Developer Story 02｜TON Core Developer Anatoly Makosov & OKX Web3: How TON Makes Web3 Fun
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Developer Story 02｜TON Core Developer Anatoly Makosov & OKX Web3: How TON Makes Web3 Fun
Conversing with core developers to help users better understand every public blockchain world —— "Developer Chronicles"
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsTON is pushing the potential of blockchain technology to new heights. TON (The Open Network), originally created by the development team behind Telegram Messenger and later continued by the community, aims to build a fast, secure, and highly scalable blockchain network. As a cutting-edge technological project, TON has attracted numerous developers and users thanks to its high performance and flexibility—its theoretical maximum TPS can reach into the millions. With continuous ecosystem expansion and technological iteration, TON is poised to become a major player in the blockchain space, driving the adoption and development of decentralized applications.
Notably, OKX Web3 launched its new App Connect protocol on September 6, 2024, which currently supports the TON ecosystem and will soon expand to popular networks such as EVM and Solana. This upgrade enables developers to easily invoke the OKX App wallet directly through Telegram Mini Apps for DApp interactions like transaction signing. By simply integrating App Connect, developers can rapidly build their own DApps on TON and Telegram, streamlining the development process and laying the foundation for a richer Web3 ecosystem.
This is the second episode of the "Developer Tales" series, offering deeper insights into the TON world from the perspectives of Anatoly Makosov, core developer at TON, and Wang, Head of TON Ecosystem Integration at OKX Web3. The discussion covers various topics including technical progress, developer growth, community governance, and ecosystem security, aiming to provide an in-depth understanding of core developers’ visions and plans.
Key Takeaways:
1. TON’s long-term goal is to drive mass adoption of crypto and decentralized technologies—not short-term trends; our clear short-term target is to achieve 500 million monthly active users within five years.
2. I call out to Solidity programmers—if you don’t want to be left behind like Prolog or Fortran developers, don’t fear new things.
3. OKX Web3 launched its new App Connect protocol on September 6, 2024, currently supporting the TON ecosystem, with plans to extend support to EVM and Solana networks soon.
4. Developers building on Telegram are not required to choose the TON chain—they can opt for any blockchain.
5. All services and products within the TON network are now fully developed by the community in a decentralized manner; our core team focuses solely on implementing the blockchain kernel.
6. I believe only Bitcoin and TON will endure in the future—other blockchains appear outdated due to slow development cycles and unclear goals.
7. We hold deep respect for Bitcoin and Ethereum—they ushered in the era of crypto. But honestly, they haven’t achieved much in terms of large-scale application.
8. In addition to showcasing outstanding projects within the TON ecosystem, OKX Web3 also drives positive ecosystem development through technology.
9. Currently, TON Core is not a standard-setter but a pioneer.
10. We need to focus on ordinary users unfamiliar with blockchain—perhaps one such user would find a TON passport that offers visa-free access to 256 countries more appealing than yet another complex mining protocol.
11. OKX Web3's OKX OS service provides TON developers with a full suite of development tools, SDKs, APIs, and documentation, greatly simplifying the development process. Developers can quickly build their applications on TON and integrate the OKX Web3 wallet, achieving one-stop deployment and operational support.
Igniting Blockchain Gaming: TON’s Technological Innovation and Progress
Anatoly Makosov, TON Core Developer: These games with tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of users chose TON because it seems to be the only blockchain capable of handling such high loads. Although we did face some challenges along the way, we successfully launched all these games.
On May 16, 2024, Notcoin—a game project with 35 million users—launched its token on the TON blockchain and simultaneously listed on top global exchanges. On its first day, TON welcomed 1 million new Notcoin holders. Similarly notable were Avacoin in July and DOGS in August, each boasting 6 million and 50 million monthly active users respectively. Upcoming this year are gaming giants Hamster Kombat with 239 million players and TapSwap with 56 million players, both planning token launches on TON. These figures are astonishing even by Web2 standards—we truly feel like pioneers.
