Who still remembers TON, the blockchain project of Telegram, the most famous secure messenger? A project aborted due to problems with the SEC before finally becoming an open source project. Well, this one is still alive, as evidenced by a recent fundraising of 250 million dollars and a future use by African countries.
Ton, the story of Telegram’s blockchain
While I won’t insult you by introducing you to the Telegram app launched in 2013, those younger in the bockchain ecosystem may not know about the TON project.
Launched in 2018 by Pavel Durov the founder of Telegram, TON (for Telegram Open Network) was to be the official blockchain of the application. This one was supposed to propel the company to another level thanks to its token, the GRAM!
While the ICO is not even launched yet, nearly $ 850 million had been raised! 2018 then seemed to be the year of adoption. Especially since at the time a company clearly announced its interest in blockchain: Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg‘s company Meta, then Facebook, will indeed announce in spring 2018 the launch of its blockchain division. A project that will take shape in 2019 under the name Libra. A project that you know today as Diem.
Wait, my contact of the year 2018-2019 tells me in the earpiece that the ICO of TON has raised over 1.7 billion dollars! In the list of investors let’s mention Sequoia, Ribbit Capital and Lightspeed Venture! With Facebook and Telegram in the blockchain, 2018 will be the year of adoption! At worst, it will be 2019!
A story that TON wrong
As you know, 2018 and 2019 were not the Year of Adoption. Diem and TON on the other hand did not see the light of day as planned. Why? Well, because of our favorite American regulator: the SEC.
In October 2019, TON’s public ICO is approaching and the excitement around the project is at an all-time high. That’s when the US regulator swoops in and imposes to stop the sale. A blocking that will sign the (final?) death of the project in May 2020.
Pavel Durov, convinced of the merits of TON, will ask the blockchain community to continue its development. This is the beginning of the Open Source adventure of TON under the code name Free TON. Other projects have since seen the light of day.
Today, the blockchain is back in the spotlight with a $250 million fundraising.
250 million for the TONcoin fund
The TON Foundation, one of the initiatives driving blockchain projects TON recently announced the creation of the TONcoin fund.
A 250 million fund bringing together players like 3Commas Capital, Huobi Incubator, Kilo Fund, KuCoin Ventures, MEXC Pioneer Fund, Orbs and TON Miners.
The fund, in addition to rewarding developers using the TON blockchain also has another objective: to conquer the African market. What better way to do this than by signing agreements with Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)? Agreements that include, for example, the issuance of stablecoins to local populations, a major challenge for countries that are still under-banked.
Will TON become the reference blockchain in Africa, Cardano’s hunting ground? Only time will tell…
CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Coinpri I have been navigating the waters of Blockchain for 5 years already.
Wait, I can see the Promised Land of Adoption in the distance.