Toncoin (TON) has been one of the hottest cryptos of the year, surging from oblivion all the way to the top 10. Notably, Toncoin minted new all-time highs last June; and given its momentum, analysts believe Toncoin is well within pace to set new records in the coming years.

TON serves as the native token of The Open Network, a Layer-1 blockchain network designed for maximum throughput, scalability, and near-instant transaction speeds. Initially developed in 2017 by the development team of social messaging app Telegram to support their 9-figure strong user base, they created their own L1 platform called the Telegram Open Network. The latter served as the predecessor to The Open Network, which has now taken over the reins of Toncoin.

Holders use Toncoin to pay for gas fees, staking, and to participate in network governance. TON facilitates a variety of decentralized apps, including decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens on The Open Network. Backed by a thriving community and a clear-cut roadmap, Toncoin has laid a marker for itself as one of the next big players in the rapidly-evolving future of blockchain technology.

Read on to find out what Toncoin is and how to buy Toncoin on Houdini Swap—the leading liquidity aggregator enabling users to transact across blockchains with industry-leading privacy.

A brief history of Toncoin

Toncoin was the brainchild of Nickolai and Pavel Durov aligned with their vision to create a high-throughput, high-performance Layer-1 blockchain to cater to the growing user base of Telegram. This led to the launch of the provisional Telegram Open Network (TON).

However, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classified Toncoin as a security, leading Telegram to abandon the project abruptly in 2020. The TON user base took over the reins shortly thereafter, rebranding and relaunching it as The Open Network with Toncoin serving as its native token.

Despite the early setbacks, Toncoin has surged into popularity thanks to its thriving community and its potential as a futuristic L1 platform. Since then, Toncoin’s ecosystem has grown by leaps and bounds, supporting a variety of core infrastructure projects such as TON Payments, TON DNS, TON Storage, TON Proxy, and TON Space.

What are the use cases of Toncoin?

Toncoin brings the following value propositions within the broader TON ecosystem:

Payments. Toncoin supports peer-to-peer transactions using TON for fast, safe, and direct payments between users.
Transact on-chain. Users use Toncoin to pay for gas/transaction fees on the TON blockchain as an incentive for validators for helping process transactions.
Staking. Toncoin users can stake their TON tokens and participate in securing the TON blockchain by doing so. In return, stakers earn a set amount of TON tokens based on the amount they stake.
Smart contracts. Toncoin facilitates the performance and operation of decentralized apps, NFTs, and DeFi protocols built on its underlying blockchain, a majority of which run using smart contracts.
Governance. Toncoin holders can participate in the blockchain’s governance by using TON to vote on proposals that dictate The Open Network’s development and direction.
Incentives. Community members and developers can earn TON tokens by performing in a variety of TON ecosystem initiatives, such as bug bounties, contributions, content creation, or providing services

How to buy Toncoin

Here’s a brief guide on how to buy Toncoin on a variety of platforms.

Buying Toncoin through Houdini Swap

It’s is possible to buy Toncoin through liquidity aggregators like Houdini Swap, which allow users to swap, send, and bridge through over 4,000 cryptocurrencies and 8 million token pairs to choose from—-including TON.

Simply connect your wallet, indicate the amount of crypto you wish to exchange for Toncoin, choose standard or private swap, enter the receiving TON address, wait for Houdini Swap to determine the conversion rate, and follow the steps to confirm the transaction.

Once the swap is completed and confirmed, the TON will appear on the specified receiving address.

The benefit of using Houdini Swap is that it uses the best-in-class privacy for users who wish to swap, send, or bridge crypto without leaving an on-chain trace (for private swaps). Houdini Swap has overseen $1 billion in trade volume, establishing itself as the leading privacy-focused liquidity aggregator.

Via centralized exchanges

Buying Toncoin using a centralized exchange is pretty much straightforward across the board for as long as your CEX supports Toncoin. You can buy Toncoin on a CEX like Binance, OKX, or Gate.io:

Step 1: Select your desired CEX

Choose a reputable, trustworthy CEX that offers Toncoin trading.

Step 2: Create an account

Once you’ve chosen among the CEXes that support Toncoin, create your account. Simply provide the requested registration information such as email and password as well as any other KYC and identity verification documents.

Step 3: Deposit funds

Once your account has been created, you can now deposit funds using a variety of methods. This includes fiat currency through linking your exchange account with your bank account, or by linking a credit or debit card. You can also deposit any crypto you might hold into your exchange account and swap it for Toncoin.

Step 4: Buy Toncoin

Once you’ve funded your exchange account, you can buy TON directly using the “Buy Crypto” feature enabled on exchanges like Binance. Most centralized exchanges that support TON accept crypto transactions via debit or credit card. Just enter the amount of TON you wish to buy and complete the payment.

Via decentralized exchanges

Decentralized exchanges give users full custody over their digital assets. Toncoin-native decentralized exchanges allow users to purchase or swap their existing crypto for TON tokens. Alternatively, users can pick a major DEX that supports Toncoin and buy it with fiat or swap their crypto for it.

