Open Network Archives

Telegram’s partner, the Open Network (TON) Foundation, in partnership with Alibaba Cloud, has announced plans to set up 256 servers for a performance testing event scheduled for October 31, 2023.

Per the announcement, the objective of this event is to officially establish the TON blockchain as the world’s fastest blockchain to earn accreditation from the Guinness World Records.

TON’s Upcoming Performance Test

According to a report by Yahoo Finance, the TON blockchain has experienced significant growth since 2022, witnessing a 20-fold increase in addresses from 170,000 to 3.5 million.

The network has also expanded its validator nodes to 350, fostering a more decentralized network across 25 nations. The blockchain has maintained a track record throughout this expansion, with no major network disruptions reported.

Both parties view the upcoming performance test as a crucial step in showcasing the unique capabilities of the TON blockchain, which serves as a trusted infrastructure layer for the Web3 ecosystem within Telegram.

Anatoly Makosov, the Core Development Lead at the TON Foundation, expressed anticipation for the performance testing event, highlighting the TON blockchain’s technical superiority, particularly regarding scalability.

Makosov emphasized that TON’s large-scale public performance testing is an exciting opportunity to witness significant results and validate the blockchain’s technical prowess. Makosov stated:

We look forward to October 31, 2023, to confirm that the TON blockchain technically stands out among any other blockchain, especially in its ability to scale. This is the first large-scale public performance testing of TON – we’re just as excited as you are to see the results.

MEXC Ventures Makes Major Investment In TON Blockchain

MEXC Ventures, a subsidiary of MEXC’s global cryptocurrency exchange, has also announced a significant investment in The Open Network. According to Yahoo Finance, this investment is MEXC’s largest Layer-1 funding and is accompanied by a partnership with the TON Foundation.

Justin Hyun, Director of Growth at the TON Foundation, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with MEXC, emphasizing their shared goal of offering global access to the decentralized Web3 ecosystem within Telegram.

Per the report, the foundation is committed to delivering a “user-centric experience” for the community. MEXC’s support “significantly strengthens” its ability to develop new tools and services seamlessly integrating crypto with social media.

Steve Yun, President of the TON Foundation, highlighted MEXC’s belief in the TON blockchain’s potential for building a Web3 super-app ecosystem on Telegram. Yun expressed confidence in the TON ecosystem’s and MEXC’s mutual growth as they prepare for the next market cycle.

The collaboration between the Open Network Foundation, Alibaba Cloud, and MEXC Ventures underscores blockchain technology’s increasing recognition and adoption, particularly in the Web3 space.

These partnerships aim to enhance the functionality, scalability, and accessibility of the TON blockchain while promoting global adoption and innovation within the decentralized ecosystem.

At the time of writing, the native token of the protocol, Toncoin, is trading at $2,006, reflecting a marginal decline of 0.2% over the past 24 hours. Nevertheless, the token has experienced substantial growth year to date, boasting an impressive increase of 59% during this timeframe.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

If someone is doing his part, that’s Michael Saylor. The MicroStrategy CEO proved that he’s a stand-up guy by sharing the knowledge on a medium-sized podcast that’s usually in Spanish. Saylor went in on the topics du jour and revealed never-before-heard secrets. What does he think about El Salvador? What’s up with the infamous Mining Council? Is MicroStrategy in a vulnerable position? Keep reading for those answers and more.

One of Michael Saylor’s first lines is, “I think that the next decade it’s going to be all about digital transformation of propertry.” After that, it’s gem after gem.

What Does Michael Saylor Know About The Venezuela Situation?

The podcast is called “Satoshi En Venezuela.” The episode is titled “Bitcoin is Hope for Venezuela.” Since that name derives from a Michael Saylor quote, it figures that the first question was a why disguised as a how.

How is Bitcoin hope for Venezuela?

