The rise of TON (The Open Network) has been spectacular, driven by its seamless integration with Telegram and remarkable price performance, reaching new all-time highs in June 2024. Its native token, Toncoin ($TON), has achieved a market cap of $17 billion and a total value locked (TVL) of over 660 million at the time of writing.
This year, the network has gained tremendous traction, becoming the preferred solution for Web3 integration with Telegram, which reportedly has over 900 million users worldwide.
Key developments fueling TON's rapid adoption include the global launch of TON Space, a self-hosted digital wallet (Telegram Wallet), a strategic partnership with Tencent to create a ‘Super App Eco-platform,’ and the launch of native stablecoin payments. Major investors like Pantera Capital have also highlighted TON’s scalability and extensive user base, comparing its potential to that of Solana or Ethereum and claiming TON as one of the most exciting and unique blockchains in existence today.
Below, we explore some of the most unique innovations within the TON ecosystem. 👇
The Telegram Wallet, introduced in the fall of 2023, is a versatile tool for managing digital currencies directly within the Telegram messaging app. It offers both custodial and non-custodial options, giving users the flexibility to choose between having Telegram manage their keys or maintaining full control themselves.
TON Space, a novel feature within the Telegram Wallet, serves as its non-custodial component. It allows users to store, send, receive, and exchange various cryptocurrencies, including Toncoin, Bitcoin, and stablecoins, all within the app. Users can back up their wallets using Telegram and their email, eliminating the need to remember a seed phrase. Additionally, users can track their portfolio in real-time and receive transaction notifications.
Why this matters:
The key advantage of TON Space is its seamless integration with Telegram, providing easy access to funds, quick transactions with contacts, as well as enhanced security and flexibility for experienced users. Its integration with Telegram bots and services allows for efficient market updates, trading actions, and service payments, all in one place.
TON Space simplifies digital asset management, making it accessible to a broader audience while offering advanced features for experienced users. By combining the convenience of a messaging app with the functionality of a comprehensive wallet, TON Space aims to drive mass adoption of cryptocurrency, potentially increasing the user base to 500 million by 2028.
To understand how to choose the right wallet for your TON assets here, visit: https://www.coingecko.com/learn/top-ton-wallets-jettons-crypto
TON capitalizes on the messaging app's extensive user base to create a network capable of supporting a wide range of applications. Its ecosystem comprises the TON Blockchain, TON Storage, TON DNS, and TON Services, all designed to work seamlessly together.
At the core of TON is its blockchain, built for high performance and scalability. Its dynamic sharding mechanism enables the network to process millions of transactions per second, scaling efficiently as the user base expands.
Dynamic sharding is TON's key feature for achieving high scalability. The ability to shard into individual chains (work chains and shard chains) allows TON to "distribute" transactions, effectively removing the bottleneck of processing transactions on a single blockchain. Learn more about how TON’s dynamic sharding works here.
Why this Matters:
TON’s multifaceted services extend beyond traditional blockchain functionality, aiming to establish a foundational Web3 platform. By integrating various decentralized services within a single ecosystem, TON provides the infrastructure necessary for a decentralized internet, positioning itself as a significant player in the evolution of digital infrastructure. Additionally, TON’s highly scalable blockchain offers an ideal platform for developers looking to deploy applications for a large audience without compromising on speed or security.
Over 360 million users engage monthly with Telegram's “Mini Apps,” including chatbots and mini-games which are easily accessible via the TON Space. These TON-based applications leverage TON’s innovative support for payment channel technology (or Lightning Network) designed for fast off-chain transactions, efficiently handling microtransactions and high-frequency trading.
Why this Matters:
TON’s native support for off-chain scaling and the lightning network design addresses the scalability trilemma more effectively than bolt-on solutions. It allows the blockchain to handle high-frequency, low-value transactions, which are essential for the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology.
Currently, there are over 300 projects on TON, with most building mini-apps accessible via the Telegram Apps Center. Earlier this year, memecoin trading tools like BonkBot leveraging this technology generated millions of dollars in revenue through Telegram’s interface. TON-based applications such as StormTrade now enable users to trade perpetuals, cryptocurrencies, stocks, and equities using the same platform. With StormTrade facilitating over $10 million in daily trading volume, similar TON-native Telegram bots are poised to become the preferred user experience for many traders.
On April 19th, 2024, Tether announced the deployment of a stablecoin, USDt, on the TON blockchain and in Wallet in Telegram. This development represents a significant advancement for the industry, allowing hundreds of millions of users to seamlessly send and receive stablecoins through the Telegram platform, making payments as easy as using Venmo or Apple Cash.
