Report: Telegram to Launch TON Network in Q3 2019

Encrypted messaging service Telegram will purportedly launch its Telegram Open Network (TON) in the third quarter of 2019, according to crypto news site The Block.

An internal memo sent to investors reportedly said that the network would launch later this year. Telegram purportedly said that a recent successful test process “reaffirms our belief that the TON virtual machine and the TON ... Byzantine consensus algorithm are capable of meeting the goals stated in the original white paper."

In April, Cointelegraph reported that Telegram opened access to a private testing version of the TON blockchain to a select number of developers. Anonymous test developers said the blockchain demonstrated “extremely high transaction speed.”

The TON network will supposedly host decentralized applications, similar to the Ethereum network.

In February, an apparent purchase agreement for Telegram’s Gram tokens — the TON network’s native digital currency — stated that such contracts will be rendered null and void if the network does not launch by October 31, 2019.

Telegram was founded by the brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov in 2013. The firm raised almost $1.7 billion in two private initial coin offering rounds last year. The platform boasts over 200 million users.

Last month, TON’s development team has partnered with German financial services provider Wirecard. TON Labs will work with Wirecard to develop digital financial products.