TON features an asynchronous architecture capable of dynamic sharding. However, practical implementation has presented certain infrastructure challenges, which we’ve worked hard to resolve promptly amid growing load demands. We release scheduled kernel updates every 1–2 months, some of which have improved resource efficiency and performance by dozens of times. This year, we plan a major “accelerator” kernel update, alongside upgrades to the decentralized weak validator penalty system, encouraging validators not to cut corners on hardware investment.
Additionally, we take pride in our fixed network fee system, where fees do not fluctuate with network congestion. If TON token prices rise, fees can be reduced via network-wide voting—as demonstrated earlier this year.
Wang, Head of TON Ecosystem Integration at OKX Web3: From my perspective, the explosive growth of blockchain gaming on TON stems primarily from two key technical factors:
First, TON’s deep integration with Telegram and the TON Connect protocol offer unique advantages in the blockchain gaming space, especially regarding promotion and user growth. Users can directly access TON-based games and other DApps within the Telegram app and seamlessly connect wallets and interact using TON Connect. This dramatically lowers entry barriers, making participation easier and accelerating user base expansion.
Second, TON’s sharding technology is another core strength. This architecture significantly enhances throughput and scalability, effectively meeting the demands of high-concurrency scenarios. For blockchain games, this is crucial, as they often require processing vast numbers of small transactions and real-time interactions. TON’s sharding ensures stable network operation even under heavy traffic, avoiding congestion and delivering smooth gameplay experiences with seamless interaction and transactions.
These two innovations together provide strong technical support for the growth of blockchain gaming within the TON ecosystem.
Why Did TON’s Ecosystem Start with GameFi Instead of DeFi?
Anatoly Makosov, TON Core Developer: TON’s mission is to drive mass adoption of crypto and decentralized technology, which is why we always prioritize the needs of everyday users over short-term crypto trends. I’m surprised that other blockchains almost exclusively focus on the speculative aspects of cryptocurrency. After all, speculators and traders aren’t the mainstream of the global population.
TON offers a comprehensive toolkit including DEXs, lending protocols, liquid staking, and more. Our vision is that using DeFi on TON should be as simple and intuitive as playing a casual mini-game. We aim to make everything easy to get started.
On other blockchains, even sending tokens can be confusing for average users. We must solve this before expecting broader DeFi adoption. This year, we launched USDT on TON. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, it was the most successful USDT launch in history—thanks to low, stable fees unaffected by network load, direct integration within the Telegram wallet, and the ability to pay network fees in USDT.
What Does TON Offer to Developers?
Anatoly Makosov, TON Core Developer: First, the primary draw for developers is the rapidly growing number of users in the TON ecosystem. Since the beginning of the year, the number of accounts on the TON blockchain has increased from 4 million to 53 million—an over tenfold growth. Additionally, with the emergence of tools enabling developers to create Mini Apps within Telegram and easily link them to the TON network and TON wallets via TON Connect, blockchain developers now have access to nearly 1 billion Telegram users.
Second, we cannot be compatible with EVM because they represent fundamentally different architectures: EVM is a non-scalable synchronous model, while TVM is a scalable asynchronous one. But if we look at the global programming landscape, Solidity developers are actually very few. Our target audience isn't traders—we're focused on regular users who are new to blockchain, and also general-purpose developers familiar with Java, Python, C++, JavaScript, etc., rather than the limited pool of Solidity experts.
We have our own development tools and programming languages because TON’s asynchronous structure is fundamentally different from previous-generation synchronous blockchains. This allows developers to build scalable decentralized products. Some developers may resist learning something new. But before blockchain existed, programmers transitioned from single-threaded to multi-threaded programming. I urge Solidity developers—if you don’t want to be forgotten like Prolog or Fortran programmers, embrace innovation.
We continue advancing our tooling and languages. Alexander Kirsanov, formerly maintaining the KPHP language, and AnTON Trunov, who created Scilla for Zilliqa, have both joined TON. We plan to unveil major updates at this year’s Gateway conference this fall.
TG+TON Is Often Compared to WeChat, Which Dominates Many Services—How Do You Divide Responsibilities with the Community?
