The Telegram Open Network (TON) has stopped validating new transactions and hasn't produced a new block for over three hours.
On August 28, Tonk Inu, a TON-based community platform, reported on X that the TON network was experiencing an ongoing outage. The platform attributed the issue to a surge in market activity related to a newly launched memecoin called DOGS.
According to Tonscan, a TON network tracker, the last transactions were confirmed more than three hours ago in block 45,341,899, with no new blocks produced since then.
Citing network instability, cryptocurrency exchange ByBit announced it had suspended all deposits and withdrawals involving TON until the network was restored to normal.
In a post on X, Justin, a member of the TON Foundation, explained that the outage resulted from a “network overload” due to the high volume of DOGS transactions. He further noted that TON validators had become overloaded, leading to a loss of consensus. "To restore consensus, validators will be called upon to restart at 4:00 UTC," Justin added.
The DOGS memecoin was launched on the Telegram Open Network on August 27.
It quickly gained traction, being listed on major exchanges like Binance and OKX, and saw a trading volume of $1.7 billion within the first ten hours of its launch, reaching a peak market capitalization of $891 million. The price of DOGS peaked at $0.0018 shortly after its launch but has since dropped to approximately $0.0013, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The emergence of this canine-themed memecoin follows an official rebranding by the TON Society on August 26, which aimed to support Telegram creator Pavel Durov, who was recently arrested in France.
"We are updating Toncoin’s logo and profile pictures across TON Community channels to the global symbol of Digital Resistance — the Resistance Dog," stated the TON Society. They explained that the dog symbol traces back to 2011 when Pavel Durov posted a picture of his dog as a stance against silencing liberal thinkers and dissidents on his platform.
"This dog has become the mascot of free speech. It has become an emblem of hope, incredible strength, and courage."
The TON Society also launched an "Open Letter Mini App" on the messaging platform, urging French authorities to release Durov from detention and allow Telegram to continue protecting freedom of expression and privacy for its users. At the time of writing, the petition had gathered 1.48 million signatures.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was detained by French authorities on August 24, under a search warrant related to alleged violations involving the encrypted messaging platform. Since his arrest, TON's native token has plummeted by 24% and is currently trading down 1.7% on the day at $5.22.
