The airdrops of “Hamster Fight” and “Catizen” at the end of September may cause another disruption to the TON Network

The rise of tap-to-earn games on Telegram, such as Hamster Kombat and Catizen, has rapidly drawn millions of users to The Open Network (TON), but developers are now voicing concerns about potential network issues as a result of this growth.

TON developers warned earlier this week that the sudden influx of players could lead to significant technical challenges. While these games have attracted hundreds of millions of users, the team anticipates increased pressure on the network, especially during token reward claims later this month.

The surge in interest stems from popular games offering players token rewards. According to developers, Hamster Kombat and Catizen are set to release their HMSTR and CATI tokens respectively in late September. These games, particularly Hamster Kombat, have seen unprecedented engagement. By the end of July, Hamster Kombat had attracted over 300 million users, with data showing 86 million active participants in the previous month alone. Meanwhile, Catizen has brought 35 million users to its Telegram app, with an estimated 15 million eligible for tokens.

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This heightened activity comes at a cost. In recent weeks, the TON network has experienced two service outages within a single week, driven by an explosion in gaming activity and mini apps linked to Telegram. Daily active user addresses on the network have reached 1.1 million on several occasions, with peak transaction volumes hitting 14.4 million in a single day.

Hamster Kombat and Catizen's huge user base may cause TON blockchain outage

The anticipated airdrops for Hamster Kombat and Catizen in late September have the potential to cause further disruptions, which may compound the existing challenges faced by TON. The network’s future depends on its ability to efficiently manage this growing user base and resolve ongoing technical difficulties.

In conclusion, while TON has achieved impressive growth, this comes with inevitable growing pains. Without robust infrastructure solutions, the network risks further outages, raising concerns about its readiness for broader adoption in the Web3 space.

DOGS goes online causing disruption to TON blockchain

Last month, these disruptions were exacerbated by a surge in demand related to the distribution of DOGS, a meme coin project inspired by a drawing from Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov. With 4.5 million unique wallets holding DOGS tokens on TON, the sheer volume of activity has pushed the network to its limits, causing block processing to halt for hours on two separate occasions.

As more game-related token distributions approach in late September, TON developers expect similar spikes in activity, which could lead to further service issues. Both the HMSTR and CATI token drops are likely to attract millions of users trying to claim their rewards, potentially putting further strain on the network.

related reading：The TON blockchain stopped generating blocks, what’s the reason behind it?

TON technical team is committed to solving problems

Despite these challenges, TON's development team remains optimistic. In their message to users, they reaffirmed their dedication to addressing any technical roadblocks. They emphasised their commitment to resolving issues in the lead-up to major token airdrops, working towards smooth network performance as they approach what they hope will be broader adoption of the platform.

However, the unprecedented scale of user engagement means that the network will almost certainly continue to face technical pressures, especially as more tap-to-earn games gain traction.

The technical hurdles posed by this new wave of gaming activity on Telegram may provide a glimpse of the broader challenges TON could face as it pushes for mass adoption in the Web3 ecosystem. While the development team has pledged to stay on top of any network issues, the prospect of further outages suggests that the platform is still in the early stages of handling such significant user demand.