The Historical Context of NewTON Team

When I joined the TON Developers & Validators chat, also known as the NewTON team, it was on May 28, 2021. By that time, Telegram had ceased all code contributions to the ton-blockchain GitHub organization. The ton-blockchain repository was essentially a dormant codebase, containing only some foundational components, such as the main TON Blockchain codebase.

At that point, I had never encountered the testnet1 version of TON Blockchain. What I saw instead was the testnet2, launched by Telegram, which was still operational. The primary goal of the NewTON team was to continue maintaining testnet2. I soon discovered that the NewTON team had created a new GitHub organization named newton-blockchain. Initially, I thought the name was simply a variation of ton-blockchain. However, after a few months, I realized that it had a deeper meaning—a reference to Isaac Newton—evident from the group icon, which humorously depicted Newton himself.

The Rise of Multiple TON Projects

During that era, there were several third-party TON blockchain projects, each with its own distinct focus: NewTON, FreeTON, and TON Token.

  • NewTON aimed to continue maintaining testnet2 of the TON Blockchain, with its token still named GRAM.
  • FreeTON took a different approach by launching a new blockchain called the FreeTON Blockchain, using its own token, TON Crystal. The leading development team for FreeTON was TON Labs, known for their professionalism.
  • TON Token, on the other hand, seemed to only exist as an ERC-20 token, with no evidence of its own mainnet or network.

As I began to explore the background of TON Blockchain more deeply, I found these three projects particularly significant. In essence, there was testnet2’s GRAM, FreeTON’s TON Crystal, and TON Token. It was quite rare for anyone to notice NewTON’s presence, as older technical documents mostly came from the original ton-blockchain GitHub repository. FreeTON was the actively maintained project, while TON Token, being an ERC-20 token, didn’t capture much of my attention. Naturally, my technical research leaned towards the FreeTON project.

On cryptocurrency exchanges, I noticed both TON Crystal and TON Token being listed across different platforms. The two tokens even had similar names and icons, making them difficult to distinguish apart from their pricing. Despite the prevalence of FreeTON, I remained focused on contributing to the NewTON team. It is worth mentioning that GRAM, as used by the newton-blockchain, was not listed on any exchanges and therefore had no tradable value.

NewTON Team’s Efforts and Contributions

Let me now delve deeper into the contributions of the NewTON team. Back then, the ton-blockchain repository lacked comprehensive documentation. It only contained code and a handful of research papers. The NewTON team forked the original ton-blockchain and named it newton-blockchain. Team members immersed themselves in studying the code and research papers, which ultimately led to the creation of the first comprehensive technical documentation, hosted at toncoin.org/docs.

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Members silently contributed their research, making the documentation more and more detailed. It explained how TON Blockchain worked and included critical components of the ecosystem. At that time, we weren’t thinking too much about DeFi, ERC-20, or ERC-721 tokens. The NewTON team’s top priority was ensuring the stability of testnet2. We started deeply researching the core infrastructure of the TON Blockchain, including topics like:

  • TON Blockchain operational principles
  • Validator mechanics
  • Elector and System contracts
  • The ADNL, RLDP, and DHT protocols (network layer fundamentals)
  • The smart contract languages FIFT, FUNC, and TVM
  • LiteServer and LiteClient

These elements formed the foundation of the TON Blockchain, and without them, it simply wouldn’t operate. The results of our research were continually added to the documentation.

In addition to documentation, we discovered that TON Blockchain lacked proper installation tools. A developer decided to address this issue by creating Mytonctrl, which handled several essential tasks such as compiling, generating key pairs, and managing node services (validators). Mytonctrl was aptly named, as it also covered the basic functionalities, such as wallet creation, wallet activation, sending transactions, checking balances, and tracking transaction history.

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Key Missions of the NewTON Team

The most critical tasks of the NewTON team during that period were:

  • Maintaining the stability of testnet2
  • Automating the installation of TON nodes via Mytonctrl
  • Completing comprehensive technical documentation
  • Monitoring testnet2’s status
  • Developing APIs, SDKs, and wallet solutions

Our contributions, although largely unrecognized, laid the foundation for the continuation and future development of TON Blockchain technology, ensuring that its legacy survived and thrived.

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