2 posts tagged with "TON"

The number that should worry every other blockchain: 3,100%. That's the growth in TON blockchain accounts over a single year—from 4 million to 128 million—driven almost entirely by games people play while waiting for coffee. When Hamster Kombat reached 300 million players and Notcoin onboarded 40 million users, they didn't just create viral moments. They proved that the path to a billion crypto users runs through messaging apps, not exchanges.

Now, with Telegram's exclusive partnership making TON the only blockchain for its mini app ecosystem and 500 million monthly active users already engaged, the question isn't whether TON will achieve mass adoption—it's whether the rest of crypto can catch up.

The Exclusive Partnership: What Changed in January 2025​

On January 21, 2025, the TON Foundation announced an expansion that fundamentally altered the blockchain competitive landscape. TON became the exclusive blockchain infrastructure powering Telegram's Mini App Ecosystem, supporting Telegram's global user base of over 950 million monthly active users.

The exclusivity isn't just branding—it's enforced through technical requirements:

TON Connect Protocol: All mini apps using blockchain functionality must implement TON Connect, the exclusive protocol for linking Telegram Mini Apps to blockchain wallets. Apps not using TON had until February 21, 2025 to transition.

Payment Exclusivity: Toncoin remains the exclusive cryptocurrency for non-fiat payments on Telegram's platform, including Premium subscriptions, advertising, and the Telegram Gateway SMS verification alternative.

Wallet Integration: Telegram now offers a dual wallet experience—a custodial "Crypto Wallet" for simple transactions and a self-custodial TON Wallet that went live for US users in July 2025, giving users full control over private keys.

The strategic implication: any developer wanting to access Telegram's billion-user distribution must build on TON. That's not optional ecosystem participation—it's mandatory infrastructure.

The Mini App Revolution: From Games to Finance​

Telegram Mini Apps (TMAs) are web applications built with HTML5 and JavaScript that run inside Telegram's interface. They behave like mobile websites but are embedded directly in the messenger, letting users play, earn, trade, and explore crypto tools without leaving conversations.

The numbers tell the adoption story:

• 500 million monthly active users across Telegram Mini Apps
• 214 million daily transactions at peak activity
• 880,000+ daily active addresses on TON (up from 26,000 at start of 2024)
• 350+ dApps in the ecosystem

The Viral Gaming Wave​

Hamster Kombat: The tap-to-earn game where players run a hamster-operated crypto exchange reached 250-300 million users at peak—more than Binance's entire app user base. CEO Pavel Durov called it an "Internet Phenomenon."

Notcoin: Quickly gained 40 million users through its simple tap-mining mechanics, serving as the gateway drug for TON blockchain interaction.

Catizen: Demonstrated retention in a notoriously churn-heavy genre, with 34 million total users and 7 million daily active players.

While individual game user counts have declined from peaks (Hamster Kombat dropped to around 27 million active users), they accomplished their mission: creating habitual blockchain interaction for hundreds of millions of users.

USDT and Stablecoin Infrastructure​

The TON ecosystem's stablecoin integration makes it uniquely positioned for real-world payments:

Tether Integration: USDT on TON launched at TOKEN2049 Dubai, with Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino and Pavel Durov celebrating instant, free USDT transfers between users. TON now hosts $1.43 billion in USDT issuance.

Zero-Fee Onboarding: TON Wallet offers 0% fees on USDT purchases via Apple Pay, Google Pay, and credit cards through MoonPay—arguably the most user-friendly stablecoin onramp available.

Free Transfers: Telegram introduced free USDT transfers between users, removing the friction that typically prevents stablecoin adoption for everyday payments.

Tokenized Assets: Users can now swap USDT for tokenized stocks and ETFs directly in TON Wallet, with fees temporarily waived until February 28, 2026.

The result: stablecoins become invisible infrastructure rather than a technical hurdle. Users send money like they send messages.

Cocoon AI: The Decentralized Compute Play​

In November 2025, Pavel Durov unveiled Cocoon—the Confidential Compute Open Network—integrating AI with TON blockchain. The project represents TON's expansion beyond payments into decentralized infrastructure.

How Cocoon Works: GPU owners rent out computing power for AI tasks and receive TON tokens as compensation, with Telegram as the first major user.

Investment Scale: AlphaTON Capital committed $46 million to deploy 576 NVIDIA B300 AI chips via Cocoon, betting that privacy-focused compute on TON can capture a share of the exploding AI inference market.

Strategic Logic: Telegram needs AI capabilities for its billion-user platform. Rather than depending on centralized providers, Cocoon creates a decentralized alternative that aligns with TON's infrastructure vision.

