The Open Network Foundation ([TON Foundation](https://ton.foundation/en)), a non-profit organization supporting the TON community, today announced the appointment of Mr. Maximilian Crown as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately.

Mr. Crown brings a wealth of experience as a seasoned entrepreneur and one of the co-founders of [MoonPay](https://www.moonpay.com/), a global leader in crypto payments. As CFO and COO, he played a key role in shaping MoonPay’s finance and operations functions, helping scale the company into one of the largest crypto payments platforms worldwide. He also built strong relationships with banks, payments companies, and regulatory bodies, positioning MoonPay as a trusted fintech leader. Crown will maintain his seat on the board of MoonPay.

## **Strengthening leadership amid institutional interest**

The appointment of Mr. Crown follows the [recent naming of Mr. Manuel Stotz as President of the board of the TON Foundation](https://blog.ton.org/ton-foundation-new-president). Mr. Stotz, founder of Kingsway Capital, brings deep expertise in frontier market innovation and reflects growing institutional engagement within the TON ecosystem.

In a major milestone in January, the Foundation also [expanded its strategic partnership with Telegram](https://blog.ton.org/ton-telegram-exclusive-partnership-2025), establishing TON as the exclusive blockchain partner for the Telegram Mini Apps Ecosystem, and underscoring its mission to provide a robust, reliable, and scalable solution for users and developers that can support the growth of Telegram’s global network. This momentum is further reflected by [more than $400 million in Toncoin now held by leading U.S.-based venture capital firms](https://blog.ton.org/ton-foundation-400m-in-toncoin-investment), signaling strong institutional confidence in TON’s ecosystem.

## **Explosive growth and strategic roadmap**

TON Blockchain has seen significant growth over the past year, with total active accounts surging from 4 million to 41 million and number of on-chain addresses surpassing 150 million. During this period, the number of Toncoin holders exceeded the number of wallets holding Bitcoin, and TON apps became some of the most-used crypto applications globally — showcasing the unparalleled distribution potential of Telegram.

Looking ahead, TON Foundation aims to onboard 30 percent of Telegram’s active users to the TON Blockchain by 2028. This initiative will focus on four key verticals: leveraging Telegram’s native IP (such as [stickers, gifts, and on-chain collectibles](https://blog.ton.org/what-are-ton-nfts)), launching multiplayer mini-games, introducing user-friendly DeFi savings solutions, and enabling real-world crypto payments through practical applications.

> “In Max, TON Foundation is gaining an accomplished leader with extensive experience in successfully scaling global fintech operations," said Manuel Stotz, President at TON Foundation. “His deep understanding of the crypto market and blockchain technology, and his proven track record of operating one of the largest payments companies in the crypto space make for a great fit with our goals, and under his leadership, I have every confidence that TON’s ecosystem will go from strength to strength.”
> 

> “TON’s speed, scalability, and exclusive integration with Telegram set it apart in the blockchain space,” said Maximilian Crown. “With access to over 1 billion Telegram users, TON has a unique opportunity to expand its ecosystem globally and redefine how blockchain technology is adopted at scale. I am honored to lead TON Foundation as we take these next bold steps together — building the most accessible and widely adopted blockchain ecosystem in the world.”
>

TON Foundation appoints Maximilian Crown as Chief Executive Officer

March was all about steady progress and resilience. While the broader market took some hits, TON stayed on track, pushing forward with infrastructure upgrades and gaining momentum across DeFi, payments, gaming, and Telegram-native experiences.

Missed last month’s update? [Catch up on what happened in January–February in our last Ecosystem Report.](https://blog.ton.org/ton-ecosystem-update-jan-feb-2025)

## TL;DR

- Pavel Durov’s return sparked confidence in TON’s growth.
- Top VCs now hold $400M+ in Toncoin.
- 90% validator upgrade adoption in under 48 hours.
- DeFi TVL surged, @wallet added new features and currencies, and RedotPay enabled USDt-TON payments at 130M+ merchants.
- Miomi Game drove 5% of TON transactions with its sustainable Play2Win model, while NFT marketplace Tonnel broke daily volume records.
- Elon Musk’s Grok AI joins Telegram.
- TON shared its [2024 Grants recap](https://blog.ton.org/ton-grants-recap-2024).

