Telegram Releases Its Own TON Blockchain Testnet

Telegram, the encrypted, cloud-based instant messaging and voice-over IP service, has officially released a test client for its Telegram Open Network (TON), according to a report by CoinTelegraph. Now a preliminary version of the TON Blockchain Network Lite Client can be downloaded on test.ton.org.

According to the readme information file, users can also install a configuration file for smart contract development. This allows users a number of options with the development and managing of TON blockchain smart contracts.

For instance, users can create new smart contracts, audit the state of existing smart contracts, send external messages to smart contracts, deploy Fift to compile, execute, and debug smart contracts locally, among other things.

For the uninformed, Fift is the new and unique programming language for the TON blockchain. It is specifically designed for managing and developing TON smart contracts and interacting with the TON Virtual Machine.

Last year, Telegram held two private initial coin offerings, raising almost $1.7 billion for the company’s Gram tokens, the TON network’s native digital currency. Now investors are beginning to see the fruits of their investments with the release of a lite client for the TON Blockchain Testnet.

How do you think Telegram’s Gram token will compare with Facebook’s GlobalCoin. Let us know what you think in the comment section below.