TON Blockchain Recovers After Six-Hour Outage Caused by DOGS Memecoin Frenzy

The TON blockchain faced a significant disruption due to an unexpected surge in traffic, likely triggered by the popularity of a new memecoin, DOGS.

The TON blockchain, which powers the Toncoin (TON) cryptocurrency, recently experienced a near six-hour outage that halted its block production, causing concern across the crypto community. The disruption, which started in the morning on Wednesday and was resolved by early afternoon Hong Kong time, was likely triggered by a sudden spike in network traffic related to a new memecoin called DOGS.

Block production is crucial for any blockchain, as it ensures the processing and validation of transactions while maintaining network security. When block production halts, it can lead to transaction delays and expose the network to potential security risks. While such crashes are rare, they can occur during periods of extreme network congestion.

In an initial response on X (formerly known as Twitter), the official TON blockchain account acknowledged the issue, attributing it to an "abnormal load" on the network. The post explained that several validators were struggling to clear the backlog of old transactions, causing them to lose consensus and interrupting the block production process.

The likely culprit behind this sudden surge in network activity appears to be the DOGS memecoin, which had recently been airdropped to users on the TON blockchain. The memecoin's popularity led to a dramatic increase in transactions, overwhelming the network's capacity to process them. Observers noted that the network's transactions per second (TPS) fell short of expectations during the incident.

This scenario is reminiscent of a similar event that occurred in February, when the Solana blockchain experienced a five-hour outage due to an overload of transactions, which also resulted in significant sell pressure on its native token, SOL.

As a result of TON's network instability, Bybit, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it was temporarily suspending deposits and withdrawals of Toncoin, citing concerns over network stability. This decision was communicated in a post by Wu Blockchain, a well-known crypto news source.

The timing of this incident is particularly noteworthy given the recent arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France, which had already caused Toncoin's price to plunge. Although Telegram and TON are technically separate entities, the two are often used in conjunction, and developments surrounding one can impact the other.

Before the blockchain's block production halted, TON's price had been defying broader market trends, showing gains over the past 24 hours even as other major cryptocurrencies saw losses of 4% or more. However, the network disruption and the broader uncertainty around recent events have cast a shadow over TON's recent performance.

photo source / Blockonome