Telegram Officially Releases TON Testnet Blockchain Lite Client

Disclaimer: The source in this article previously listed the file archive domain name. It has been changed to more accurately reflect the development.

Encrypted instant messaging service Telegram has officially released a test client for its Telegram Open Network (TON), according to a recent email to investors.

The archive of files available for download on test.ton.org is a distribution of a preliminary version of the TON Blockchain Network Lite Client along with the relevant portions of the TON Blockchain Library, according to the readme information file. The development is a simplified stable version of the Lite Client.

On May 25, a GitHub user seemingly uploaded a version of the client. Per the readme file on GitHub, the client — if configured properly — connected to a full node for the TON blockchain testnet and sent some queries to it.

Apart from the Lite Client itself, users can also install a configuration file for smart contract development, which connects the lite client to a special server. Users thus can start creating new smart contracts, audit the state of existing smart contracts, send external messages to smart contracts, among other options. Users can also deploy Fift to compile, execute, and debug smart contracts locally, the file reads.

Fift is a new programming language for TON that was released last week. The language is specifically designed for developing and managing TON blockchain smart contracts, and interacting with the TON Virtual Machine.

Telegram reportedly launched a private beta testing of the TON blockchain to a limited number of global developers in April. While testing did not provide any specific outcomes, two anonymous testers revealed that the blockchain demonstrated an “extremely high transaction speed.”