## Ecosystem confidence deepens: Durov’s return, investor backing

Telegram founder [Pavel Durov’s return](https://t.me/toncoin/1876) signaled long-term alignment between TON and Telegram, centered on freedom, privacy, and ownership.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Durov is FREE! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DigitalResistance?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DigitalResistance</a> prevails. <a href="https://t.co/WwBN69GBEm">pic.twitter.com/WwBN69GBEm</a></p>&mdash; TON Society (@ton_society) <a href="https://twitter.com/ton_society/status/1901667360475394417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

At the same time, top VCs now collectively hold [over $400 million in Toncoin](https://blog.ton.org/ton-foundation-400m-in-toncoin-investment), much of it US-based, reinforcing institutional support and positioning TON for broader expansion into America.

## Infrastructure upgrades

TON Core rolled out multiple updates in March:

- The new **Pending API** lets users track blockchain operations pre-finalization.
- [TON Wallet](https://wallet.ton.org/) now supports the full tech stack – Jettons, NFTs, TON DNS, and more.
- [TON Layer 2 Payment Network](https://telegra.ph/TON-Payment-Network-Layer-2-04-05) gained Jetton support and laid out its roadmap, including Atomic Swaps.
- 90% of validators upgraded to the latest version within two days, a clear signal of ecosystem cohesion.

## DeFi picks up steam

Factorial, a lending protocol, nearly doubled its TVL to $29M and is exploring incentive models. TONCO surged to $7.9M TVL and added [ZAP](https://t.me/toncoin/1872), a new feature that lets users add liquidity with just one token. FIVA, TON’s first yield tokenization protocol, launched and reached $1M within days.

On the trading side, bots are becoming a serious force. Blum activated 75,000 on-chain users through its bot and drove [13% of all TON on-chain transactions](https://dune.com/ton_foundation/ton-weekly?current_date_d6595c=2025-01-14+00%3A00%3A00) by early April.

“The next mass adoption from DeFi will come from community-driven copy trading.”

— Steve Yun, TON Foundation Board Member

## Payments stepping up

[@wallet](https://t.me/wallet) [added trading features](https://t.me/wallet_news/454) and support for a broader range of tokens like ETH, DOGE, and XRP, making it a real alternative to centralized exchanges (CEXs). Wallet Earn is now permanent, and USDT rewards will be available soon.

TON Space also introduced [fee payments using Telegram Stars](https://t.me/tonspace_news_en/30), which can be purchased directly in TON Space or transferred from a user's Telegram account.

Meanwhile, [RedotPay integrated USDt-TON](https://t.me/toncoin/1877) for real-world spending through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Alipay—usable at 130M+ merchants, including Amazon and Starbucks. A Telegram Mini App is next.

## GameFi and NFTs hit new highs

Telegram mini games saw massive adoption in March: [Dropee](https://t.me/DropeeBot) hit 3.2M MAU, [DUCK × MY × DUCK](https://t.me/duckmyduck_bot) reached 1.2M, and [Miomi Game](https://miomi.game/) accounted for [5% of all TON transactions](https://dune.com/ton_foundation/ton-weekly?current_date_d6595c=2025-01-14+00%3A00%3A00) in early March.

Telegram’s asset economy also experienced a successful month: Username @cryptoholder was sold for 250K TON, and [Tonnel](https://t.me/Tonnel_Network_bot) broke volume and trader records with [217K TON in volume and 5,806 unique traders](https://dune.com/ton_foundation/tonnel-tg-gifts).

## Unlocking AI on TON

The groundwork is being laid for [AI apps inside Telegram](https://t.me/toncoin/1894). Elon Musk’s [Grok chatbot](https://t.me/GrokAI) is now live, and [TON x ElizaOS’s AI bounty program](https://t.me/toncoin/1893) is boosting developer contributions.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">grok now available directly on <a href="https://twitter.com/telegram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@telegram</a></p>&mdash; Grok (@grok) <a href="https://twitter.com/grok/status/1904840863622066629?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

## Wrapping up

March was all about building with intent. Institutional trust is rising, Telegram integrations are deepening, and builders are shipping everything from DeFi to NFTs to AI.

More updates are coming next month, including a deeper dive into TON Foundation’s 2025 roadmap.

