TON Foundation Unveils Encrypted Messenger to Enhance User Security

The TON Foundation – the non-profit association behind The Open Network (TON) – announced the integration of messenger encryption on the network. The move aims to enhance user privacy by deploying necessary safeguards in a text sent with a transaction.

The new feature uses end-to-end encryption. This essentially guarantees that only the sender and recipient are able to view the message, thereby improving levels of security for TON’s user base.

Enhancing User Privacy

According to the official update shared with CryptoPotato, the network fee for delivering an encrypted message via TON is around 0.006 Toncoin (TON) per transaction. The low price is expected to make the service accessible all across the chain’s increasing user base.

Commenting on the latest addition, TON Foundation’s core developer Anatoly Makosov said,

“Now this popular feature – which is not available on most other blockchains – is available with full encryption. Even in the event of an apocalypse and the failure of conventional messenger servers, you will retain the ability to send messages via the decentralized TON blockchain. Rest assured that these messages will be reliably delivered and safeguarded through encryption.”

Several crypto wallets, as well as standard web and desktop wallets (Windows, MacOS, Linux), have already added support for the encryption feature, the statement by the foundation revealed. Meanwhile, the encryption for messages will be available in upcoming updates for TON mobile wallets and the Tonkeeper wallet.

TON’s Evolution

TON – which happens to be a layer-1 blockchain previously created by Telegram – had a much turbulent start. The project has been run as a community-led, open-source project after Telegram’s abandonment a few years back. Since then, the TON Foundation has managed to ink several partnerships.

As part of the partnership with DWF Labs, the blockchain industry market maker invested $10 million towards TON’s development last November.

DWF Labs is reportedly slated to participate in an estimated 50 seed investment rounds scheduled over a few months. The focus of the funding rounds will be to accelerate the scaling of the TON ecosystem as well as its associated projects.

More recently, TON unveiled a $25 million fund dubbed “TON Accelerator Program,” which aims to invest between $50,000 and $250,000 per project and be accompanied by partnerships and mentorships from TON’s staff.