As the Ton chain technology matures, Ton has become a star project that has attracted much attention in the industry. As of September 2024, Ton has successfully achieved an astonishing score of 104,715 transactions per second in a public test, making it the fastest blockchain in the world. Compared with its competitors such as Ethereum (about 15 TPS per second) and Solana (65,000 TPS per second), Ton undoubtedly has an overwhelming advantage in transaction processing speed.
In this test, the TON chain carried more than 42 million transactions. In just 11 minutes, this amazing result demonstrated the powerful processing power of TON. This technological breakthrough also solves the long-standing scalability problem in blockchain technology. For decentralized applications that pursue extremely fast processing power and low-cost transactions, TON is undoubtedly an ideal choice.
We can see that this extreme speed and low gas fee make Ton Chain stand out from many blockchains. Compared with Ethereum’s high transaction fees and congestion problems during busy hours, Ton Chain’s stable performance and low fee structure show its potential as the next generation of decentralized application platform.
Ton’s operating architecture: main chain, work chain and shard chain
To understand why TON is so powerful, you first need to understand its architecture. TON adopts a layered structure, which is divided into the main chain (Masterchain), work chain (Workchain) and shard chain (Shardchain). This design is intended to make the network more flexible and efficient, especially when facing a large number of users and transactions.
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Masterchain: The masterchain is the core of the entire TON network, responsible for storing all parameters of the network protocol, active workchains and shard chains, and a collection of verification nodes. The masterchain is like the “central management agency” of the blockchain. All important decisions, protocol updates, and final confirmation of the network status are made through the masterchain. The masterchain will continuously receive and integrate the latest status of all workchains and shard chains to ensure the overall consistency of network operation.
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Workchain: Each workchain can be viewed as a virtual blockchain network, and workchains can be customized as needed to meet the needs of different application scenarios. For example, some workchains focus on specific types of transactions or smart contracts. This flexibility allows TON to support a variety of applications. TON can theoretically support up to 2^32 workchains, and each workchain can have its own address format, transaction type, native token, and smart contract virtual machine rules.
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Shardchain: In order to further improve transaction processing efficiency, the work chain can be further divided into multiple shard chains. Each shard chain is responsible for processing a small part of the entire work chain, which allows TON’s transaction processing to be carried out in parallel in multiple shard chains, thereby achieving high TPS. When the transaction volume increases, the shard chain will automatically split, otherwise it will merge to maintain the balance of network operation.
Ton’s sharding technology does not simply divide the data, but performs load balancing through dynamic sharding, which means that when network demand increases, the system can automatically generate more shard chains to handle the additional load. This design ensures the efficient operation of the network, no matter how large the current demand is.
Operation and application examples of infinite sharding
Unlimited sharding technology is the core of TON’s ability to achieve such a high TPS. It can automatically adjust the number of blockchain shards according to changes in network traffic. Specifically, when the network load increases, the shard chain will automatically increase to cope with more transaction demands, and conversely, under low load conditions, shards will be merged to save resources.
In TON, each work chain can be divided into up to 2^60 shard chains, which means that its theoretical scalability is almost unlimited. This technology solves the scalability bottleneck problem that is prevalent in the blockchain field, allowing TON to maintain efficient and stable transaction processing under extreme circumstances.
Specific application cases:
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Cross-chain information processing: TON uses a multi-dimensional hypercube routing mechanism (Hypercube Routing), which allows information transmission between different shard chains to be fast and efficient, thereby ensuring the rapid processing of cross-chain information. In cross-chain transactions, each shard chain will maintain consistency when transmitting information to ensure that the transaction results are accurate.
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Dynamic expansion scenarios: In high-traffic application scenarios, such as decentralized finance (DeFi) or large-scale NFT markets, TON’s unlimited sharding technology can dynamically respond to transactions by massive users at the same time. When the number of users surges, the TON blockchain will automatically split more shard chains according to demand to share the load, thereby avoiding network congestion.
