- TON DNS:
This feature will allow for access to available decentralized services to its users by designating accounts with human-readable labels.
5- TON payments:
This will provide support for instant off-chain payments within the network. It also features in-built safeguards to ensure security when conducting transfers, making sure that these transactions are as secure as on-chain transactions.
6- TON virtual machine:
This is the mechanism that facilitates smart contracts on the network.
What Is GRAM Cryptocurrency?
For a Blockchain to function properly, there has to be a native cryptocurrency. Telegram has issued GRAM as the base cryptocurrency for TON. This coin will function mainly as part of the in-app ecosystem on Telegram and will be used as a means for payment. The external use of this coin is still yet to be confirmed.
GRAM is built on a proof-of-stake protocol and protected using “smart contracts”. This will allow the network to conduct up to 10 million transactions per second. Furthermore, The GRAM coin can be used for the following purposes:
Payment for in-built services delivered by DApps.
It can be used to pay for the storage and security and security of data in a decentralized manner.
To pay for the registration of Blockchain domain names as well as for hosting whatever TON-related sites.
To pay for the masking of identities and IP addresses, from specified viewers to improve on privacy even further.
To pay for the avoidance of censorship that internet service providers normally enforce.
To pay for digital and physical assets sold by brokers inside the TON ecosystem or on other TON-related projects.
With regards to the business model practiced by TON, their services are free for its users, in what TON calls a ‘Freemium’.
Potential Competitor
The obvious competition TON will be faced with is Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, Libra.
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Libra is a platform that will conduct almost the same functions as the Telegram Open Network. Libra’s major aims are to, first, manufacture a singular digital currency that will achieve global adoption. The second primary aim is to create a facilitates domestic and international financial transactions on a basic mobile interface. This system will be built on a Blockchain architecture capable of achieving great speeds, security, and scalability. It also plans on achieving a fully decentralized system as time goes by.
These are goals that TON has also set for itself. Though they both have different characteristics, it is obvious that they share similar qualities. This has caused experts to believe that these entities will exhibit intense competition when they are launched. Whether these Blockchain giants become rivals or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that they receive extensive adoption on the global front and bring more advancements to cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology.
With the headway TON has been gathering, it is expected that this product will receive an extensive adoption globally.
Source: News | CryptoEvent.io | Crypto Trading News & Reviews