Architecture & blockchain
24 articlesBlock structure in the TON blockchain
TON block: title (header, fixed in Masterchain, reference to the previous block, Merck root, workchain ID, next slot number) + main part (body, variable in the shardchain, transactions + state changes).shardingThe consensus is BFT. It supports light clients.
Blockchain Terminology
A concise glossary of core blockchain concepts, from basic structures to TON‑specific architecture.
Cryptography in TON
Cryptography in TON is the basis of security, confidentiality and integrity of data. It uses RSA, AES, digital signatures, hash functions. Evolution: monoalphabetic cipher (Ancient Egypt) → polyalphabetical (middle ages) → classical (Enigma 1918) → modern (asymmetry + symmetry & hashing). Hybrid encryption (asymmetry for key exchange + symmetry of data) was developed by Nikolai Durov and the Telegram team.
Gram (formerly Toncoin)
The native cryptocurrency of The Open Network blockchain, used to pay fees, for staking, and for payments across the TON ecosystem. Ticker GRAM; the smallest unit is the nanoton (9 decimal places).
KYC
KYC (Know Your Customer) is a set of procedures to verify client identity, used in finance and crypto, including TON’s @Wallet.
Key Metrics of TON
Key metrics such as TPS, block propagation time, active wallets, daily transactions, fees, and node decentralization gauge TON’s performance and security.
Layer 1 Blockchain
Layer 1 blockchains provide the base ledger and consensus layer, handling transaction finality and security while facing the blockchain trilemma.
Node
A node is a computer that stores, processes, and validates TON blockchain data, supporting decentralization and scalability.
PoS
Proof of Stake (PoS) Blockchain consensus mechanism: validators stakingTON uses PoS + BFT (Catchain) for scalability and sharding, the rotation of validators every ~1024 blocks.
Smart Contracts
Smart contracts are autonomous programs on the TON blockchain, written in FunC, Tact or Tolk and executed by the TON Virtual Machine with sharding for scalability.
TON Blockchain Architecture
TON uses a bag‑of‑cells data model, Infinite Sharding Paradigm, and a masterchain that coordinates shardchains and configurable smart contracts.
TON Proxy
TON Proxy is a decentralized network of proxy servers on the TON blockchain that provides encrypted, censorship‑resistant access to .ton sites.
TON Sharding
TON Sharding splits the masterchain into workchains and shardchains, enabling dynamic scaling and high throughput.
TON Storage
TON Storage is a peer‑to‑peer file storage system on the TON network that lets users upload any type of data and retrieve it via a decentralized hash table.
TON Virtual Machine (TVM)
The TON Virtual Machine (TVM) is a stack‑based virtual machine that executes smart contracts on the TON blockchain, using cells and continuations for deterministic on‑chain computation.
TON advantages compared to other blockchains
Comparison of TON with Bitcoin (L1 PoW, UTXO), Ethereum (L 1 PoS, up to 64 chords, 15 TPS, finalisation time 12.8 min), Solana (single chain, 65K TPS of simple transactions, failure 09.2021 at 17 hours).sharding(up to 2^32 vorkcheins × 2^60 chords), a new block every 5 seconds, a record 104 715 TPS (stress test 10.2022).
TON mining history
TON mining history: Telegram ICO 2018 ($1.7B), SEC suit, world agreement 2020. Telegram has placed TON in 20 PoW-Giver smart contracts (10 Small + 10 Large). Initial Proof-of-Work (IPoW) from 06.06.2020 to 28.06.2022. ~200K GRAM/day. After IPoW switch to PoS.
Telegram Open Network
Telegram Open Network (TON) was Telegram’s original blockchain project, featuring the $GRAM token, a 2019 SEC lawsuit, and a 2020 shutdown before community forks revived the code.
The Open Network
The Open Network (TON) is a Layer 1 blockchain built on Proof‑of‑Stake and dynamic sharding, originally created by Telegram and now community‑driven.
The Open Network (TON): an overview of the ecosystem
An extended overview of the TON ecosystem: timeline of the rebirth after SEC vs Telegram (2020), technology (master chain + wormchains + charades), 611+ dApps in the catalog, products of Tonkeeper / STON.fi / Fragment / Getgems / TONup.
Transaction Fees
Transaction Fees fees for transfer/entry/withdrawal of cryptocurrencies. Protect against spam attacks. Bitcoin: depends on size in bytes (satoshi). Ethereum: gas in gwei (base fee + priority fee). TON: 5 components (storage, in_fwd, computation, action, out_fWD), ~0,005 GRAM per transaction.
Transaction types in the TON blockchain
A transaction in TON sends an incoming message, executes a smart contract, generates outgoing messages. Logical time for ordering. 6 types: ordinary, storage, tick, tock, separating, combining. A typical transaction has 5 phases: storage, crediting, computation, action, bounce.
Validator
A validator is a PoS network node that verifies transactions and creates new blocks, requiring a stake and rewarding participants with fees and newly minted tokens.
Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Proofs
Zero‑knowledge proofs let a prover convince a verifier of a statement’s truth without revealing any underlying data.