<button href="https://ton.org/reports/march-2025.pdf" passutmsource="true">
Read the full report
</button >

TON Ecosystem Update: March 2025

In March 2025, TON Foundation and [Jupiter](https://jup.ag/), a leading DEX on Solana, launched a competition to accelerate the development of on-chain swap infrastructure on TON. The goal was to support the creation of high-performance aggregators that minimize price impact, optimize routing, and pave the way for future [cross-chain](https://blog.ton.org/why-interoperability-is-key-to-unlocking-blockchains-full-potential) trading.

## **Judging criteria**

Submissions were assessed based on a combination of technical excellence, usability, and long-term potential:

- Codebase quality, solution implementation, and security
- Practical utility for Toncoin holders and Telegram users
- Community traction, partnerships, and business development capabilities
- Go-to-market strategy and launch readiness

To ensure a fair and thorough evaluation, we worked with [TonBit](https://www.tonbit.xyz/), a leading security and auditing firm in the TON ecosystem. TonBit contributed technical expertise and reviewed submissions for code quality and safety.

### **First place winners**

[DeDust](https://dedust.io/) and [swap.coffee](https://swap.coffee/) stood out for their technical quality, product vision, and ability to deliver real improvements to TON’s on-chain trading experience.

Each will receive:

- Advisory support from Jupiter
- Potential integration into Jupiter’s JupNet, an omnichain network for liquidity aggregation 
- Audit cost coverage from TON Foundation
- Introductions to TON Foundation’s investor network
- Marketing support from TON Foundation

### **Honorable mentions**

Promising teams that continue to build include [Titan](https://titan.tg/), [Rainbow Swap](https://rainbow.ag/), [Bridgers](https://bridgers.xyz/), and [Moki.](https://t.me/mokiswapbot)

## **To every team that participated, thank you**

Your contributions are helping shape TON’s DeFi future. Even if your project wasn’t selected this time, we encourage you to keep building. TON Foundation continues to support open-source infrastructure and actively looks for teams that ship, iterate, and engage with the community.

Stay in touch, apply for future grants, and take part in upcoming ecosystem initiatives. Many of TON’s most impactful projects grew outside of competitions—and yours could be next.

## **Why this matters**

As DeFi grows on TON, especially within Telegram, aggregators will play a key role in delivering smooth, low-cost, and user-friendly swaps. They find the best trade routes across liquidity sources, helping users get better execution with less price impact—a key requirement for competing with centralized exchanges (CEXs).

These improvements are essential for onboarding everyday Telegram users into DeFi. Native aggregators will power seamless swaps directly inside [Telegram Mini Apps](https://blog.ton.org/how-to-create-your-telegram-mini-apps) and [wallets](https://blog.ton.org/how-to-create-and-start-using-wallet), making on-chain trading more intuitive and accessible for mainstream users.

## **Looking ahead**

This initiative builds on past efforts like the [Curve Finance collaboration](https://blog.ton.org/infrastructures-for-stable-assets-with-curve) and reinforces our commitment to open innovation and decentralized infrastructure. TON Foundation is proud to support independent builders shaping the next wave of DeFi, right inside Telegram.

TON x Jupiter Exchange competition results

In 2024, TON’s Grant Program supported 57 projects across GameFi, DeFi, and infrastructure, helping builders explore new use cases and expand the utility of blockchain technology within the TON ecosystem.

Let’s dive into the trends, standout projects, and ecosystem milestones that defined 2024.

## Grants overview

### 1. Total projects funded

TON funded 57 projects in 2024, ranging from early-stage builders to hackathon champions. That includes participants from the Spring Accelerator and the Summer hackathon, each bringing something fresh and plugging into actual user behavior.

### 2. Category distribution

- GameFi: 40%
- DeFi: 25%
- SocialFi: 10%
- Infrastructure: 15%
- Community tools: 5%
- E-commerce: 3%
- Other: 2%

GameFi ran the show this year, scooping up nearly half the grants. DeFi and infrastructure followed, laying firm ground for more complex builds. The rest? Smaller shares, but still key puzzle pieces in the network’s broader expansion.

### 3. Monthly breakdown

- **January–February:** The year kicked off with a batch of high-utility projects focused on scalability and security.
- **August–October:** Grant approvals spiked hard here, making up nearly 40% of the year’s total. GameFi and DeFi builders were on a roll, bringing in users and shipping products fast.
- **Year-end:** SocialFi and DeFi wrapped up with momentum. These projects pointed to what’s next and hinted at a more layered ecosystem in 2025.

