Jack Booth, the Open Network (TON) Foundation’s marketing director, explained how the organization is securing TON’s Bitcoin bridge, which will allow users to transfer their BTC into TON.
On July 18, the TON Foundation introduced its Bitcoin (BTC) bridge, which allows the TON ecosystem to use digital assets for decentralized applications (DApps), lending platforms and other purposes within its network.
According to TON, one of the protocol’s long-term visions is to be a “blockchain of blockchains,” integrating the top Web3 services into one network.
Deploying trustless architecture to secure funds
Blockchain bridges allow users to transfer tokens or data between two different networks. This addresses the need for blockchains to become more interoperable, allowing users of native tokens to benefit from the features of other blockchains.
While bridges have great utility, a blockchain bridge security incident in the past led to massive fund losses due to vulnerabilities. In 2022, one of the most significant hacking incidents involved the Ronin Bridge, which led to over $600 million in funds lost.
Despite this, Booth assured the community that TON employs various security measures to ensure that Bitcoin transfers into their network are secure. Booth explained:
“TON Teleport BTC uses a trustless architecture to secure funds while bridging between the Bitcoin network and TON. A Simplified Payment Verification Client (SPVC) has also been implemented as a smart contract on TON. This verifies Bitcoin block states directly on the TON platform.”
Booth added that all key operations, including transaction verification, confirmation and token issuance, are carried out by smart contracts automatically and transparently. “This means that all activity is recorded on TON Blockchain as soon as it is confirmed,” Booth said.
Resistant to private key compromises
Booth also explained that the network’s Bitcoin bridge would be “highly resistant” to private key compromises. According to the executive, the protocol will ensure that private keys are not created or held by a single party.
The executive explained that TON’s Validators will generate a joint public key using the Distributed Key Generation (DKG) process and sign transactions with aggregated signatures using the FROST protocol. Booth said:
“While the FROST protocol ensures that no single participant can produce a valid signature on their own, DKG ensures that the private key is never created or held by a single party.”
Booth said that this creates a more secure, decentralized bridge that is “highly resistant to compromised keys or insider threats.” The executive believes that this ensures no single point of failure.
Private key compromises have led to millions of dollars in losses. In the first half of 2024, CertiK data shows that this type of attack vector led to over $400 million in losses across 42 security incidents.