Anatoly Makosov, TON Core Developer: At this stage, all services and products on the TON network are fully developed by the community in a decentralized fashion. Our core team focuses only on implementing the blockchain kernel and providing network guidelines—essentially offering the platform. Meanwhile, the Telegram team built a feature-rich messaging app and provided public Bots API and Mini Apps API.
Wang, Head of TON Ecosystem Integration at OKX Web3: Indeed, TON needs to focus more on underlying protocol development, particularly infrastructure. Compared to mature public chains like Ethereum, there remains room for improvement. As TON’s infrastructure matures, it will attract more developers and pave the way for broader application scenarios.
Do Projects Launching on Telegram Ultimately Have to Choose TON?
Anatoly Makosov, TON Core Developer: We place no mandatory requirements on developers—they’re free to choose any blockchain. For example, the HOT project initially ran on Telegram but selected the Near blockchain. However, due to network overload on Near, it failed during its token launch. Now, HOT has migrated to TON. That said, thanks to Telegram’s viral nature, products launching on Telegram tend to gain sufficient user traction regardless.
Wang, Head of TON Ecosystem Integration at OKX Web3: While Telegram-based projects aren’t required to use TON, many currently deploy on EVM and other public chains. However, due to TON’s deep integration with Telegram, projects choosing TON enjoy distinct advantages within the Telegram ecosystem. Seamless connectivity between TON and Telegram greatly simplifies user experience, improves user acquisition and engagement, and leverages Telegram’s massive user base and powerful social features to accelerate project growth.
TON’s Current and Future Position in the Public Chain Ecosystem
Anatoly Makosov, TON Core Developer: We follow our own path without blindly following trends. Our uniqueness attracts innovative builders rather than scam operators. That said, we haven’t been untouched by crypto trends—we’ve experienced multiple inscription booms and meme coin frenzies.
TON is a community-driven project. No individual or group—including the core team—can unilaterally alter the blockchain. We only propose network improvements for community approval. Voting functionality is built directly into the TON blockchain kernel, aligning with decentralization principles. Major changes go through voting on TON.vote, followed by validator consensus.
I believe only Bitcoin and TON will survive in the long run—other blockchains seem outdated due to slow development cycles and unclear objectives.
TON has a clear goal: to reach 500 million monthly active users within five years. We’re steadily progressing—since the start of the year, monthly active users have grown over 20-fold, from 221,000 to 4.5 million.
What Contributions Has TON Made Toward Industry Standardization?
Anatoly Makosov, TON Core Developer: I think the industry hasn’t reached a stage of standardization yet. We deeply respect Bitcoin and Ethereum—they started the crypto era. But frankly, they haven’t achieved significant success in large-scale adoption.
Currently, TON Core isn’t a standard-setter but a pioneer. Our achievements may become industry standards in the future. Still, we hope to introduce a benchmark now. Last autumn, we conducted a blockchain performance test demonstrating 100K TPS executing complex smart contracts—a world record at the time. The challenge we faced was the lack of a unified system to measure and compare blockchain performance. Top auditing firm CertiK cross-verified our results and created a leaderboard within their system. This could evolve into something like a “Guinness World Records” for blockchains.
TON is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain with its own Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus protocol called Catchain. This year, we reached 400 independent validators on the network, with 600 million TON (over 10% of total supply) staked to ensure network integrity. Despite having no hacks on TON’s kernel or core team-written smart contracts to date, we remain vigilant and never complacent.
Beyond rigorous internal testing, we collaborate with top global auditors and actively run bug bounty programs within the community. For instance, the USDT smart contract underwent not only internal review but also audits by Trail of Bits, Zellic, and a public cracking competition.
What Technical Directions Are You Focusing on for Achieving Mass Adoption of TON?
Anatoly Makosov, TON Core Developer: We must focus on ordinary users unfamiliar with blockchain. Perhaps one such user would find a TON passport offering visa-free access to 256 countries more attractive than yet another complex mining protocol.
This year, we developed a new version 5.0 TON wallet smart contract supporting two-factor authentication, social key recovery to prevent loss, and gasless transactions—allowing users to transact without paying network fees in TONcoin. Additionally, we introduced TON Mintless Token technology, enabling projects to instantly distribute tokens to hundreds of millions of users at a cost of less than one dollar.
