Toncoin Takes Center Stage in Telegram's Blockchain Ecosystem
The TON cryptocurrency is often associated with Toncoin, its native coin that operates within The Open Network (TON) ecosystem. This blockchain infrastructure was initially developed by Telegram's founder Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai in 2018 to create a large-scale blockchain foundation linked to the messenger.
However, development stopped in 2020 due to claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which blocked the previous launch model. After this, Pavel Durov withdrew from the project, and the code and network development were passed to an open community of developers.
The TON ecosystem has since formed around the network, with Toncoin used for settlements, fees, and rewards within services like TON Apps, TON Storage, TON Sites, and TON Payments. The latter is a payment system that allows fast transfers in Toncoin with zero fees, setting a world record of 55,000 transactions per second in September 2021.