The TON blockchain has rolled out a major upgrade, delivering a 10× increase in overall speed and pushing transaction times to sub-second levels. The update marks the first step in a broader roadmap aimed at scaling the network. With faster block production and near-instant transactions now live, TON is positioning itself more aggressively in the high-performance blockchain race.

Catchain 2.0 upgrade drives major speed gains

Confirmed by Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov in an X post on April 9, the improvements come from the activation of Catchain 2.0, a core upgrade to TON’s consensus and validator communication layer. The proposal passed with over 85% support from validators, signaling strong network alignment behind the change.

Following the rollout, block production speed increased about sixfold, with new blocks now generated in around 400 milliseconds. Transactions have also dropped to under one second, significantly improving user experience for payments and on-chain activity.

The network is currently stable, though around 7% of validators have yet to update, slightly limiting performance from reaching full targets. Developers have urged remaining validators to upgrade to unlock the system’s full capacity.

Against the backdrop of these positive developments, TON’s native token is currently trading at $1.29, recording a 5.9% gain on the day and increasing 2.8% across the week, as it reduces the losses over the past month to 0.5%, according to the most recent price chart data.

What’s next for TON

This upgrade is just the beginning. Durov described it as step one in a multi-phase plan to scale the network further, with the next milestone focused on reducing transaction fees by another sixfold.

This combination of near-instant speed and ultra-low fees could make TON particularly competitive for high-frequency use cases like social apps and gaming, especially given its integration with Telegram’s massive user base.

At the same time, the upgrade introduces new economic considerations. Faster block production can impact validator rewards and inflation dynamics, with proposals already under discussion to adjust emissions accordingly.

All things considered, it appears TON is doubling down on speed and efficiency, aiming to position itself as one of the fastest and most usable blockchains in the market.