Toncoin review 2024: Would you buy?

"Discover Toncoin, a cutting-edge cryptocurrency revolutionizing digital transactions with its secure blockchain technology. Learn more here!"

Apr 17, 2024 - 13:15

May 29, 2024 - 15:56

Toncoin, abbreviated as TON, has risen to the top 25 in terms of market capitalization. What factors are propelling its ascent in the rankings?

Our Verdict

Toncoin, originally called GRAM, is a layer-1 blockchain network developed by Telegram in 2018. This ambitious project was envisioned to create a blockchain that is fast, secure, and scalable, capable of processing millions of transactions per second, while also being user-friendly and accommodating to service providers.

Pros

TON domains
Proof of stake
TON mobile eSIM functionality
Facilitates effortless sending and receiving of payments on Telegram

Cons

Not listed on many major exchanges
Blockchain explorer offers limited visibility
Somewhat controversial history and token distribution

4.4

Starting price

$6.50

Proof of Stake (PoS)

The blockchain uses a PoS consensus mechanism

TON mobile eSIM

Offers mobile connectivity via eSIM technology

Toncoin, abbreviated as TON, has risen to the top 25 in terms of market capitalization. What factors are propelling its ascent in the rankings? This review delves into Toncoin's strengths and weaknesses, its ties with Telegram, and evaluates aspects like network speed and decentralization. By the conclusion, you'll gain insights into Toncoin's mechanics and assess if purchasing TON aligns with your investment strategy.

Analyzing Toncoin's performance and ratings

Decentrazilation	Developer engagement
Rating: Medium Explanation: Toncoin's 348 global validators, as per TON Stat, signify a moderate level of network participation, though not particularly extensive. However, the lack of transparency in viewing wallet addresses and holdings hinders the assessment of its decentralization compared to more transparent blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin.	Rating: Medium Explanation: Toncoin maintains a reasonably active GitHub repository, but several components have not seen updates in months. This suggests a potential risk of technological stagnation if ongoing improvements and developments are not sustained.

Network speed	Liquidity
Rating: High Explanation: Toncoin boasts a high rating due to its impressive technical capabilities, including a 5-second block time and 6-second transaction finality, which contribute to fast and efficient blockchain operations.	Rating: Medium Explanation: Despite being a top 10 cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Toncoin's availability is limited on major centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Binance. Instead, a significant portion of its trading volume occurs on decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap and PancakeSwap.

Advantages of Toncoin

TON eSIM

For travelers, TonMobile eSIMs are highly convenient. If your phone supports eSIM (common in newer models), you can purchase an eSIM directly through the Telegram app. This allows you to install a SIM for the country you're visiting, ensuring easy connectivity abroad.

Telegram payments

One of Toncoin's standout features is its integration with Telegram, enabling free TON transfers between users who have a TON wallet set up. This facilitates seamless payments for various purposes like reimbursing friends or buying goods/services. However, it's worth noting that TON must be purchased to utilize this feature; fiat or other digital assets cannot be sent via TON.

TON domains

Similar to Ethereum Naming Service (ENS) or Unstoppable Domains, TON Domains are purchasable domains within the TON network, such as CryptoVantage.ton. These domains streamline fund transfers by allowing users to send funds using the domain instead of the full alphanumeric wallet address, enhancing network usability for sending and receiving funds.

Disadvantages of Toncoin

Poor blockchain explorer

While TON does offer several blockchain explorers, including the official TON Stat explorer, they fall short in providing comprehensive data. Users cannot view transactions, wallet addresses, balances, validators, or staked amounts for each validator, making it challenging to assess the project's health thoroughly. The introduction of a better explorer would alleviate this concern.

Availability

Toncoin, despite its top 10 ranking by market cap, lacks availability on many major exchanges and is primarily tradeable for USDT unless using a decentralized exchange where it can be traded for WETH or WBNB. This limited availability makes TON's price more susceptible to manipulation due to the restricted options for buying and selling the asset.

Controversial background

Toncoin, previously known as Gram and launched by Telegram, has a controversial history. It initially raised $1.7 billion but faced regulatory challenges from the SEC, resulting in fines and the project's shutdown. Toncoin, rebranded from Gram and launched by TON Labs, is primarily designed for use with Telegram, bypassing the SEC's oversight mandate. However, caution is warranted due to its contentious background.

The network's claim of a fair initial launch is disputed, as 15 validators were handpicked and given significant amounts of TON, creating a high barrier to entry for others who wish to become validators. The minimum requirement of 300,000 TON to be a validator, coupled with the absence of other distribution methods aside from staking rewards (at 4-5%), results in an entry cost exceeding half a million dollars. This exorbitant barrier to entry raises concerns about the network's decentralization claims, especially when compared to other blockchain projects with lower validator entry costs.