The TON blockchain has increased its speed tenfold and now plans to lower fees as top Layer 1 (L1s) compete for users.
On the 9th of April, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced that the recent upgrade, Catchain 2.0, was successful. According to him, the blockchain now creates blocks six times faster, and transactions are now ‘instant, subsecond.’
Durov added that the 10x faster speed was the first of the seven steps of blockchain’s overhaul plan, dubbed the Make TON Great Again (MTONGA) framework. The second step will cut the transaction cost by 6x.
Will the upgrades improve TON activity?
According to ChainSpect, TON now ranks 14th among the fastest blockchain networks. On the sub-second block times, it only rivals Solana and BNB Chain.
Worth pointing out, BNB Chain also made updates to scale its speed and lower the costs of transactions. The end goal is to attract users seeking faster and cheaper transfers that can also empower other DeFi applications.
This is especially true for stablecoin transfers, which are dominated by Ethereum. However, rising competition from cheaper options like Tron, Solana, BNB Chain, and now TON has slashed its market share in stablecoin settlement.
Currently, TON’s average transfer cost is about $0.00315, while Solana charges $0.00201. In other words, Solana is 40% cheaper than TON.
But if the 6x lower fees are achieved, TON would be 3.5x or 72% cheaper than Solana. That would be a competitive advantage, especially for stablecoin transfers.
As of writing, TON was the 13th largest chain in terms of stablecoin liquidity. Even so, the TON blockchain has seen a broader downtrend in activity since late 2024.
The DEX volumes have dropped from 2024 highs of $1.4B to $26M as of April 2026. Similarly, the TVL (total locked value) has decreased from a record high of $766M to $55M.
But the dropping activity was due to broader market contraction. But it remains to be seen whether the lower fees will attract new users to the chain.
Final Summary
- TON is now 10x faster and could soon be 3.5x cheaper than Solana amid cutthroat competition for on-chain users.
- Telegram’s Pavel Durov said the plans are part of the Make TON Great Again (MTONGA) framework as chain activity slows.