## Key categories and insights

### 1. GameFi

GameFi received the most attention this year, accounting for 40% of all grants.

**Lost Dogs**

Part digital pet adventure, part NFT flex. Lost Dogs lets players rescue and care for their pixel companions while building on-chain assets. The community’s no joke either: 15M+ players, 100K+ jetton holders, and three successful side projects already under their belt. The next chapter? NFT smart contracts with token locks and built-in vesting.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?chainId=10&proposalId=65c4bd9f8c846bd4d4d0fbe9&isRenderingProposalBody=true&grantId=0x3d9a26d083419d0d6cb0c5d9aed527698254b3ea&role=admin) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/lost_dogs_bot/lodoapp)

**Fireheadz**

Fireheadz, a gaming studio, started with Geo Mapper and The Trading Game, later creating viral hits like The Pixels Battle, Nuke, Fart beetle bot, Banana meter bot, and Duckygram. Duckygram integrated NFT Gifts into its gameplay, attracting 400K users in a month with over $1M in NFT Gifts used.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?proposalId=0x624&isRenderingProposalBody=true&grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&role=admin) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/duckygram_bot/)

**Hamsterdam**

A blockchain-based adventure where players collect, compete, and earn, while running around in a hamster-themed metaverse. Monthly active users hover at 70,000, and the first NFT sale sold out in under 18 minutes.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&proposalId=66aa064c4a88e5bd2a842928) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/HamsterdamPlayBot/game)

**Cat Gold Miner**

Players mine digital treasure while earning on the side. With 170,000 monthly active users and growing, Cat Gold Miner is striking the right balance between fun and rewards.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?proposalId=66a903924a88e5bd2a6ea116&grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/catgoldminerbot)

**Elympics**

This one’s laying the groundwork for competitive blockchain gaming at scale. It has over 3 million game sessions, 3,000+ community tournaments, 30+ games using its SDK, and a 1,000+ strong dev community. It also helped kick off GameCamp, where standout titles—Melodia, Stretch & Break, and Color Squares—picked up TON Foundation grants.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?proposalId=6731da0190449961f5f74d91&chainId=10&grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279) | [Grant Proposal 2](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&proposalId=6731e1c0902931f05c8fe172) | [Grant Proposal 3](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?chainId=10&proposalId=6731e4ba902931f05c90aa8d&grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/elympics_bot)

### 2. DeFi

25% of TON’s grants went to DeFi, backing teams reshaping how capital moves on-chain, with a few wild experiments along the way.

**Torch Finance**

Torch didn’t just light up the [Curve-TON stableswap contest](https://x.com/TorchTon/status/1851611908748759146)—it scaled to 25,000+ community members across 50+ groups in two months. They're pushing for sustainable yield mechanics with a TVL jump from $30K to $600K, zero burn rate, and no incentives. Torch recently raised [$1.5M from TVM Ventures](https://x.com/TorchTon/status/1893918791521960372).

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&proposalId=66a7c01d4a88e5bd2a577b07) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/torch_finance_bot/app)

**Rainbow Swap**

Built to make swaps smoother and cheaper, Rainbow Swap has already hit [$28M in trading volume](https://t.me/toncoin/1779) and is holding steady in the green.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&proposalId=66ad42eaf2fef64647baad0a) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/rainbow_swap_bot)

**Fiva**

TON’s first yield tokenization protocol. $28M trading volume, plus strong traction from pre-seed investors. It also nabbed second place at the Ethena Hackathon.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&proposalId=66ad42eaf2fef64647baad0a) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/fiva_yield_bot)

### 3. Infrastructure and tools

With 15% of grants dedicated to tools and infrastructure, developers focused on keeping things stable, secure, and easier to build on.

**TON Symbolic Analyser**

No dev wants to ship broken contracts. This tool runs symbolic execution across all code paths to catch vulnerabilities before launch. Its use ensures reliability and robustness in smart contract development within the TON ecosystem.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&proposalId=667ee6b9b59d3e9ae042d6c9) | [Website](https://esprito.com/tsa/)

**AdsGram**

Helping devs monetize their Telegram Mini Apps via ads. With over 650 mini apps already connected and more than 3 million USDT paid out, AdsGram is proving there's real revenue on the table, if you’ve got a decent app and users who click.

