Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of The Open Network (TON), recently made headlines by announcing a major upgrade to the network, claiming it is now 10 times faster and capable of near-instantaneous transaction completion. Durov posted this information directly on Telegram , emphasizing that block creation speed has increased sixfold and transactions can now be completed in under a second, opening up a new infrastructure platform for the booming mini-app ecosystem on the messaging app.
According to the development team, the upgrade utilizes Catchain 2.0 technology and brings "sub-second finality" to the mainnet starting April 10th. This means transactions on TON are confirmed almost instantly, instead of waiting about 10 seconds as before. This change is XEM a fundamental step forward, as TON is positioned as a blockchain directly serving transactions, payments, and mini-apps operating within the Telegram ecosystem – the messaging platform that Durov says has surpassed 1 billion global users.
Reducing confirmation times to under one second is XEM a prerequisite if TON aims to become a blockchain infrastructure serving billions of users. When transaction speeds approach the speed of sending messages, scenarios such as instant payments, zero-latency digital asset transactions, and real-time responsive mini-apps can be widely implemented. This is also a strategic move in the race among blockchains to serve mass applications, where user experience is XEM crucial.
The story of TON is closely linked to Telegram's tumultuous journey in the blockchain field. In 2018, Telegram launched its own blockchain project but had to halt it after an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission . Subsequently, the open-source community continued developing the technology and renamed it The Open Network in 2022. Since then, TON has gradually become a strategic pillar for Telegram's Web3 ambitions, especially as the wave of mini-apps and in-app games is expected to grow strongly between 2024 and 2026.
