It is shortly after a successful bitcoin halving, that the news come in on Telegram stopping further development of TON blockchain, that it has been working on for the last 2.5 years. According to Pavel Durov’s official Telegram channel, the move is explained by US Court ruling, stating that TON blockchain is considered illegal, due to how easy it may be for US citizens to buy GRAMS, the token on which the TON blockchain is designed to run.
Telegram’s founder goes on to highlight just how centralized the world we live in is and that it is the US government, who has the final say, when new technology is about to enter the market.
Now then, here is a thought… How did it happen that Bitcoin and Ethereum managed to survive past all the bans and factors that may have put a lid on them at early stages of development, just like it happened to TON? Well, the answer you may be looking for, may be very simple. It is time! How very apparent becomes now the fact, that in order for a truly breakthrough idea, one that questions the logic and logistics behind most well established industries, to get the traction it deserves, it is time and reach that play an incremental part.
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum were so ahead of time, that there was practically no chance left for selected authorities to oversee and steer the projects in a more favourable direction. As we know, all attempts to manipulate and prohibit blockchain as a whole were unsuccessful, whilst in the end, it is the governments who had to adapt to new tech and not the other way around.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not an outcry for how systematic and centralized the world is, but a highlight, that most breakthrough technologies must be both undercover when needed and ahead of time, so that they don’t later fall under regulations that have never existed, but were in turn adapted as triggers to the technology itself. Of course it is questionable just how breakthrough the TON blockchain is, but it serves as an unprecedented lesson of dos and don'ts to other blockchain projects that aim to change and disrupt. Stay ahead of time, stay breakthrough!