The Open Network (TON) Foundation is in talks with three governments in Central Africa to launch localized stablecoins on its blockchain. The countries of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) contacted The Open Network (TON) to help launch their first crypto initiatives through the use of stablecoins. A successful launch could see Africa add to a growing trend that has seen the continent branded as a new frontier with the highest crypto adoption.

As the name suggests, stablecoins are digital tokens designed to combat the volatility of conventional cryptocurrencies by fixing their value to that of a fiat (traditional) currency like the US dollar or a physical asset like gold. As long as the value of the asset a stablecoin is tied to remains stable, that coin will also remain stable. Opting for stablecoins thus enables the countries to get into the world of crypto while minimizing the risk associated with the volatility of most cryptocurrencies.

Joining a shortlist of countries building crypto solutions on a decentralized blockchain, the three countries detailed their initial thoughts on cryptocurrencies in separate press statements including how they plan to adopt cryptocurrency and blockchain-based solutions to drive economic progress in their respective countries.

The plan is to launch localized stablecoins on the TON blockchain and this is emphasized as NOT being a central bank digital currency (CBDC) project. Looking at the different kinds of digital assets on the market, a hybrid approach is being considered in DRC with mass-market, regionally applicable and relevant stablecoins like USDC and USDT used by consumers while CBDCs are to be largely used for interbank settlements.

“We’re not attempting to replace a national currency, and we’re not aiming to do a CBDC, which is obviously run by a central bank,” an anonymous source from DRC told Forbes. As such, the adoption strategies in these countries are not led by a central bank but rather by the communication ministries with Cameroon’s move being driven by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, DRC by its Ministry of Digital Economy while in the Republic of Congo, the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy is in charge. 

The priority of the three states is to adopt a blockchain network that is both inexpensive for transactions and relatively accessible and TON has an advantage here because of its focus on integration with messaging app, Telegram and the distribution benefits it brings.

The involvement of Telegram was not at random as The Open Network (TON) was initially developed by the Telegram team and called Telegram Open Network. The Network was later handed over to the open community and serves as a blockchain that relies on a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. 

In a move similar to how WhatsApp allows users in India and Brazil to send money, this initiative will leverage features from the privacy-focused messaging app, Telegram to allow for crypto-based peer-to-peer payments through bots in the app. The integration will offer swift transaction speeds and a user-friendly and familiar interface for easy onboarding of users with low fees. 

**WhatsApp’s payments feature currently supports only fiat.**

Understanding the TON and Telegram connection. 

While September 2021 saw El Salvador become the first country globally to adopt bitcoin as legal tender and in October 2021, Nigeria became the first African country to launch a CBDC with the eNaira, it remains to be seen if or how stablecoin products will be interoperable with existing public cryptocurrencies and existing mobile money structures.