In-depth Exploration of the TON Blockchain and Its Applications

The TON ecosystem has recently attracted a lot of attention, with various mini-games based on TON emerging one after another. As an L1 public chain, how does TON differ from other blockchains, what advantages does it have, and what can ordinary users do on TON? Let's explore these questions together.

Introduction to TON

TON (The Open Network) is a decentralized blockchain network designed to serve the high concurrency interaction needs of hundreds of millions of users. Compared to traditional blockchains like Bitcoin, TON can currently handle millions of transactions per second, greatly enhancing its processing capacity.

TON is backed by a large user base, and combined with the mini-program framework, it provides great potential for its development. Unlike the traditional way of expanding Web2 user groups through Web3, TON seems to have taken a new path: allowing users to access Web3 through Web2 methods.

Technical Features of TON

The main technical features of TON are high concurrency, high efficiency, and scalability. It uses a fully parallel architecture to solve two key problems: how to execute in parallel and how to ensure state consistency.

Based on Actor Parallel Environment

The basic unit in TON is the Actor, similar to smart contracts in Ethereum. TON does not distinguish between the concepts of accounts and smart contracts; all objects are Actors, including user accounts. Actors have certain logical execution capabilities and data storage capabilities, and during the transaction process, they undergo steps such as event triggering, executing contract methods, updating states, and sending messages.

Sharding Mechanism

Sharding is the key mechanism that TON uses to ensure scalability. It can dynamically adjust the amount of transactions that nodes process, splitting transactions into multiple "subsets" for parallel processing when transaction volume is high, and merging "subsets" when the transaction volume is low.

The sharding mechanism of TON includes concepts such as account chains, sharding chains, work chains, and main chains. Among them, the work chain is similar to the concept of L2, allowing the creation of up to 2^32 work chains, each of which can be subdivided into up to 2^60 shards.

Error Rollback

TON handles error rollbacks in parallel scenarios through internal message bouncing. When an error occurs, the original message bounces back, carrying the remaining TON information and setting the flag to "bounced". The Actor performs error handling upon receiving the bounced message.

Some Details of the TON User Experience

TON account model

The TON account is essentially a "contract". When a new wallet is created, the account is not fully established; it is only initialized during the first transaction, when a portion of TON is deducted as a contract deployment fee.

Jetton transaction of TON

Jettons (tokens) on TON are not stored directly in the TON wallet, but have independent addresses and are associated with the TON wallet.

Gas fee calculation for TON

The transaction fees for TON are relatively high. In addition to the regular transaction, contract deployment, and interaction fees, TON also requires payment for storage fees. Wallets that have not been used for a long time may incur higher Gas fees.

Wallet category of TON

The TON wallet has multiple versions, each implementing different functions. The most widely used version is the "V4R2" wallet, while the newly launched "W5" wallet supports paying Gas fees with other tokens.

Application Scenarios on TON

Telegram Mini Program

Mini programs on Telegram, especially game-related applications, have recently shown explosive growth. These applications attract users through task mechanisms and airdrop expectations, achieving rapid user growth.

TON website creation

TON allows users to create websites by purchasing domain name NFTs, realizing the original function of domain names. The price of domain names is related to their length, with a minimum of 1 TON.

Robot Applications

Although the bots are mainly related to Telegram, it is also worth mentioning. There are a large number of bots on Telegram for viewing trades, monitoring, and quick transactions, with a fee of about 1% charged for each interaction. These bots support multiple Blockchains, including SOL, ETH, and TON.

Overall, TON, as a high-performance blockchain platform, combined with Telegram's user base, provides new possibilities for the development of decentralized applications. With the continuous improvement of the ecosystem, we can expect to see more innovative applications emerging on TON.