The Hidden Rule of TON: Why Comments Matter for Gram and USDT Transfers

Setting up a wallet on The Open Network (TON) takes only two minutes, but the real challenge begins afterward. Despite a transfer being visible on the network and marked as successful by the explorer, the funds often fail to arrive in the exchange account. This is usually due to a missing 'comment' or 'memo,' a crucial piece of information that, if left out, can cause the payment to land on a pooled address, making it impossible to book.

TON is not an EVM network, and its rules are distinct from those of Ethereum and other popular blockchain platforms. To send Gram or USDT on TON, users need a wallet that speaks TON natively, such as Tonkeeper, MyTonWallet, or the self-custody wallet inside the messenger. These wallets generate a sequence of recovery words, which serve as the actual ownership of the funds.

When sending, users must include a comment or memo in the 'comment' field, which is usually labeled as such. This comment is critical and must be entered correctly, as it determines the destination of the funds. If the comment is missing, empty, or contains errors, the payment will fail, and the funds will remain stuck in the network.

Fortunately, Tonviewer and Tonscan, two popular block explorers, can help users track the status of their transactions and identify any issues. These tools show the status of the transfer, the comment or memo, the counterparty address, and the fee withheld by the network.

TON's fees are minimal, ranging from 0.00031 to 0.00195 Gram, which is equivalent to around 4-25 hundredths of a cent at the current price of €1.38. Payment is always in Gram, even when sending USDT, and a small float of one or two Gram in the wallet can solve the problem permanently.