Telegram’s TON technology description posted online
TechnologyBit News Today2 min read
The Telegram team is looking to introduce its own blockchain and cryptocurrency called "Gram", according to a new technical document that recently surfaced online.
The document, posted on Telegram channels, outlines the technological specifics of a blockchain designed for the messaging app. The project aims to be a "fifth-generation blockchain".
"It will be a truly scalable general-purpose blockchain project, capable of accommodating essentially any applications that can be implemented in a blockchain at all," the paper states.
The paper further suggests that the TON blockchain could theoretically host a social media platform like Facebook. However, Telegram’s CTO Dr. Nikolai Durov, who is reputed to be the author, doubts the financial feasibility of such a move, believing it will be too price-consuming.
As per the previous whitepaper on the project, "Gram" is envisioned by its creators as a means of exchange of value for regular people, instead of the digital asset Bitcoin has become. The plan for Gram calls for an issue of 5 billion tokens.
Opening wallets for Telegram users will begin as early as the second quarter of 2019 on Gram.
Soon we'll see if Telegram actually joins the ranks of market innovations with their own cryptocurrency and blockchain.
Since then
According to the SEC’s complaint, filed in October 2019, Telegram had raised around $1.7 billion by selling 2.9 billion "Grams" to 171 investors. The Gram Purchase Agreements set the "Deadline Date" for Telegram to create a functional blockchain and deliver Grams as October 31, 2019.
On May 12, 2020, Pavel Durov announced that Telegram's active involvement with TON was over. A US court, he wrote, had ruled that Grams could not be distributed in the United States or anywhere else.
But in November 2022 TON came back into Telegram through the side door: usernames became collectibles, and people could trade them on a marketplace built on the TON blockchain.
By January 24, 2025, Telegram had expanded the utility of the blockchain to move Gifts in addition to collectible usernames and numbers. Telegram users could now transfer or auction these digital gifts through the TON blockchain.
