Validators Restart TON Network as DOGS Token Launch Causes Major Disruption

TON network halted block production due to overwhelming DOGS memecoin activity, causing transaction delays.

The Telegram Open Network (TON) recently experienced a disruption in block production following the overwhelming market excitement surrounding the launch of the DOGS meme coin. This event led to delays in transaction processing and instability across the network. 

The last confirmed transactions were processed in block 45341899 before the network halted, affecting users and exchanges, including ByBit, which suspended TON-related transactions. This outage was attributed to excessive DOGS memecoin activity, resulting in network overload and a subsequent loss of consensus among validators.

Market watcher Colin Wu called attention to this development in a recent update.

Network Validators Overwhelmed

The TON Foundation identified a surge in transactions as the root cause of the network’s issues. According to foundation member Justin, validators on the network were overwhelmed due to the sheer volume of DOGS token transactions. 

Validators were needed to restart at 4:00 UTC to address the problem, although there was no definite timeline for when normal operations would resume.

Notably, the DOGS meme coin, launched on August 27, reached major exchanges like Binance and OKX, generating over $1 billion in trading volume within the first ten hours of its launch. However, the surge in activity also resulted in temporary service interruptions on several platforms.

Network Restoration and Continued Trading

According to the latest updates, the TON blockchain is back online, with new blocks being produced as of 05:30 UTC on August 28. According to the TON Foundation’s update, the network is stabilizing after the disruption caused by the DOGS meme coin launch. 

TON is now producing blocks normally!

We are back online. https://t.co/iXM6kF464T pic.twitter.com/FQ6eOt9fok

— TON 💎 (@ton_blockchain) August 28, 2024

The event was seen as a significant “stress test” for the TON network, demonstrating both its capabilities and vulnerabilities in handling massive trading volumes. Nonetheless, with validators restarting and exchanges resuming normal operations, the network appears to be on track for full recovery.

DOGS Memecoin Pushes Network to Its Limits

Despite the challenges, the DOGS memecoin launch showcased the capabilities of the TON network. After the DOGS became tradable on exchanges, transaction requests reached a speed of 150,000 per minute, even as technical issues emerged. 

Although Telegram Wallet and Bybit experienced difficulties due to the surge in DOGS-related activity, these issues were temporary. Notably, the DOGS airdrop had seen over 42 million crypto users qualify for participation. This surge, combined with Launchpool campaigns from exchanges like Binance, further tested the network’s resilience.