Additionally, as part of the TON network’s scalability plan, straight from Telegram Wallet, users can transfer USDt to i) contacts or other Telegram users; and ii) their own or others’ addresses in the TON blockchain for a very low fee (currently ~0.005 TON), making it a very convenient and competitive platform for small businesses and services.
Why this Matters:
For the TON community, integrating USDt into Wallet in Telegram significantly improves the transaction experience. Users benefit from free transfers within Telegram and only pay network fees when transacting on-chain, using TON space or other self-custodial wallets. USDt on TON also provides an accessible entry point for newcomers to cryptocurrencies, combining the advantages of digital currencies with the stability of traditional fiat currencies.
In fact, the supply of USDT stablecoin on the TON network crossed 500 million after two months of rollout, reflecting a high demand for this use-case.
Even when transacting on-chain, the TON blockchain is relatively cheap. Employing a gas based model, simple transactions’ fee currently averages 0.005 TON, or $0.04 at the time of writing when $TON was priced at $8. At this level, TON positions itself as a potential competitor to Solana - although TON’s scalability has not yet been tested as extensively.
Inflation rate in the protocol is 0.5% per year - considerably small compared to other blockchains. To compensate for that, all network participants are rewarded from both transaction fees and block rewards. As a consequence, users are incentivized to stake their TONcoin to secure the network and directly benefit from network adoption. The biggest advantage lies in keeping assets staked on-chain rather than with external parties offering a fixed APY, e.g. centralized exchanges. As part of a deflationary mechanism, 50% of all TONcoin collected in fees is burnt.
TON relies on the DPoS consensus mechanism with a set of validators who propose and validate new blocks. The validator set is determined by the Elector governance smart contract, which allocates new rounds based on each validator's weight, represented by the amount of tokens delegated to them.
Staking is one of the safest and most predictable ways to earn rewards in the crypto space, as the value originates from the blockchain’s native currency inflation, making it forecastable.
By staking your TON, you help secure the network and earn rewards. Chorus One is the leading enterprise-grade staking platform, enabling institutional customers to stake TON and integrate TON staking functionality into their offerings. We are ready to closely collaborate and contribute to the success of the TON ecosystem, and provide the best staking experience possible.
Reach out to us if you are an institution looking to stake TON with Chorus One.
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for 50+ Proof-of-Stake networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, and Near, amongst others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry and now offer easy enterprise-grade staking solutions, industry-leading research, and also invest in some of the most cutting-edge protocols through Chorus Ventures. We are a team of over 50 passionate individuals spread throughout the globe who believe in the transformative power of blockchain technology.
Restaking Summer has arrived.
The staking revolution on Ethereum and other proof-of-stake blockchains has been one of the biggest developments in crypto over the past few years. First came staking pools and services that allowed users to earn rewards by contributing their crypto assets to help secure these networks. Then liquid staking derivatives like stETH unlocked composability and liquidity - holders could put their staked assets to work earning yield in DeFi while still earning staking rewards.
The first half of 2024 has seen the rise of restaking - protocols that allow staked assets like stETH, wETH, osETH and more to be recursively staked to earn compounding rewards. EigenLayer took restaking mainstream, locking nearly $20B in TVL (at the time of writing) as users flocked to maximize their yields. But restaking has been limited to a single asset like ETH so far.
Now, a new protocol called Symbiotic is aiming to push restaking into its next phase - a permissionless, asset-agnostic restaking layer for all of crypto.
Symbiotic is a generalized shared security protocol that serves as a thin coordination layer. It empowers network builders to source operators and scale economic security for their decentralized network.
At its core, Symbiotic separates the concepts of staking capital ("collateral") and validator infrastructure. This allows networks to tap into pools of staked assets as economic bandwidth, while giving stakeholders full flexibility in delegating to the operators of their choice.
The Symbiotic protocol has a modular design with five core components that work together to provide a flexible and efficient ecosystem for decentralized networks.
Symbiotic leverages a flexible model with specific characteristics that offer distinct advantages to each stakeholder:
For Operators:
For Restakers:
For Networks:
The protocol opened for deposits on June 11th, and it was met with much fanfare and demand: within a mere 5 hours of going live, a whopping 41,000 staked wETH had already been deposited into the protocol - smashing through the initial cap! New crypto assets and higher caps will be added as the protocol onboards more networks and operators.
Symbiotic sets itself apart with a permissionless and modular framework, providing enhanced flexibility and control. Key features include:
EigenLayer employs a more managed and centralized strategy, concentrating on utilizing the security provided by ETH stakers to back various decentralized applications (AVSs):
Symbiotic has collaborated extensively with Mellow Protocol, its "native flagship" liquid restaking solution. This partnership empowers node operators and other curators to create their own composable LRTs, allowing them to manage risks by choosing networks that align with their specific requirements, rather than having these decisions imposed by restaking protocols.
