The TON Network (The Open Network) started as a secret project by Telegram founders, the Durov brothers, in 2017. The original idea was to build a payment platform integrated into Telegram to enable instant cryptocurrency transactions and reach Telegram's millions of users.
However, in 2019 the SEC halted TON's $1.7 billion Gram token sale, alleging it was an unregistered illegal offering. This led the Durovs to formally announce leaving the TON project in 2020 after a legal dispute.
Despite this, several independent teams picked up TON's development, now under the name The Open Network, a decentralized network built on the original technology but with no links to Telegram.
Today TON has over 500 decentralized applications running on its blockchain, including wallets, play-to-earn games, NFT markets and DeFi platforms. Although TON and Telegram are separate entities, most of these applications operate as bots within Telegram to leverage its 700+ million user base.
This proximity to Telegram is TON's big bet: using a mainstream platform to introduce cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to a mass audience organically. Telegram users can interact with wallets, transactions, NFTs and games without leaving the app they already know, reducing the learning curve.
The native currency of the TON network is Toncoin (TON), currently trading at around $2.35 after reaching an all-time high of $4.5 in November 2021. If TON achieved the same market cap as Cardano, TON's price could reach $3.15. And if it reached Cardano's record market cap of $89 billion, TON could trade above $25.
Of course this would depend on several factors:
The TON ecosystem continues to grow rapidly.
Toncoin gains more adoption and reaches top exchanges like Binance and Coinbase.
Telegram maintains and increases its user base.
No new legal troubles affect TON.
And of course, the overall crypto market rallies.
If these factors are met, TON could become one of the breakout projects of the next bull run, emerging from the current crypto winter to shine as a new decentralized finance unicorn.
Its potential lies in leveraging a messaging app with hundreds of millions of users to introduce them to cryptocurrency in a friendly way. As has happened with other networks that achieved mass adoption, this could be a decisive factor.
If TON manages to get even a small fraction of Telegram's 700 million users to use its decentralized applications, it could become a DeFi giant.
Whether the independent developers currently building on TON will be able to execute this vision remains to be seen. But the potential is there. TON already has a thriving and constantly growing ecosystem. It just needs to light the fuse through Telegram to take off.
If successful, TON could go from an underground project during crypto winter, to a mainstream blockchain with millions of new users dipping their toes into crypto through its bots.
If this happens, current Toncoin holders who weathered the darkness of crypto winter could see their efforts rewarded manifold during the next bull run. TON is certainly a project to watch closely during 2023 and 2024.
