TON Blockchain Resumes Operations After Outage Caused by DOGS Token Airdrop

The Open Network (TON) blockchain is back in action after a brief but significant disruption that halted block production for several hours. The TON Foundation announced the network's return to normal operations on August 28 at 5:30 am UTC.

The interruption in block production was attributed to an unusual surge in network activity following the airdrop of DOGS, a new meme coin designed to capture the essence of the Telegram community. This unexpected congestion pushed the network to its limits, causing several validators to struggle with clearing old transaction data and ultimately leading to a loss of consensus.

DOGS, launched in July 2024, has quickly become a sensation within the crypto community. Inspired by Spotty, a mascot promoted by Telegram's founder Pavel Durov, the token has garnered immense popularity. The Dogs Community Telegram channel has amassed an impressive 17 million subscribers in less than two months, while its X (formerly Twitter) account boasts 3.9 million followers.

The token's official listing on major exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and OKX coincided with reports of Durov's arrest in Paris, further fueling interest in the project. As users rushed to claim their airdropped DOGS tokens, the TON blockchain experienced unprecedented levels of activity.

A spokesperson from Wallet in Telegram revealed that four million users claimed their DOGS tokens through the wallet app. This claim process generated a staggering peak of over 67,000 transactions per second, far surpassing previous records set during other token generation events.

The TON Foundation acted swiftly to address the network issues, issuing a call to validators to restart at 4:00 am UTC to reestablish consensus. They assured users that all transactions would be processed and no cryptocurrency assets would be lost due to the disruption.