Mellow provides the ability for anyone, including hedge funds and node operators, to deploy a Liquid Restaking Token. This will likely lead to a significant increase in the number of LRTs, complicating their integration with DeFi protocols and affecting liquidity. Despite these challenges, Mellow offers several advantages:
We’re proud to share that we have integrated Symbiotic restaking into our staking dApp, OPUS Pool.
OPUS users can now seamlessly tap into Symbiotic's restaking capabilities with just a few clicks on our dApp. When the cap is relifted, simply deposit your assets to start earning Symbiotic points, which can soon be delegated to operators like Chorus One to earn rewards.
Not only is the process incredibly user-friendly, but it's fully secure and censorship-resistant - restaking as it was meant to be.
Start restaking today at: https://opus.chorus.one/pool/restake
Resources:
Symbiotic Website: https://symbiotic.fi/
Docs: https://docs.symbiotic.fi/
Twitter:https://x.com/symbioticfi
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for 50+ Proof-of-Stake networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, and Near, amongst others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry and now offer easy enterprise-grade staking solutions, industry-leading research, and also invest in some of the most cutting-edge protocols through Chorus Ventures. We are a team of over 50 passionate individuals spread throughout the globe who believe in the transformative power of blockchain technology.
We're excited to announce that Chorus One has partnered with E Money Network, a pioneering MiCA-compliant blockchain for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. This collaboration brings together two companies committed to driving accessibility and trust in the digital assets space.
Through this partnership, E Money Network will integrate Chorus One's OPUS software development kit (SDK), enabling E Money wallet users to effortlessly stake their Ethereum (ETH) and earn rewards while maintaining liquidity. The OPUS SDK provides a secure and seamless way for institutions like E Money to offer staking services within their platform.
For E Money users, this integration unlocks new opportunities to grow their crypto holdings simply by holding assets in their wallet. Staking ETH has never been easier - users can earn passive income without complex setup or compromising access to their funds. This aligns perfectly with E Money's mission of bridging liquidity between traditional and decentralized finance.
Chorus One is excited to work with an innovative and compliance-focused platform like E Money. This partnership allows Chorus One to expand staking services to E Money Network’s user base while exploring possibilities in the emerging RWA tokenization space. RWA tokenization, led by E Money Network, could unlock liquidity for staked assets in the future.
"We're thrilled to partner with E Money Network and bring seamless staking to their community of users," said Sam Khler, Head of Business Development at Chorus One. "E Money's regulatory strengths and RWA capabilities create exciting opportunities as we work together to make staking more accessible."
Both Chorus One and E Money Network place a major emphasis on regulatory compliance, security and building trust with users. E Money Network has KYC and AML compliance integrated at the infrastructure level, while Chorus One is a pioneer in secure, regulated staking services for institutions.
"Partnering with an industry leader like Chorus One is a major milestone towards seamless accessibility for crypto staking," said Raj Bagadi, CEO of E Money Network. "E Money Network prides itself on compliance and user security; together we can provide a staking experience that prioritizes trust and simplicity."
As the crypto ecosystem continues evolving, strategic partnerships like this pave the way for real-world use cases and adoption of blockchain technology. The future is collaborative, compliant and user-friendly - and this alliance puts that vision into practice.
Our OPUS SDK allows any institution to seamlessly integrate secure Ethereum staking into their product with up to 90% reduced development time. It comes packed with institutional features like liquid staking and restaking to maximize yields. OPUS abstracts away the complex staking infrastructure while prioritizing security and compliance. With our industry-leading solution, you can effortlessly offer trusted ETH staking services to drive blockchain adoption for your users.
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for 50+ Proof-of-Stake networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, and Near, amongst others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry and now offer easy enterprise-grade staking solutions, industry-leading research, and also invest in some of the most cutting-edge protocols through Chorus Ventures. We are a team of over 50 passionate individuals spread throughout the globe who believe in the transformative power of blockchain technology.
In blockchains, reliability and accessibility are key factors for increased web3 adoption, addressing certain bottlenecks in existing layer-1 protocol implementations. In distributed systems such as blockchain, the process of carrying out a transaction differs from modifying the ledger's state and recording the outcomes.
Aptos is designed in a modular way, which enables quick development and facilitates faster release cycles. Unlike monolithic architectures that require extensive time for editing, auditing, and testing, this modular approach allows changes to be focused on specific modules. This offers a systematic way to expand validators beyond just one machine by granting them access to more computational power, network capabilities, and storage options.
Aptos is a Layer 1 Proof-of-Stake blockchain. It uses Move, a programming language developed from Meta’s Diem and Novi projects. Move is designed for safety and reliability, harnessing the power of Rust, a low-level programming language.
