The Open Network (TON) halted block production for over 3 hours due to a surge in DOGS memecoin transactions. Learn more about the impact on the network and the latest developments.
The Open Network (TON) has ceased producing new blocks after a surge in trading activity surrounding a new memecoin called DOGS. As of now, TON has not validated any new transactions for over three hours.
On August 28, the community platform Tonk Inu, which operates on the TON network, reported an ongoing network outage, attributing the issue to an overwhelming market frenzy caused by the recent launch of the DOGS memecoin.
At 2:18 am UTC on August 28, the last recorded transactions on the TON network were approved over three hours earlier in block 45341899. Since then, no new blocks have been generated, as confirmed by the network tracker Tonscan. Due to the network instability, the crypto exchange Bybit announced a suspension of all deposits and withdrawals related to TON until normal operations are restored.
A member of the TON Foundation, Justin, explained in a post on August 28 that the outage was due to a “network overload” triggered by the high volume of DOGS transactions. He noted that the validators on TON were overwhelmed, leading to a loss of consensus.
“To restore consensus, validators will be required to restart at 4:00 UTC,” Justin stated.
The DOGS memecoin was introduced on the TON network on August 27. Listed on major exchanges like Binance and OKX, the token achieved a trading volume of $1.7 billion within its first 10 hours and reached a peak market capitalization of $891 million.
Following its launch, the price of DOGS spiked to $0.0018 but has since decreased to approximately $0.0013, according to CoinMarketCap.
This canine-themed memecoin launch coincides with an official rebranding by TON Society on August 26, which aims to support Telegram creator Pavel Durov, who was recently detained 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,” announced TON Society. The symbol references an event in 2011 when Durov was pressured to delete posts from liberal thinkers and dissidents, to which he responded by posting a picture of his dog, symbolizing his refusal to silence free speech.
TON Society has also introduced an “Open Letter Mini App” within Telegram, calling on French authorities to release Durov and uphold the rights to free expression and privacy for its users. The petition has gathered 1.48 million signatures as of now.
Since Durov’s detention on August 24, Toncoin has dropped by 24% and is currently trading down 1.7% at $5.22.
