In January of 2018, Telegram’s highly-anticipated TON blockchain project was one of the most-talked about developments in the blockchain community––and for good reason. It’s not every day when an established tech company boldly claims to develop the next generation of Ethereum. Needless to say, Telegram caught the attention of many interested investors and ended up raising a massive $1.7 billion dollars.
Then things got murky. They abruptly cancelled their public sale, mostly because they exceeded their investment goals by $300 million. Still, this meant that ordinary investors wouldn’t be able to buy the Gram crypto token until it appears on exchanges, and the public wasn’t happy about that. Eventually the hype fizzled out and, after a few weeks of bad press, TON largely forgotten about.
Where Is TON Now?
Despite its departure from the public eye, it’s not been all quiet for TON. Telegram has recently started testing its blockchain, and have released various files and instructionsto help users become acquainted with its processes, including how to create smart contracts. This could be a game-changer in the crypto industry, as it would involve integrating cryptocurrency and blockchain technology into platform with a support base of 200-million people.
With that said, we’re still in the early stages. But if everything goes as planned, we could witness the development of a blockchain-driven messenger service that could even integrate the use of bots to facilitate crypto transactions and other blockchain-based services like smart contracts and even secure file storage.
But what does all this actually mean right now? It’s hard to say, but if TON works as intended, two things are likely to happen:
- Telegram becomes the go-to messaging service for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
- Cryptocurrency expands its reach, becoming more popular among mobile users who previously had no interest in it.
It’s safe to assume that this program won’t die off like other blockchain initiatives, as Telegram is a successful company which already commands a large public presence. And if their project does go as intended, it would be beneficial for the blockchain industry and could trigger other messenger services to explore ways to innovate with cryptocurrency.