Aptos’ technological stack features many novel models, including the AptosBFTv4 consensus mechanism, the Quorum Store mempool protocol, the Block-STM parallel execution engine, and Move on Aptos. The transaction flow on Aptos is distinctly different from most competing networks, with every step of the process—from broadcasting transactions, ordering block metadata, to consolidating storage—happening concurrently in a modular fashion.
AptosBFT, originally named DiemBFT, is a consensus algorithm developed by Diem’s core blockchain developers, many of whom now contribute to Aptos through Aptos Labs. AptosBFT implements increased throughput and lower latency compared to existing PBFT through a round-by-round consensus and block chaining. AptosBFT v4 enhances transaction processing speed through linear communication and chaining, improving synchronization speed among validators via a 'Pacemaker' and 'Timeout' mechanism.
The Aptos Labs team also introduced Quorum Store, an implementation of Narwhal. Quorum improves consensus throughput by decoupling data dissemination from network consensus. Before Quorum Store, transaction processing involved two major phases: Mempool and Consensus. An intermediate phase, the Quorum phase, was added between them. The Mempool holds potential user transactions, Quorum Store pulls batches of these transactions, broadcasts them, and forms proofs of their availability. Consensus orders these proofs, and execution uses Quorum Store to map them back to the corresponding transaction batches, thereby solving the problem of transaction redundancy efficiently.
DPoS - Delegated Staking: This serves as an expansion of the staking protocol. It involves a delegation pool acting as an intermediary between the stake owner and the validator. This pool can gather stakes from delegators and include them in the native stake pool linked to the validator on their behalf. This system enables various entities to meet the criteria for a validator to join the set by pooling stakes. Delegators have the option to contribute to an inactive pool, but rewards are only earned once it becomes active. The minimum stake is 11 APT, with the option to unstake at any time, but funds are not available until the next validator unlock date. Delegators are paid 8% of the service fees.
Move: Aptos blockchain seamlessly incorporates and utilizes the Move programming language for rapid and reliable transaction processing. The Move Prover, a formal validator for smart contracts written in Move, offers security against common errors, providing builders and developers tools to defend projects against attack vectors like double-spending.
Parallel Execution: Aptos handles transaction processing in parallel without requiring an upfront declaration of user-known dependencies, unlike other blockchains such as Solana and Sui. This approach facilitates more intricate transactions, reducing costs and latency for end users.
Transaction Flow: Aptos maximizes throughput and reduces complexity in transaction processing by dividing it into three stages: pipelining, batching, and parallel execution. These stages can be parallelized, enabling novel modes of validator-client interaction and enhancing development timelines by treating each phase as a separate entity. Transactions are organized into batches by each validator, merged into blocks through a consensus mechanism.
The native token of the Aptos ecosystem (APT token) serves multiple purposes:
As of October 2022, the total token supply of APT is 1 billion tokens, with a circulating supply of 130,000,000.
The Aptos ecosystem is growing thanks to continued efforts to improve UX through safety and performance.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Several DeFi projects are building DEX Aggregator, DeFi HyperApp, Liquidity engine, and perpetual DEX on Aptos.
Improved User Experience (UX): Platforms are building tools and products to simplify the process of building scalable applications on Aptos.
On-chain Gaming: Platforms are using Aptos SDK to build multi-platform applications by bringing decentralization to Unity developers.
Aptos is also facilitating interoperability by launching bridges like Wormhole on Aptos that allow native Ethereum and Solana users to move into the Aptos ecosystem.
Technical Improvements: Contributors to the Aptos protocol are committed to making the network more scalable, performant, and robust. The team at Aptos Labs developed a solution for deep testing called Previewnet that replicates what Aptos mainnet will look like in the coming months.
The team also unlocked a new record of >30k TPS (Transaction per seconds) in the Previewnet. Aptos is striving to expand scalability even more, aiming for >100k TPS as their next goal on the path to surpassing 1 million TPS. This bold target is in line with Aptos' goal of building a platform that can cater to billions of users, paving the way for widespread adoption of Web3 technologies.
Ecosystem Partnerships: Aptos collaborates with industry leaders like Google Cloud, Microsoft, and MoonPay, indicating potential for future growth and adoption.
Website: https://aptoslabs.com/
Developer Documentation: https://aptos.dev/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aptos
Telegram: https://github.com/aptos-labs
Github: https://github.com/aptos-labs
Discord: https://discord.gg/aptosnetwork
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for 50+ Proof-of-Stake networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, and Near, amongst others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry and now offer easy enterprise-grade staking solutions, industry-leading research, and also invest in some of the most cutting-edge protocols through Chorus Ventures. We are a team of over 50 passionate individuals spread throughout the globe who believe in the transformative power of blockchain technology.
