TON Foundation announces trustless Bitcoin bridge

Telegram-based TON has announced new infrastructure that will leverage Bitcoin’s blockchain to increase its utility.

The feature, called TON Teleport BTC, was announced by The Open Network (TON) Foundation and provides more functionality for decentralized applications built on the Bitcoin (BTC) and Telegram-focused chain.

While decentralized, most blockchains were not initially designed to communicate with each other. This phenomenon alienated independent networks and created a divide with entities.

Networks like Ethereum (ETH) have attempted to alleviate this issue by developing what is called the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This environment allows anyone to create ETH-compatible tools and connect to Ethereum’s mainnet.

Bridges are another solution to the problem, allowing users and participants to move digital assets from one blockchain to another. As the name suggests, TON Teleport BTC builds on this idea to improve liquidity and introduce the largest cryptocurrency token to the TON ecosystem.

According to the TON Foundation, the organization that manages The Open Network, the bridge allows users to use BTC on local on-chain exchanges, lending platforms, and other popular defi platforms.

Looking to unlock new potential for your Bitcoin ₿? #TON? 👀

🔈 Introducing TON Teleport BTC, which aims to improve Bitcoin usage on TON!

Check out this thread to learn more 🧵⬇️ pic.twitter.com/M9gmUElvaJ

— TON 💎 (@ton_blockchain) July 17, 2024

The Open Network has seen exponential growth this year, driven by the rise of Notcoin (NOT) and Telegram minigames like Hamster Kombat. Its native token ranks ninth among all digital assets with a market cap of over $18 billion. In addition to directly reaching over 900 million global Telegram users, the blockchain reportedly reached 470,000 active wallets on Tuesday.