The Cocoon launch signals that TON's ambitions extend far beyond payments—it's positioning itself as the backend for Telegram's entire technical stack.

TVL and DeFi: The Ecosystem Reality Check​

For all the user growth, TON's DeFi metrics remain modest compared to larger chains:

TVL Trajectory:

• January 2024: $76 million
• July 2024: $740 million (peak)
• December 2024: $248 million
• Mid-2025: $600-650 million range
• Current: ~$335 million

Leading Protocols by TVL:

1. Tonstakers (liquid staking): $271 million
2. Stonfi (DEX): $123 million
3. EVAA Protocol: $68.5 million
4. Dedust: $58.3 million

The TVL volatility reflects aggressive incentive programs on STON.fi and DeDust that attracted yield farmers who left when rewards decreased. The ecosystem is still finding sustainable DeFi demand beyond gaming speculation.

STON.fi launched a fully onchain DAO in 2025, enabling governance votes and token-based voting power. But overall DeFi TVL ($85-150 million in some periods) remains relatively low given the user base—suggesting most mini app users aren't yet participating in deeper financial activities.

The 2028 Vision: 500 Million Crypto Owners​

TON Foundation President Manuel Stotz articulated the long-term vision: "We reiterate our ambition to empower over 500 million users before the end of the decade."

The roadmap to get there includes:

Technical Upgrades:

• Jetton 2.0 tripled transaction speeds
• Network targeting 100k+ TPS scalability
• TON Teleport (Bitcoin bridge) for cross-chain DeFi

Cross-Chain Expansion:

• Chainlink CCIP integration expands TON's reach across 60+ blockchains
• Planned Bitcoin and EVM interoperability in 2026

Institutional Backing:

• $558 million PIPE investment
• 4.86% staking yields attracting Pantera and Kraken
• BlackRock exploring Telegram investment in 2025

Daily Metrics:

• 500,000+ daily active wallets
• Stable weekly trading volume around $890 million
• 40% user growth on Tonkeeper and Jetton projects in 2025

The Bull and Bear Cases​

Why TON Could Win Mass Adoption:

1. Distribution Moat: 950 million Telegram users are one tap away from a wallet. No other blockchain has this reach.

2. Frictionless UX: Self-custodial wallets that don't require seed phrase management, free USDT transfers, and Apple Pay integration remove traditional crypto friction.

3. Exclusive Lock-In: Mini app developers must use TON. There's no multi-chain optionality—it's TON or nothing for Telegram distribution.

4. Pavel Durov's Commitment: As CoinDesk's 2025 "Most Influential" in crypto, Durov has bet his platform's future on TON integration.

Why TON Could Plateau:

1. Game Retention: Viral games like Hamster Kombat collapsed from 300 million to 27 million users. Converting gamers to financial users remains unproven.

2. DeFi Depth: TVL remains modest. Without robust DeFi, TON risks being a gaming chain rather than a financial platform.

3. Regulatory Risk: Durov's 2024 legal troubles in France highlighted platform risk. Aggressive crypto integration could attract further scrutiny.

4. Competition: Other messengers could add crypto. WhatsApp, WeChat (in regions where permitted), and others have larger user bases in key markets.

What TON's Success Means for Web3​

If TON achieves its vision, it validates a specific thesis about crypto adoption: distribution beats technology.

TON isn't the fastest blockchain. Its DeFi ecosystem isn't the deepest. Its technical architecture isn't revolutionary. What TON has is what every other blockchain lacks: a billion-user application that pushes users toward crypto interaction as a natural extension of messaging.

The implications for the industry:

For Developers: Building where users already are (messaging apps, social platforms) may matter more than building on technically superior infrastructure.

For Investors: Valuation models need to weight distribution access heavily. Technical metrics (TPS, finality) matter less than user acquisition cost.

For Competing Chains: The race for "mass adoption" may already be over—not because TON won on technology, but because Telegram won on distribution.

Looking Ahead: 2026 and Beyond​

TON enters 2026 with more than 100 million wallets, exclusive Telegram integration, and a clear path to hundreds of millions more users. The ecosystem is expanding into AI (Cocoon), tokenized assets (stocks and ETFs), and cross-chain connectivity (CCIP integration).

The critical question for 2026: Can TON convert gaming engagement into financial activity? The 500 million mini app users represent potential, not yet realized DeFi depth.

If TON succeeds, it won't be because of blockchain innovation—it'll be because Pavel Durov understood something the rest of crypto missed: the path to a billion users is through the apps they already use, not the wallets they've never downloaded.

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Telegram, a popular cross-platform IM tool, created by Pavel Durov, launched TON (Telegram Open Network) in 2013. With 1.8 billion users and 70 billion daily messages, TON has raised $850 million through ICO for its development. This blog delves into TON’s unique technical features and services.