Nonetheless, we still face many challenges—both technical and non-technical. It’s hard to isolate a single issue—we need to improve the kernel, infrastructure, APIs, and applications. We must repeatedly rethink UX and UI until they become intuitive for everyone. TON possesses a natively scalable architecture, solid technology, and the rocket launcher known as Telegram, giving us the capability to overcome all these challenges. Many other blockchain projects lack these advantages.
Wang, Head of TON Ecosystem Integration at OKX Web3: I’m also closely following the evolution of TON wallet smart contracts.
The latest v5 introduces capabilities like gasless transactions and off-chain calls, laying a strong foundation for expanding into more Web2 use cases. While similar in concept to EIP-4337 accounts, it offers unique advantages. These enhancements significantly improve the usability, flexibility, and security of TON wallets.
When users can interact with TON wallets ‘invisibly,’ combined with Telegram’s massive existing Web2 user base, this will inevitably drive widespread adoption of TON.
What Has OKX Web3 Done for TON Ecosystem Development?
Wang, Head of TON Ecosystem Integration at OKX Web3: First, as a leading Web3 gateway, OKX Web3 Wallet has native integration with the TON ecosystem. Users can manage TON assets seamlessly across mobile and desktop platforms, performing cross-chain swaps, NFT transactions, DeFi interactions, and accessing TON DApps with ease. Moreover, OKX Web3 has partnered with TON projects and The Open League to launch Giveaway and Cryptopedia campaigns, increasing visibility and driving traffic to quality TON projects, helping more Web3 users onboard into the TON ecosystem.
Second, beyond providing a stage for top-tier projects on TON, OKX Web3 actively contributes to ecosystem development through technology. We work closely with TON core developers to advance several TON Enhancement Proposals (TEPs), continuously improving infrastructure to help developers build better applications and foster a healthier, more sustainable ecosystem. Additionally, through tools, OKX Web3’s OKX OS service offers TON developers a complete suite of development tools, SDKs, APIs, and documentation, drastically simplifying development. Developers can quickly build apps on TON and integrate the OKX Web3 wallet, achieving one-stop deployment and operational support.
Third, OKX Ventures, the investment arm of OKX, has co-established funds with TON to actively invest in and incubate TON ecosystem projects, supporting startups in growing on the TON network. Through capital backing and strategic resources, we help more projects launch and achieve commercial success within the TON ecosystem.
In summary, OKX Web3 is committed to advancing blockchain innovation and adoption, and the TON ecosystem is one of our most promising areas. Our collaboration with TON focuses on fostering the growth and development of more ecosystem projects, delivering premium multi-chain support and developer tools. However, our support extends beyond just TON—we maintain a developer-friendly approach in both technology and resources across all public chains. Going forward, we’ll continue optimizing our products to deliver more convenient services to users and developers alike. We look forward to promoting real-world applications through shared resources and technical exchange, attracting more users and developers into the Web3 ecosystem.
About the “Developer Tales” Series
Web3 developers have made significant contributions to the development of the crypto industry. Their innovative spirit and technical expertise inject lasting vitality and momentum into the entire sector—not only advancing the technology itself but also enabling future use cases and business models. Yet, despite their activity, they often remain overlooked. The “Developer Tales” series, jointly launched by OKX Web3 and ChainCatcher, aims to amplify developer voices by featuring dialogues with core developers from different blockchain ecosystems and the OKX Web3 tech team. Through the eyes of developers, we explore the developmental trajectories, technical insights, latest updates, market dynamics, and hot takes across various chains, bringing attention to this vibrant and fascinating community while offering them maximum support.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of OKX. It does not constitute (i) trading advice or recommendation; (ii) an offer or solicitation to buy, sell, or hold digital assets; or (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information provided. Holding digital assets—including stablecoins and NFTs—involves high risk and may result in significant price volatility. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for your financial situation. For specific circumstances, please consult your legal/tax/financial advisor. You are solely responsible for understanding and complying with applicable local laws and regulations.
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