TONCOIN (TON) tokenomics

Toncoin (TON) is the native cryptocurrency of The Open Network, a decentralized Layer 1 blockchain. Originally developed by Telegram and later continued by an open-source community, the token's economic model has evolved from a unique Proof-of-Work (PoW) distribution phase to its current Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

Issuance Mechanism

The issuance of Toncoin is characterized by an initial fixed supply that has since transitioned into an inflationary model to support network security.

• Initial Supply: The network launched with an initial total supply of 5.00 billion TON.
• Current Supply: As of late 2023 and early 2024, the total supply has grown to approximately 5.11 billion to 5.12 billion TON.
• Inflation Rate: The network maintains a 0.60% annual inflation rate. This inflation is used to mint new tokens as emissions for validator rewards.
• Block Subsidies: New tokens are added to the reward pool through block subsidies. The network provides 1.7 TON for each masterchain block and 1 TON for each basechain block.

Allocation Mechanism

The allocation of Toncoin is unique because it did not follow a traditional Initial Coin Offering (ICO) or venture capital distribution model.

• Initial Distribution (PoW Givers): In June 2020, approximately 4.92 billion TON (96.66% of the total supply) were transferred to "Proof-of-Work Giver" smart contracts. These tokens were earned by users who solved computational puzzles. This distribution phase concluded in June 2022 when the pools were depleted.
• Developer/Tester Allocation: A small fraction, roughly 1.45% of the supply, was originally allocated to developers and testers during the testnet phase in 2019.
• Asset Concentration: The supply remains relatively concentrated. As of late 2023, the top ten wallets held approximately 3.14 billion TON (62.80% of the total supply). One specific wallet holds roughly 1.31 billion TON (26.20% of the total supply).
• Official Disclosure: Neither Telegram Messenger Inc. nor the TON Foundation has disclosed an official, granular token supply allocation breakdown for the project team or advisors.

Usage and Incentive Mechanism

Toncoin is deeply integrated into the network's operations, serving as both a utility token and an incentive for participants.

Network Utility

• Transaction Fees: Users pay gas fees in TON for smart contract processing, message importing/exporting, and computation.
• Governance: Tokenholders can vote on on-chain governance proposals, such as network fee adjustments or protocol upgrades.
• Ecosystem Payments: TON is used for decentralized services, including TON DNS (domain names), TON Proxy, and decentralized data storage.
• Medium of Exchange: It is used for payments within Telegram-integrated apps, games, and collectibles.

Incentives and Staking

• Validator Rewards: Validators earn TON from both the inflation-based block subsidies and transaction gas fees. The total reward pool per validation cycle is approximately 40,000 TON.
• Staking APY: The staking yield for participants is approximately 5.18%.
• Slashing: To ensure honest behavior, validators can be penalized with a "standard fine" or slashing penalty of 101 TON for idle or malicious activity.

Locking and Unlocking Mechanisms

The locking of Toncoin is primarily tied to network security and participation in the consensus process rather than traditional venture vesting schedules.

Locking Mechanism

• Validator Stakes: To become a validator, a user must meet hardware requirements and a minimum stake of 300,000 TON (which can include nominated funds).
• Nominator Pools: Individual tokenholders who do not wish to run a validator can participate by locking a minimum of 10,000 TON into nominator pools. These funds are locked to support a validator's weight in exchange for a share of the rewards.
• Governance Locking: Participation in certain governance votes or "DAO Spaces" may require holding or committing tokens during a snapshot period.

Unlocking Time

• Validation Cycles: The validator election cycle lasts approximately 18 hours.
• Unlock Events: While specific scheduled "unlock events" for team or private investors are not publicly documented in a standard vesting table, the circulating supply increases gradually through the 0.60% annual inflation.
• Current Status: As of early 2025, a significant portion of the supply is already in circulation (approximately 2.49 billion to 2.52 billion TON), with the remainder held in various large wallets or locked in staking contracts.

Summary Table of Token Metrics