Durov blockchain platform: device, money and capabilities

By October 31, Telegram developers promised investors to launch Ton blockchain platform, otherwise they would probably have to return the money to investors. The Bell figured out the recently published technical documentation to it and gave answers to the most common questions about Ton, based on available data.

.card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: Before {Background-Color: #000000; } .card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: After {Background-Color: #000000; }

When will Durov run the project?

Brief answer: By November, two things are expected: the launch of Ton, and also - the entry into force of the law on the sovereign Runet.

Until November, Ton developers promised investors to launch a “fighting” version of their blockchain system. This does not mean that they will immediately introduce cryptocurrency payments to the messenger, launch dozens of services or even allow someone else to work with Ton, except for the developers. Judging by the numerous transfers of the start of testing, it is more likely that by November there will be a certain limited possibility of working with Ton in Telegram.

The launch of TON will coincide with the partial entry into force of amendments on the sovereign runet, which will oblige operators to install equipment that can filter traffic and block prohibited resources, and also allowing Roskomnadzor to take over the centralized control of the rune. However, this is unlikely to help the department finally block Telegram (why - we explained here ). We do not know whether the authorities will begin to use new opportunities immediately and whether by November will be able to technically provide any blocks, but it can be assumed that any new restrictions in RuNet will attract new users to protected from them.

Such a protected environment (with small reservations) should become Ton. Telegram is one of its services.

.card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: Before {Background-Color: #000000; } .card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: After {Background-Color: #000000; }

What is Ton?

A brief answer: This is a very protected web, everything will be possible to do in it in theory.

If you simplify as much as possible, the Ton platform will look like a web, only very protected and expanded (here we described technical details , but the Ton documentation itself). The web consists not only of sites - there are applications, games, video sketches and even coffee makers. Ton will also not be limited to cryptocurrency and messaging through Telegram. The authors promise to include many services in it and allow everyone to write new ones.

For example, developers promise to launch the Ton Payments payment system, Ton Storage, anonymizer Ton Proxy, an analogue of sites, and even its own DNS, which allows you to turn complex addresses in the blockchain into modified and understandable. It is expected that there will be appendices and the possibility of withdrawal of funds in Ton. It is likely that one of the first payment gateways between Ton and the real world will be the German Wirecard, the creator of a large online platform for different types of electronic payments and commerce.

This all does not mean that Durov is going to build a system isolated from the outside world from scratch. The documentation says that three types of applications will be able to work in Ton - existing completely in Ton, partially connected there (for example, allowing to simply log in using Ton services), as well as various kinds of hybrids of the first two types.

Ton will be included in the life of ordinary users of Ton gradually, as the audience grows, the developers of the benefits of Ton and the income from blockchain platforms. The economic successes of Ton and its cryptocurrency, which are called gram, will play the not last role here.

.card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: Before {Background-Color: #000000; } .card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: After {Background-Color: #000000; }

How much will it cost?

The Telegram audience in 2018 amounted to 200 million users, but according to the development plan, the developers should soon reach 300 million. A few months ago, developers in an unofficial published document (now outdated) believed that they would need several years to gain a billion of Telegram, a key audience of Ton services.

The minimum Ton assessment given by investors at ICO is $ 3-4 billion. This is comparable to the GDP of South Sudan, two times less than the Kyrgyzstan GDP, four times less than the GDP of Georgia and a little less than the quarterly revenue of McDonald's.

For comparison: Facebook has 2.5 billion users when evaluating the company itself at $ 183 billion.

It is expected that after starting the Ton will greatly rise in price. Even when GRAM has not yet left, and the first derivative, provided only by expectations, appeared on the cryptocurrency, he increased in interest in interest per month .

.card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: Before {Background-Color: #000000; } .card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: After {Background-Color: #000000; }

How to make money on this?

Brief answer: You can probably do it in dozens of different ways. The main thing is the grap of GRAM cryptocurrency and derivatives.

Inside Ton Gram will be a universal calculation. For example, the owners of special values of validators will receive a GRAM fee, which will confirm the honesty of calculations within the platform.
Users of various services can be paid in GRAM. For example, for the performance of some real actions, viewing advertising or subscription to Telegram channels.
Traditional “smart contracts” allow you to arrange something like a bank in the blockchain where you can put money on a deposit or take it on credit. Perhaps this will appear in Ton.
Gram will begin to contact crypto -rhms. Now, even before the emission, his derivative is already being traded on the Xena Exchange exchange.
At the beginning of this year, The Bell found out that the Ton team is negotiating with crypto -streaks in Japan, China and Great Britain. Its bidding with cryptocurrency, presumably, will begin in Asia, namely, in Japan.
Long -term investments are the main opportunity to earn money. Ton is arranged so that each next GRAM is more expensive than the previous one. Buying at the early stage provides a significant return to investment in the future, which made Gram attractive for the original investors.

Risk. It is absolutely unclear how financial regulators will react to all this. It is likely that the cryptocurrency system will be launched gradually, first in those countries where cryptocurrency legislation is as transparent as possible.

Financial regulators and central banks are the main organizations on which the success of Ton depends. Unlike governments that are often trying to prohibit the use of Telegram as a service (Iran, Russia), the Central Bank ensures the legitimacy of the idea itself. Without their approval, Ton and his entire infrastructure will remain a darknet, and therefore will not attract large money of legal players.

.card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: Before {Background-Color: #000000; } .card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: After {Background-Color: #000000; }

Who controls all this?

Brief answer: Pavel Durov and large investors who received the right to large GRAM volumes.

There is no open list of investors, so at first several hundred large tokens holders will act as regulators. As far as is known, no state institution is controlled or regulated by TON.

Even at the stage of preliminary sales, the Durov project managed to attract $ 850 million from 81 investors, follows from the data published by SEC. And then, after a few months, he sold tokens (they are exchanged for Gram) for another $ 850 million from 94 investors. That is, in total, Ton was invested $ 1.7 billion.

Among the Russian investors of the project, the co-founder of QIWI Sergey Solonin, who, according to him, was invested in Ton $ 17 million, and the co-founder of the “Wimm-Bill-Danna” David Jacobashvili, who has been investing $ 10 million, as well as the structures of Roman Abramovich. Among the significant Western investors of the media, the media called the largest funds in Silicon Valley Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark and Sequoia Capital. According to FT, they were going to invest $ 20 million in the project.

The main thing you need to know: the listed investors are unlikely to allow a drug dealer, financing of terrorism and other violations of the legislation, which are often accused of Telegram. They are interested in legal infrastructure, which allows to raise invested funds as long as possible. Therefore, control mechanisms, including those brought outside, are inevitable.

.card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: Before {Background-Color: #000000; } .card [Data-Color = " #000000"]: After {Background-Color: #000000; }

Will it be safe?

Brief answer: Very.

Inside Ton uses elliptical cryptography - what the popular protected Protonmail service called "the most developed system to date." All operations inside Ton, judging by the technical documentation, will be literally permeated with encryption.

Despite this, no system can be considered absolutely safe. For example, the recent hack of the most popular messenger in the world, WhatsApp, allowing the attacker to load spy software to the user's device did not open the encryption. The hacker used a mistake in the call system. A similar critical vulnerability was already found in WhatsApp in the fall and was based on video calls. According to Pavel Durov, who is strictly criticizing WhatsApp, this is a consequence of the intentionally left loaf in the code.

Judging by the behavior of the creators of Telegram, they are obsessed with the desire not to share information with the authorities and not provide such laser. This reduces the probability of hacking, but, like any complex system, does not exclude it.