The TON blockchain, which has been a cornerstone of the Telegram ecosystem, recently faced its most significant test yet. Within just 36 hours, the network experienced two substantial outages, both directly tied to the sudden surge in popularity of a new memecoin known as DOGS. This unexpected rise in transaction volumes due to the DOGS token nearly brought the TON blockchain to its knees, highlighting critical challenges in the network’s ability to handle high volumes of activity.
The first outage struck on August 27, 2024, at 23:00 UTC, when block production on the TON blockchain abruptly ceased. The network remained down for six hours, with block production only resuming at 05:30 UTC on August 28. Just when the network appeared to stabilize, a second outage hit later that day at 19:19 UTC, lasting over four hours. Both incidents were directly linked to the overwhelming demand generated by the DOGS memecoin, which caused a dramatic spike in transaction volumes, pushing the TON blockchain beyond its capacity.
The DOGS token, inspired by Telegram’s beloved mascot Spotty, quickly gained traction, especially after the announcement of a large-scale airdrop. The airdrop, intended to distribute DOGS tokens to a wide audience, caused severe congestion on the network. The sheer volume of transactions, coupled with the heavy load from ongoing token minting, created a perfect storm that led to the breakdown of the network’s functionality. Within just 48 hours, TON processed an unprecedented 20 million transactions, overwhelming the system and exposing its vulnerabilities.
These disruptions were further exacerbated by the inability of several validators to clean up their databases effectively. Validators play a crucial role in maintaining the blockchain’s consensus by processing transactions and ensuring that the network remains synchronized. However, the sudden surge in transaction volumes made it impossible for some validators to remove outdated transaction data efficiently. This failure led to a loss of consensus among validators, causing delays and errors in processing new transactions, and ultimately, compromising the integrity of the blockchain.
The underlying issue that TON and many other blockchain networks face relates to scalability, particularly when it comes to sharding. Sharding is a technique used to divide a blockchain network into smaller, more manageable parts known as “shards.” Each shard handles a portion of the overall transactions, which theoretically allows the network to process more transactions simultaneously. However, this system requires constant communication between shards to stay synchronized. During periods of low activity, this communication works smoothly. But when transaction volumes skyrocket, as they did with the DOGS memecoin, the communication between shards becomes a bottleneck, leading to delays, slowdowns, or even failures in keeping the shards synchronized.
These scalability challenges on the TON blockchain are particularly concerning given the rise of Telegram Mini Apps, which are driving explosive growth on the network. As more users engage with these apps, the demand on the blockchain increases, raising questions about its long-term sustainability under heavy loads. The recent outages have made it clear that while TON has the potential to support large-scale operations, its current infrastructure may not be fully equipped to handle sudden spikes in activity.
One potential solution to these scalability issues is the concept of execution isolation. Unlike sharding, which requires constant back-and-forth communication between different parts of the network, execution isolation allows each part to handle its transactions independently. This approach reduces the need for frequent communication between shards, which can slow down the network during peak periods. Appchains, or application-specific blockchains, take this idea even further. By focusing on a single type of activity, such as processing transactions for a specific application, appchains can manage traffic more effectively and avoid the pitfalls of trying to do everything at once on a single network. Notable examples of appchains include Polkadot Parachains, Cosmos Zones, and Polygon Supernets, all of which have been designed to improve scalability and efficiency.
As the TON blockchain continues to evolve, it will need to address these scalability challenges head-on to maintain its position as a leading platform in the crypto space. The launch of Pixelverse’s Black Puma Bot NFTs on the TON blockchain and other similar projects will likely continue to push the limits of the network, making it essential for TON to implement robust solutions that can handle the increasing demands of its growing user base.
