The TON blockchain network is back online after experiencing its second outage within two days. This update was shared by the TON Community on their Telegram channel early Thursday morning, Hong Kong time, confirming that withdrawals and deposits of TON-based assets via Wallet would soon be operational again.
The most recent disruption, which lasted over four hours, was due to a “heavy load caused by DOGS token minting.”
TON Experiences Two Outages in Quick Succession
This latest outage follows a similar incident that occurred on Tuesday afternoon (U.S. time) and was resolved shortly after midnight. Both interruptions were linked to the minting of the DOGS token, as initially observed by users and later confirmed by the TON network.
Block production on TON was disrupted starting at 19:19 UTC, due to a heavy load caused by DOGS token minting. TON Core is actively working on a solution. We will keep you updated as the situation evolves. User crypto assets are not at risk. — TON Status (@ToncoinStatus), August 28, 2024.
Despite these setbacks, Toncoin, the native token of the TON protocol, has seen an 8% rise in value, as reported by CoinDesk Indices. However, it still remains below the levels it reached before the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov.
Although TON and Telegram are legally separate entities, their close association has attracted attention, particularly following Durov’s recent arrest in France. He faces various charges, including facilitating illegal transactions and failing to cooperate with authorities.
DOGS Token Overload Causes Network Disruption
The launch of the DOGS token led to a significant increase in activity on the TON blockchain, causing an unexpected network outage. The overwhelming demand for airdropped DOGS tokens resulted in a massive surge in transactions, pushing the network’s capacity to its limits.
On Tuesday night, the official TON blockchain account on X reported a disruption in block production due to “abnormal load,” noting that around 20 million transactions had been processed within the previous 48 hours.
Introduced in July 2024, DOGS is marketed as the “most Telegram-native memecoin,” inspired by Spotty, a mascot popularized by Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov. The DOGS token has quickly gained popularity, with its official Telegram channel, Dogs Community, amassing nearly 17 million subscribers. Additionally, the DOGS Community’s official account on X has garnered 3.9 million followers since its debut in July, positioning it as a significant player in social media alongside Pi Network and Ethereum.
Pavel Durov Released on Bail
Meanwhile, French authorities have released Durov on bail under strict conditions, including a payment of 5 million euros, regular reporting to the police, and remaining within French borders. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau mentioned that the judge found sufficient grounds to formally investigate Durov on all the charges he was initially detained for. These charges include suspected involvement in operating an online platform for illegal transactions, distributing child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, fraud, failing to cooperate with authorities, money laundering, and providing cryptographic services to criminals.
A video shared by the Russian state news agency RIA on Telegram, and later on X, appears to show Durov, dressed in black, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, exiting the prosecutor’s office and getting into a vehicle on Wednesday evening.