The advantage of unlimited sharding lies not only in its theoretical unlimited scalability, but also in its ability to dynamically balance network load, which allows TON to maintain efficient operation under any load conditions, which is extremely rare in the blockchain industry.
Why can Ton do it but other blockchains can’t?
TON’s success is not only due to its technological innovation, but also to the flexibility and efficiency of its architecture design. Compared with other blockchains, TON has several key advantages:
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Dynamic scalability: Traditional blockchains such as Ethereum use a static architecture and often experience network congestion when facing large-scale users. In contrast, TON uses unlimited sharding technology to dynamically expand its blockchain network, automatically splitting or merging shard chains according to changes in transaction volume, and ensuring the efficiency of network operation.
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Asynchronous message processing: Traditional blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum mostly use synchronous message processing mode, which means that each transaction must wait for the previous transaction to be completed before proceeding to the next step. TON uses an asynchronous message processing mode, which allows multiple smart contracts to process messages in parallel, significantly improving the network’s processing speed.
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Flexible design of work chain and shard chain: The sharding technology of other blockchains is still relatively early and cannot achieve large-scale sharding and parallel processing like TON. TON’s work chain and shard chain design can be customized according to different application scenarios, which makes TON more flexible and able to respond to different types of application requirements.
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Efficient verification mechanism: TON uses the BFT (Byzantine Fault Tolerance) mechanism to ensure the security and consistency of the network. This verification mechanism can ensure that the TON network can still maintain efficient operation under extreme circumstances, avoiding the security risks that may arise from DPOS.
These technical features enable TON to solve the bottlenecks of scalability, speed, and security faced by other blockchains, making it a leader in current blockchain technology.
TON vs SOL vs ETH
TON, Solana and Ethereum 2.0 are three representative solutions in the current blockchain technology field. They have their own characteristics in scalability, transaction speed, consensus mechanism, etc.
First of all, TON (Telegram Open Network) is famous for its dynamic sharding technology. Dynamic sharding can automatically increase shard chains according to network load, ensuring the scalability and efficiency of the network. This means that as usage increases, TON can respond quickly and maintain high-speed transaction processing capabilities, which is very advantageous for applications that require high-frequency transactions (such as decentralized exchanges and high-frequency trading platforms). TON also supports native cross-chain communication, allowing seamless transfer of assets, which makes it quite competitive in multi-chain interoperability.
Solana is known for its extremely fast transaction speed, and can theoretically process up to 65,000 transactions per second, thanks to its unique Proof of History (PoH) and Tower BFT consensus mechanisms. However, Solana’s single-chain design makes it prone to stability issues when encountering network congestion, such as the network outages that occurred multiple times in 2021 and 2022. Therefore, although Solana has good performance in certain application scenarios (such as games and high-frequency transactions), its stability in dealing with large-scale applications still needs to be improved. In addition, Solana has no built-in cross-chain communication and relies on external protocols (such as Wormhole) for cross-chain asset transfers, which may bring additional complexity and security risks.
In contrast, Ethereum 2.0 uses sharding technology and Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism to improve the scalability of the network. It reduces the burden on the main chain by introducing 64 shard chains, but the final confirmation time of transactions still takes 10-15 minutes, which may not be ideal for applications that require fast transaction confirmation. Ethereum 2.0 is relatively limited in cross-chain communication and mainly relies on packaged tokens and bridge technology, which leads to certain limitations on the interoperability of its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. In addition, since its shard chains are mainly used for data storage rather than executing smart contracts, the scalability of Ethereum 2.0 still has certain challenges.
TON has significant advantages in scalability and transaction speed, especially in application scenarios that require efficient cross-chain communication. Although Solana has extremely fast transaction speeds, it has certain shortcomings in network stability and scalability. Although Ethereum 2.0 has improved scalability through sharding technology, it still has room for improvement in transaction confirmation speed and cross-chain interoperability. The differences between the three reflect their respective technical trade-offs for different application needs, and also make them occupy different positions in the blockchain field.
