The highly anticipated blockchain project from messaging app Telegram is taking a bold step to fruition as it has been reported the code needed to run a node will be released early as next week.
The TON, Telegram Open Network, project has been one shrouded in secrecy and mystery ever since its record-breaking, but exclusive ICO. Even this release date of the TON node code is being reported by a few unnamed, but familiar, sources, according to Coindesk.
The new code will be the beginning of the expansion of the network, which has only had one node running thus far, by Telegram itself. This expansion will be part of the official mainnet launch which is scheduled for Oct. 31, according to the purchase agreement for Telegram’s 2018 token sale.
This recent news was also leaked by Russian Vedomosty which has explained that the code will contain code for the node itself as well as instructions for deploying a node. This code will offer developers the chance to use their nodes to test the protocol’s consensus and sharding mechanisms.
Telegram grabbed many headlines when it announced, at the height of ICO fever, that it too would be throwing its hat in the ring to raise funds for an ambitious blockchain project. The ambition begins in the code with the leaked whitepaper suggesting TON will use a Byzantine-fault-tolerant proof-of-stake consensus with “infinite sharding” and the capacity to support a staggering 292 shardchains (49 followed by 26 zeros).
However, after raising $1.7 billion from its ICO, mostly from private and selected investors, the project mostly went underground with concerns that it was a flop. But, recent headlines have suggested it is still heading towards its Oct. 31 deadline.
TON was set for a last December 2018 launch but suffered a heavy delay which spooked a number of investors. These investors began selling the rights to their future tokens as a result, forming an unofficial secondary market for GRAM, the token associated with the network.
Still, with TON seemingly still on track this time, although very secretive, the interest is high in the project. The leaked whitepaper suggests that the platform will be much more scalable compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, which will allow it to compete with giants Visa and Mastercard in terms of transaction speed. It is its unique infinite sharding system that will purportedly allow this.