Chain Specs​

TON (Telegram Open Network), as outlined in its whitepaper, classifies all public blockchains along five dimensions:

• Single-chain vs. multi-chain
• Smart contract support
• Consensus mechanism
• Sharding support
• Chain interconnectivity

Multi-Chain Blockchain System​

TON is not a single-chain blockchain but a collection of multiple blockchains, including Masterchain, Workchains, and Shardchains.

• Masterchain: The core of TON’s blockchain system, storing essential information and parameters. It records validators, their token holdings, active Workchains, and Shardchains. The Masterchain contains the latest block hashes of all Workchains and Shardchains, ensuring overall coordination and security.
• Workchains: Up to 2^32 Workchains can exist, each handling fund transfers and smart contract interactions. Workchains can have different rules, such as account address formats, transaction formats, smart contract types, and virtual machines. Despite their differences, they must adhere to interoperability standards to enable smooth interaction.
• Shardchains: These are subdivisions of Workchains, designed to improve processing efficiency by distributing tasks among multiple Shardchains. Shardchains follow the rules of their respective Workchains and automatically split or merge based on load, ensuring scalability and performance optimization.

TON Virtual Machine (TVM)​

TVM is a program execution environment running on the blockchain, primarily for executing smart contracts. In TVM, everything is built out of cells and there is TVM that is instantiated for each contract every time.

• Data Storage: TVM stores data in cells, each containing up to 128 bytes and references to other cells. This structure allows flexible data handling.
• Data Handling: TVM can manage various data types, using a stack-based structure for efficient computation.
• Built-in Functions: TVM includes tools like hash tables, encryption (elliptic curves), hash functions (e.g., SHA256), and Merkle proof mechanisms, ensuring data security and integrity.
• Large Smart Contract Support: TVM can handle complex and large smart contracts, accommodating dynamic sharding.
• Programming Languages: TVM supports FunC, Fift, and Tact, each tailored for different needs.
• Additional Features: TVM supports closures and efficiently executes complex tasks.

Infinite Dynamic Sharding​

Unlike traditional top-down sharding, TON employs a bottom-up approach. It envisions extreme sharding, where each shard is an account chain. These account chains form larger Shardchains, which connect to the Masterchain, creating a scalable and flexible system.

TON’s dynamic sharding adjusts shard numbers based on load. If a shard’s load is high, it splits; if low, it merges. This dynamic adjustment ensures load balancing, performance optimization, and resource utilization.

BFT PoS Consensus Mechanism​

TON uses a BFT PoS consensus mechanism, combining Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) and Proof of Stake (PoS).

• BFT: An algorithm handling Byzantine faults, ensuring system consistency despite up to one-third of nodes failing.
• PoS: Nodes with more tokens have a higher chance of validating transactions and generating blocks, incentivizing security.

Roles in TON’s PoS Mechanism:

• Validators: Nodes maintaining network security and validating transactions by staking 300,000 TON tokens.
• Nominators: Entities providing stake to validators, sharing in the rewards if the validator performs well.

Tight-Coupling Chain Interactivity​

TON’s tightly-coupled system ensures fast message passing and consistency across all blockchains. Features like embedding Shardchain block hashes in Masterchain blocks and using vertical blockchains for error correction help achieve this.

Vertical Blockchain Mechanism: When an invalid block is detected, a corrected block is added vertically, preserving valid parts and reducing disruption.

Hypercube Routing: Messages traverse a hypercube network, ensuring accurate and swift delivery across Shardchains.

TON Services​

TON DNS: Provides name mapping for blockchain accounts, smart contracts, and services, making DApp usage as convenient as traditional internet domains.

TON Proxy: An anonymous network proxy service that hides TON node IP addresses, similar to I2P, creating a decentralized VPN service.

TON Storage: A distributed storage system akin to IPFS, using P2P networks for file storage. It supports complex DApp storage needs, such as video streaming.

TON Pay: Integrated micropayment channels for instant off-chain transactions, ensuring secure and efficient payments for all DApps on TON.

Token Economy​

TON’s token, Gram, has a total supply of 5 billion, with a portion mined and a fraction allocated to reward DApp developers. A unique pricing mechanism prevents volatility, maintaining economic stability and fostering a sustainable ecosystem.

Stats​

• TVL: $705M
• Daily Active Wallets: 320K
• Daily Tx: 4.2M

Conclusion​

TON offers a full-featured blockchain operating system, aiming to surpass platforms like Ethereum and EOS. Its innovative design and comprehensive services make it a formidable player in the blockchain arena. Join the revolution with BlockEden.xyz, where we provide cutting-edge solutions for content creators and developers alike.

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