Telegram’s blockchain project TON nears completion

Telegram Open Network (TON), instant messaging service Telegram’s blockchain project, appears to be inching closer to its completion.

A four-slide update shared by Mike Dudas, Co-Founder and CRO at Button, on LinkedIn has revealed that TON’s overall progress towards the test version was 70 percent as of September 5, 2018.

In addition, the update also states that the TON virtual machine (TVM) – the component required for executing smart contracts in the TON Blockchain – is almost complete. It states:

“TVM is fully implemented and internally tested. Minor modifications are likely to be necessary during the process of binding TVM with the TON Blockchain block generation and validation software.”

Furthermore, Overlay networks and their broadcast protocols are also almost complete. However, the development of block manipulation libraries, validation software, and smart contracts seems to be lagging behind.

After raising a whopping $1.7 billion in a private sale, Telegram ditched its initial coin offering (ICO) plans earlier this year.

Recently, Arthur Hayes, CEO of BitMEX, noted that the Telegram ICO token ‘GRAM’ had not been listed on any secondary exchange, CryptoVest reported. He expects 2019 to be a ‘year of reckoning’ for many ICOs.

“2019 is going to be the year of reckoning for many funds. You can mark something to an absurd level in year 1. But the meter starts again on January 1st. If these things come to market, there will be no accounting tricks to hide the gargantuan losses that these funds will post,” Hayes said.

In July, Telegram announced “Telegram Passport,” which it describes as “a unified authorization method for services that require personal identification.” It will allow users to upload their documents only once, and then instantly share their data with services that require real-world ID (finance, ICOs, etc.).