What Is Tonkeeper?
Tonkeeper is the leading wallet on the TON blockchain that offers staking services and private dApp browsing, while enabling users to purchase eSIM and gift cards with crypto.
Key Takeaways
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TON offers users high scalability and fast speed, while maintaining low fees.
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Tonkeeper is a non-custodial wallet on TON that enables users to live on crypto. It also offers features like staking and private dApp browsing.
This article was written together with the Ton Apps team.
Tonkeeper is the top wallet on TON App, a directory of all apps available in the TON ecosystem. What makes TON and Tonkeeper stand out is how they are making Web3 a practical option for the masses, through the blockchain’s affiliation with Telegram, the popular social messaging application.
In this article, we’ll look at how Tonkeeper and TON are “putting crypto in every pocket”.
Introduction to TON
TON, short for “The Open Network”, is an open-source blockchain network. Originally initiated by the founders of the Telegram messaging app, it has since evolved into an independent project managed by the TON Foundation.
At the heart of TON's design is its exceptional scalability and speed.
This is achieved by implementing a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism (for energy-efficient transaction validation) and dynamic sharding (a process that partitions the network into smaller, more manageable pieces to optimize processing and throughput and merge them as needed).
A unique aspect of TON is its synergy with Telegram, a messaging app with over 800 million users. By integrating directly into Telegram, TON effectively made cryptocurrency transactions as simple as sending a message.
The TON Foundation expects to onboard 500 million users onto TON by 2028 — 30% of Telegram’s estimated user base.
Now, let’s look at how Tonkeeper makes it easy for users to live on crypto, wherever they are.
Tonkeeper: Freedom of Living on Crypto
Tonkeeper works on many platforms: iOS, Android, web, desktop, and even as a Chrome or Firefox extension. The team recommends the mobile wallet – all users have to do is to their app store, and download Tonkeeper.
For a more detailed guide on getting started with Tonkeeper, check out this article.
Non-Custodial
Tonkeeper is a non-custodial wallet, so users hold full control over the funds stored in their Tonkeeper wallet. However, as it is a non-custodial wallet, users are responsible for protecting their recovery phrase, as it is the one and only key to their wallet. Always back up your 24-word recovery phrase in a safe location, preferably offline and on crypto steel, and never share it with strangers. Likewise, never enter it on any site until you’ve verified the authenticity of the site – most sites do not request for your recovery phrase and/or private keys.
Living on Crypto
Many people earn their living getting paid in crypto, before exchanging it for the local currency. With Tonkeeper, users who are getting paid in crypto no longer have to go through the hassle of exchanging money. Start by buying your eSIM card with TonMobile, then head to Tokenstore to get a gift card for delivery and taxi service, then book tickets and hotels.
Paying in crypto is now as easy as cash: no long forms to fill out, no personal information disclosures and no risks of identity theft or fraud. Your wallet keeps all your keys secure, your money is under your personal control.
Low Fees
Before TON, blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum did not scale, leading to increased fees during increase in demand. This means that when more people are rushing to participate in the latest hype, fees drastically increase and you have to grossly overpay for a regular transaction.
Now, with TON and its improved scalability, fees are fixed, and when the load increases, the network distributes load and attracts more validation resources. And the fees are reasonably low, so you can pay using TON many times a day and not even think about it, just like with a banking card or cash.
Passive Earning With Staking
Tonkeeper supports several staking pools that fund validation resources in the TON network. Those low fees we mentioned above? These are profits for validators, and the more people are using TON for daily transactions, the more fees they collectively pay and make validators earn.
You too can earn a portion of these fees by offering your TONs as a security stake that increases the validator’s weight. By joining a staking pool, you reduce your exposure to risks that may occur when you stake on your own, although this comes at the cost of relinquishing control of your assets to a third party.
There are also liquid staking pools available on TON, such as Tonstakers, where your share of the pool is a token that can be instantly swapped for TON or any other asset.
Private dApp Browsing
Tonkeeper has a built-in browser that lets you connect to any resource securely and easily make payments and other transactions with full control over your funds and your private data. The browser does not share your history and is a convenient way to interact with the whole TON ecosystem right from your mobile wallet. You can also connect to a dApp in any browser on any device thanks to the secure and convenient TON Connect standard, pioneered in 2022 by the Tonkeeper team.
Conclusion
Tonkeeper is a super-app that makes it easy for users to navigate the TON blockchain, offering a full suite of services from real world applications to staking.
The team behind Tonkeeper is also building an entire crypto-economy using TON as its foundation. Users on TON can use Tonviewer to monitor payments and explore the network, while many TON developers are building their apps using TonAPI, the reliable and full-featured programming interface into the blockchain data. Finally, Ton Console is the place where it all comes together, facilitating business activities in TON: developer tools, analytics, and consumer marketing.
This article is not meant to be taken as financial advice. Always do your own research around wallets and protocols before depositing your funds.
CoinGecko's editorial team comprises writers, editors, research analysts and cryptocurrency industry experts. We produce and update our articles regularly to provide the most complete, accurate and helpful information on all things cryptocurrencies. Follow the author on Twitter @coingecko
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