TON is The Open Network and is a suite of products around its own blockchain. TON also has its own cryptocurrency token or coin, called TON also known as "TONCOIN".
What makes TON different from other cryptocurrencies are several factors, such as owning its own most advanced blockchain technology, speed, ease of use, value, decentralization, and ownership: it is not owned by any small group but an open source TON Foundation. See the official website for more information about the TON Project.
A lot is happening in 2022, see the road map, this will without doubt increase TON in value.
Telegram is set to propel TON into mainstream use, easy, fast payments, later this year. Already there are bots and web bots in development as a pre-cursor.
Why Cryptocurrency?
Common to most all cryptocurrencies here are some very clear advantages over other "money":
No middleman (unless using a custodial wallet)
No freezing of accounts, you alone are in control
No identification and hurdles to opening an account
Fair to everyone, equally, anywhere no matter location or status
Real time transfer of payments directly without intermediary
You and you alone own your currency in your Wallet
Send and receive any amount big or small, 24/7 and all year round
Convenient: easy to send and receive money at any time, almost anywhere
Disadvantages?
None, unless you lose your passwords. You must keep those safe at all times.
Also, you don't want to send a payment to the wrong address, there is no middle man to sort things out, you're on your own: no bank, company or government to assist you.
Wallet balances and transaction histories are visible to anyone but not who the wallets belong to unless you disclose this. This could be considered an advantage too.
Currently there is a lot of work to be done to make things easy and actually work well, but these issues can expect a lot of improvement in the coming months, especially wallets that need to work better, more safely and easily.
Is it legal?
In most of the world, still, yes. Can they stop it if they wanted to? No, probably not.
Is it used for illegal payments? Like telephones, cars, computers, yes, a minority do.
How to get started?
We suggest you join Telegram first so support and information is easiest to find.
When you have Telegram downloaded and installed, join TON CENTRAL for a launch pad to useful TON channels and apps.
Next, you'll want to purchase some TON. 👈 That page shows you how to do that.
Then you may want to know more about Wallets and how to use them and privacy, before doing so be sure to also read our recent coverage on Wallet Safety at TonNews.info
Note that if you are reading this article in your Email, you will get the latest version with any post-publication changes by visiting TonNews.info