“Now you can put your property into a Bitcoin and put the Bitcoin on your mobile device. And I think the reason that that represents hope to the world is, eight billion people are going to be able to afford a mobile device. And 8 billion people can have property on the mobile device. Bitcoin is like a bank in cyberspace run by incorruptible software.”

That sounds amazing, but, why is Bitcoin good for Venezuela specifically speaking?

“Well, every economy works better if it has an incorruptible bank that allows everyone to store their monetary energy. It helps return rationality and long-term perspective. Hope is about believing that in a decade your life will be better than it is now.”

Beautiful. Michael Saylor also believes that, for this to work, “We have to give people property rights. And we’ve got to give them the ability to store their economic energy in something that they have control of.” By that, he means Bitcoin and only Bitcoin.

BTCUSD price chart - TradingView

BTC price chart on Coinbase | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com

Does Bitcoin’s Volatility Affect MicroStrategy? How Does Their Playbook Look Like?

His company, MicroStrategy, famously was the first to put Bitcoin on their balance sheet. And then, they kept buying and buying. “We’re basically converting our working capital from the weakest asset to the strongest asset,” Michale Saylor clarifies. Then, he gives you his strategy’s play by play:

The way that we manage the volatility is, we make sure that we have enough Dollars to pay all of our bills for the next 12 months, based upon whatever volatility. So, we wouldn’t really ever need to liquidate any Bitcoin unless we had like a one in a hundred event. Then, we might sell a little bit in order to pay our bills, but that hasn’t happened before.”

He expects reasonable scenarios. Other currencies will print and print. There will only be 21 million bitcoin. Lots of businesses and people will integrate with the Bitcoin protocol. So, it’s not that risky. In a long time frame, it’s a “responsible business strategy.” It would be risky with a short time frame and a short-dated debt strategy.

In short, MicroStrategy’s financial strategy protects them from volatility. If in 10 years Bitcoin is down and not up, then and only then they’ll be in trouble.

A Mining Council In An Open Network

The host, Bitcoin philosopher Criptobastardo, questions Michael Saylor with the basic objections that the Bitcoin community has with the Mining Council. Saylor answers:

“The council exists to gather information, to run surveys, and to educate. It’s not a government body. I agree that a governing council probably wouldn’t be the right thing. It’s really just a voluntary and open asociation of Bitcoin miners to gather information, share best practices and educate.”

According to him, someone has to respond to attacks. The Bitcoin community has to take control of the narrative, produce data, give info to decision-makers. “The people that need to know are Wallstreet investors, mainstream media journalists, and politicians.” These are powerful allies, and, “when they tell us that they’re under pressure from their constituency to get an answer, we should do our best to give them the answer.”

Is Michael Saylor Going To El Salvador?

According to the MicroStrategy CEO, one would need 21st-century infrastructure to solve a current problem. That’s what the Salvadoran government is trying to do with The Bitcoin Law. What will they get out of all of this? Well, according to Michael Saylor:

“I think there are two benefits you get when you adop the bitcoin standard if you’re a country. One benefit is the macroeconomic benefit. You end up with a treasury asset that is appreciating in value instead of depreciating in value. You put your entire economy on stronger bases.”

The El Salvador experiment is crucial to mankind. If everything goes as planned in there, the economic growth they’ll have over the next few years will be unmatched. Michael Saylor continues and closes:

“The second benefit is a technology benefit. It’s possible to use the Bitcoin protocol, or in this case Lightning. The combination of Lightning and Bitcoin transactions in order to provide digital currency to every citizen of the country. So, two thirds of El Salvador dont have a bank. If I want to create a bank, I want to give them a mobile phone and a digital wallet. And a digital currency, which is the Dollar. On top of a digital asset, which is Bitcoin.”

That sounds like a tank to us.

 Featured Image by FelixMittermeier from Pixabay - Charts by TradingView

Category: Open Network

Telegram And TON Foundation Collaborate With Alibaba Cloud In Quest For Fastest Blockchain