This step-by-step guide works under the assumption that you already have a crypto wallet like MetaMask readily set up and topped up with crypto you can use to trade for Toncoin. For the purposes of this guide, we will use BNB-native decentralized exchange PancakeSwap to explain how the process works.

Step 1: Connect your wallet

First, head over to the PancakeSwap website and connect your wallet by clicking on “Connect” on the top-right corner of the homepage. Choose your crypto wallet among the list of wallet providers and follow the steps to connect your wallet.

Step 2: Add Toncoin to your wallet’s list of currencies

Some wallets require users to manually add Toncoin in order to see it readily in their list of tokens. Simply add Tocoin as a custom token and follow the succeeding step/

The option to add a custom token is in the tokens section.

Step 3: Swap your crypto for Toncoin

Once Toncoin is in the list of cryptocurrencies, you can trade your BNB or supported cryptocurrencies as input in exchange for Toncoin as the output cryptocurrency. Enter the amount, set the slippage, and confirm the swap on your wallet once the prompt appears. Approve the transaction and wait until it is confirmed.

Step 4: Receive Toncoin tokens in your wallet

Once the transaction is confirmed, your Toncoin tokens should appear in your wallet.

How to buy Toncoin using other methods

Users can also buy Toncoin through a variety of methods such as spot trading, peer-to-peer trading, Telegram bots, and token swapping but…buying through Houdini Swap remains the easier option by a long shot. .

Spot trading on centralized exchanges

It’s easy to buy Toncoin using spot trading. Using a centralized exchange that supports Toncoin, simply select the trading pair that supports TON.

For instance, exchanges like Gate.io supports TON/USDT and TON/ETH trading pairs, allowing the platform’s users to choose a market order that executes and buys TON at the prevailing market rate. They can also place a limit order, which allows users to set a price at which to buy Toncoin with.

Once TON reaches the specified price, the limit order is executed. Once the purchase is consummated, users receive their Toncoin in their exchange wallet.

P2P trading

Peer-to-peer trading is also an option for users who wish to buy Toncoin without having to link their bank accounts or credit/debit cards on their exchange accounts. Most centralized exchanges offer P2P trading, wherein the exchange connects sellers and buyers of crypto such as BTC, USDT, or ETH for the seller’s asking price through payment methods they accept. The exchange acts as an escrow service and intermediator, locking up the crypto they buy until the payment is confirmed. Once the crypto is released to the buyer, they can then swap it for Toncoin through their exchange if it supports TON, or through any other method outlined in this guide.

Using Telegram

You can also buy Toncoin directly using the Telegram app using its built-in “@wallet” bot. Here’s how to buy Toncoin through Telegam.

Step 1: Set up the Telegram wallet

To begin, install the Telegram wallet by opening the Telegram app and searching for the @wallet bot. This bot enables you to buy, sell, and send crypto within the social messaging app. Start the chat with the @wallet bot and follow the on-screen prompts to set it up.

Step 2: Deposit funds

Add funds to your Telegram wallet to buy TON. The @wallet bot supports a variety of payment methods, such as fiat deposits, credit/debit cards, and crypto transfers. Simply follow the on-screen instructions that the chatbot provides to add funds to your Telegram wallet.

Step 3: Buy TON

Once your wallet is funded, you can now buy Toncoin. Simply enter “Buy Toncoin” in the @wallet chatbot window, or navigate to the buy section using the menu options. Simply enter the amount of TON you wish to buy, and follow the bot’s prompts to confirm the transaction and payment method.

Step 4: Confirm the transaction

Once the transaction is confirmed, your TON will be credited to your Telegram wallet. You can check your wallet balances and transaction histories by bringing up the @wallet bot.

Problems with buying Toncoin

Toncoin has gained major traction in the past couple of years; however, there are several challenges you should consider before buying TON such as the following:

Regulatory uncertainty. Toncoin has already faced a major challenge from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier; the rapidly-changing regulatory landscape is something that you need to consider when talking about Toncoin’s future growth and adoption.
Market volatility. All cryptocurrencies are subject to flights of volatility, leading to significant price changes.
Limited availability on exchanges. Despite being in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, Toncoin is listed on relatively fewer exchanges where it can be bought and sold freely, limiting liquidity and boosting price volatility.
Technological risks. Toncoin is also subject to technical malfunctions and shortcomings, such as security incidents or scalability hurdles.
Lack of broader adoption. Toncoin has gained major traction, but as evidenced with the relative lack of availability on major crypto platforms, it still has a ways to go before achieving its full potential.
Increased competition. There’s no doubt that Toncoin has been one of the hottest cryptos in the past couple of years—but it needs to continue evolving and differentiating itself among other L1s to attract new investors and retain existing ones.

Ultimately, it’s important to do your own research and consider every angle before buying Toncoin. Nevertheless, the future of Toncoin looks bright—this makes it a worthwhile investment as an L