In addition to the Ton chain itself, there are three Ton projects worth paying attention to:
As the Ton ecosystem expands, more and more innovative projects are beginning to use Ton’s technical advantages to develop decentralized applications. Here are a few Ton projects worth paying attention to:
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PixelSwap : is a decentralized exchange (DEX) based on the TON blockchain, whose goal is to provide users with a fast, secure and permissionless cryptocurrency trading experience. As an important component of the TON ecosystem, PixelSwap is not only a trading platform, but also an ecosystem that emphasizes community participation and decentralized governance.
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STON.FI : is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform based on the TON blockchain, dedicated to providing users with efficient and secure decentralized transactions and financial services. The platform focuses on permissionless financial markets, allowing users to easily borrow, trade, and mine liquidity.
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GetGems : is a digital asset management platform based on the TON blockchain, designed to help users manage and trade crypto assets more efficiently. This platform simplifies the asset management process and allows users to easily perform operations in a variety of decentralized applications, such as asset trading, lending, and yield farming.
These projects not only demonstrate the application potential of TON technology, but also allow us to see the broad prospects of the TON ecosystem in the future. As more decentralized applications and services are connected to TON, this ecosystem will become more powerful and provide more diversified service options for global users.
Infinite Sharding Technology Leads the Future of Blockchain
After in-depth discussion, we can clearly see how Ton Chain stands out with its infinite sharding technology. This technology not only makes Ton the blockchain with the highest TPS in the world, but also gives it unlimited expansion potential. Whether it is dealing with large-scale DeFi applications or supporting the growth of the NFT market, Ton can maintain stable performance and low transaction costs. From Ton’s architectural design to its dynamic expansion capabilities, infinite sharding is undoubtedly an important factor that makes Ton surpass other blockchains.
From a personal perspective, Ton’s technological innovation has made me see the huge potential of blockchain in the future. Unlimited sharding is not only a technological breakthrough, but also a new way of thinking to deal with the challenges of the blockchain industry. Compared with the scalability problems that other blockchains cannot solve, Ton’s flexible architecture provides a solution that can be continuously optimized. This not only makes me full of confidence in its future, but also makes me believe that with the addition of more decentralized applications, Ton will play a more important role in the future and become a benchmark for the development of blockchain technology.
In this fast-growing blockchain world, Ton Chain is creating a sustainable and scalable blockchain ecosystem with its unlimited sharding technology and high TPS. Future decentralized applications will rely more on these efficient and flexible blockchain technologies, and Ton is the key builder of this future.
Read more:
About LayerPixel - Our Vision & Mission: About LayerPixel - Our Vision & Mission
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LayerPixel Ignites the Fire of Community Power: Introducing PixelDAO: LayerPixel Ignites the Fire of Community Power: Introducing PixelDAO | by LayerPixel | Aug, 2024 | Medium
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About LayerPixel:
LayerPixel is an all-in-one DeFi protocol designed specifically for the TON blockchain and seamlessly integrated with Telegram Mini Apps. Leveraging a modular architecture, LayerPixel overcomes the asynchronous limitations of TON while harnessing its sharding benefits.
At the core of the LayerPixel ecosystem are several innovative components:
- PixelWallet - An SMC wallet with Account Abstraction (AA) features, enabling users to interact with dApps and the LayerPixel ecosystem with ease.
- PixelSwap - The first modular DEX on TON, supporting advanced trading models like weighted pools and LBP.
- Pixacle - A decentralized oracle solution delivering fast and accurate price data to dApps and smart contracts.
LayerPixel’s future plans include becoming a cross-chain solution to power DeFi experiences across all Telegram Mini Apps. By providing an all-in-one platform, LayerPixel aims to make blockchain-powered finance accessible to everyone within the TON ecosystem.
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