TON Foundation Launches TON Teleport BTC, Enabling Bitcoin Use on Telegram-Linked Network for DeFi

• The TON Foundation has announced the TON Teleport BTC, a trustless and secure bridge enabling the transfer of assets between the TON and Bitcoin blockchains.
• BTC holders can now use their tokens to access DeFi on TON, trade it on DEXes, engage in lending and more, with no central intermediaries involved.

The Bitcoin network has become more robust and complex in recent years, with more Layer 2s unveiling sophisticated dApps on the network, while Ordinals opened up tokenization. However, it still lags behind other smart contract-native platforms. One of the new leaders is TON, and thanks to an upcoming bridge between the two networks, BTC holders can now enjoy all the benefits of one of the fastest-growing ecosystems.

xThe TON Foundation announced this week that later this year, it would be launching the TON Teleport BTC, a secure and trustless bridge that connects the two networks.

Want to unlock new potential for your Bitcoin ₿ on #TON?

Introducing TON Teleport BTC, aiming to enhance Bitcoin utility on TON!

Dive into this thread to learn more pic.twitter.com/M9gmUElvaJ

— TON (@ton_blockchain) July 17, 2024

With the TON Teleport BTC, users can easily transfer their BTC from the Bitcoin blockchain to Ton. In practice, every user will have a unique Bitcoin address to which they will send their BTC. Once the transaction is confirmed, an equivalent amount of BTC will be issued on the TON blockchain. The user is then free to do as they please with the BTC, from earning income on DeFi to trading on the leading DEXes to lending.

One key benefit of this bridge is that it involves no third parties. Time and time again, third-party bridges have fallen victim to hackers who have made away with billions of dollars in cumulative losses. Wormhole, for instance, lost over $300 million two years ago, as we reported at the time.

This bridge will have no such issues, with the Foundation noting that the only vulnerabilities will be if the TON or Bitcoin blockchains ever get breached.

In short, the only potential points of failure for Teleport are the Bitcoin and TON blockchains themselves. Security depends entirely on the chains and the accuracy of smart contract algorithms.

Commenting on the upcoming bridge, TON’s technical lead Anatoliy Makosov claimed that security was a key consideration. He told media outlets:

All transactions are executed via smart contracts and verified by TON blockchain validators. Storing and using Bitcoin on TON is as secure as on the Bitcoin network itself, but significantly cheaper and more convenient.

Despite its inherent challenges, Bitcoin remains the king of crypto. Not only is it the biggest by market cap and most owned, but it’s also the token that mainstream investors are familiar with. And while the altcoins continue to grow, BTC will remain a key player, and finding a way to incorporate it on any network is the best middle ground.

The Foundation intends to expand from BTC into other networks. They believe that the new bridge will set a precedent “for future systems that could link TON with other EVM-compatible networks and demonstrate its potential for wider blockchain integration.”

TON trades at $7.3, gaining under 1% in the past day for an $18.3 billion market cap, the eighth-largest in the sector. It has been one of this year’s best performers, with institutional investors being a key anchor.