What is TON Token (TON)?
TON Token (TON), also known as Free TON, is an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency that originated from the Telegram Open Network (TON). TON project was created to revolutionize crypto payment systems. It integrated a powerful crypto payment system into Telegram, a world-famous application. If you want to see the current TON price, take a look at the TON Token price chart above.
Many people confuse TON Token with Toncoin. However, the TON Token is not affiliated with Toncoin. So, what's the deal here?
TON was originally designed by the Durov brothers (creators of Telegram). The project planned to integrate a crypto payment system into Telegram's instant messaging app. However, by 2021, a plan emerged to separate TON from the operation of Telegram and set it under the control of The Open Network.
Before this separation, Telegram was involved in one of the longest crypto court cases with the SEC (the US Securities and Exchange Commission). The commission called for Telegram to restrict the distribution of the tokens, citing violation of regulations concerning securities. Telegram lost the case, leading Pavel Durov to announce the end of Telegram's direct involvement with the TON blockchain.
However, Pavel Dubrov developed TON as an open-source software project and published its code publicly on GitHub. This enabled the community to continue the development of TON, even though Telegram could not continue developing the project. This resulted in the development of two big projects – TON Token (which belongs to TON Labs) and Toncoin (which belongs to The Open Network).
The Conflict Over the TON Name Trademark
However, there was a disagreement between TON Labs and The Open Network over who should get the trademark on the TON name.
The Open Network issued a public request to Durov in June 2021 asking for the original GitHub repository with the source code and the TON domain name. They subsequently published an app for their wallet on Google Play. In the meantime, TON Labs was able to register their trademark rights for TON with the European Commission and wrote a complaint to Google about the usage of the name TON in The Open Network's wallet name.
However, in the past, Durov and TON Labs signed a contract allowing them to use the TON name in their goods without the possibility of registering the trademark for it. Thus, since TON Labs violated the agreement, their trademark registration was made invalid. Though Free TON started to take action against any rivals that used the TON name either way.
The Open Network once more turned to Durov in reaction to attempts to sever the wallet from the store. Pavel declared that he would sue Free TON. Thus, TON Labs stopped their actions against their rivals and declared that they had made the decision not to include TON in their naming scheme a short while thereafter. Durov gave his entire legacy rights to The Open Network in August 2021.
You can analyze the TON price above to see how the TON Token price changed since its launch due to the events that unraveled.
