🔥 Tact language reduces fees for users

⚫️ The Tact programming language has released version 1.6.0, introducing gas optimization. For projects using Tact, this update may lower transaction fees. Here’s a simple breakdown of what changed and how it impacts the TON ecosystem.

⚫️ When users interact with a service on the TON blockchain (e.g., swapping tokens on a DEX), a smart contract executes an algorithm. Running this code requires a gas fee, which is part of the overall transaction fee.

⚫️ Programming language developers can optimize code execution to use fewer computing resources, thereby reducing gas fees. This is exactly what the creators of Tact have done.

⚫️ In TON, smart contracts can also be written in FunC (or its new version, Tolk). While FunC is more gas-efficient, it is significantly more complex. A simple analogy: using Tact is like driving a car, while FunC is like manually fine-tuning the engine. The latter demands more effort and expertise but offers greater optimization.

⚫️ Previously, FunC was far more gas-efficient than Tact. As a result, Tact was often recommended for prototypes and small projects, while large-scale projects were advised to use FunC. However, with this update, the gap has narrowed—so much so that in some cases, a Tact contract can now outperform an existing FunC contract. This is said to have happened with the standard Jetton contract, possibly slightly reducing fees for token transfers.

🚀 For the TON ecosystem this means two things. First, users may sometimes experience lower fees than before. Second thing may be even more important: FunC’s complexity has long been a barrier for developers, slowing ecosystem growth. If the more user-friendly Tact is now viable for large-scale projects, it could attract more developers and accelerate innovation on TON.

@thedailyton