Glossary
TON
The Open Network — a high-throughput Layer-1 originally designed by Telegram, now built around deep Telegram integration and mini-app distribution.
TON (The Open Network) started as a Telegram project in 2018, spun out after a 2020 SEC settlement, and is now maintained by the independent TON Foundation. The chain uses a custom infinite- sharding model and a workchain architecture aimed at very high throughput.
TON's distinguishing advantage is its tight relationship with Telegram — the messaging app's 1B+ users can interact with TON via the in-app wallet and Telegram Mini Apps. Notcoin and Hamster Kombat drove huge user-acquisition spikes on TON in 2024.