[Grant Proposal](https://www.questbook.app/dashboard/?role=builder&proposalId=659c0e4edec2a11c089f0a71&grantId=0xe92b011b2ecb97dbe168c802d582037e28036f9b&chainId=10) | [Website](https://adsgram.ai/)

**CrustBags (Previously TON Bags)**

CrustBagsBot is a lightweight, user-friendly Telegram Mini App that enables seamless Web3 file storage directly within Telegram. Supporting both mobile and desktop, users can upload, view, and download their files using decentralized storage powered by Crust Network or TON Storage. With built-in wallet connection and two flexible storage modes, CrustBags makes decentralized file storage easy and accessible for everyone.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&proposalId=666c569eb59d3e9ae0231720) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/BagsTestBot)

**Symbiosis**

Symbiosis ranks among the largest cross-chain [AMM](https://blog.ton.org/what-is-an-automated-market-maker) DEXs, aggregating liquidity from multiple networks. On TON, it's already recorded over 4,000 transactions across 2,000 active addresses, moving $2.9 million in trading volume.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?chainId=10&proposalId=66193fceccf6446509b87665&grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279) | [Website](https://symbiosis.finance/)

**Bounty Bay**

Bounty Bay is turning heads with 200,000–300,000 daily active users and more than 2 million on-chain addresses. The platform brings an omnichannel market straight to TON wallets, where users can scoop up tokens across chains—no bridges, no headaches. After securing its grant, the project attracted backing from big names like Animoca Ventures, TON Ventures, and Hashkey Global.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&proposalId=65d217f33dc7ecb3213dcc31) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/tbookincentive)

### 4. Community and SocialFi

TON’s support for creator tools and collaborative systems continues through standout projects like:

**TBook**

TBook now runs the top incentive system on TON, attracting over three million users who've minted TBook Passports and generated 390,000 WISE Credit Scores. Their vSBT format isn’t just widely used—it’s helping push $130 million in TVL across DeFi apps. With their AI Incentive Layer in the works, TBook is setting the tone for what’s next in scalable reputation mechanics.

[Grant Proposal](https://questbook.app/dashboard/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&proposalId=65d217f33dc7ecb3213dcc31) | [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/tbookincentive)

For more details, you can browse through the [TON Grant Program site](https://www.notion.so/1115274bd2cf80f0b639f84f3914356a?pvs=21).

## A closer look at the grants breakdown

 ![image.png](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/image_8ed4b4ffb3/image_8ed4b4ffb3.png) 

### Monthly grants approved vs proposals reviewed

There is a clear spike in both proposals reviewed and grants approved around August and October, indicating high activity in those months.

 ![image (2).png](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/image_2_fa0875a886/image_2_fa0875a886.png) 

*The chart shows a consistent upward trend, indicating growing developer interest and engagement with TON's grant program.*

 ![image (3).png](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/image_3_29e2786321/image_3_29e2786321.png) 


### Evolution of grant categories over time

- GameFi remains dominant but fluctuates, indicating funding waves tied to key project milestones.
- DeFi and infrastructure are growing steadily, reflecting TONʼs focus on financial tools and scalable infrastructure.
- A more balanced ecosystem is emerging, with gradual support for SocialFi, community tools, and e-commerce, signaling long-term sustainability efforts.

 ![image (4).png](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/image_4_42fab5f45c/image_4_42fab5f45c.png) 

### Category distribution of TON Grants

- GameFi takes up a majority of the grant distribution, making up nearly half (47.4%) of the total grants, followed by DeFi at 18.9%.
- Infrastructure and SocialFi each hold a smaller share, while e-commerce, community tools, and other categories have relatively minimal allocations.

## Bounties

2024 proved to be a key year for The Open Network (TON) as the ecosystem widened its influence, promoting creativity and increased participation through the TON Bounty program. Crafted to support developers and contributors, the TON Bounty program facilitated the completion of many significant projects that advanced Web3 in areas such as development tools, security improvements, and community engagement.

This year, the grant process received notable improvements, leading to more effective feedback and smoother communication. Participation climbed, with active developers doubling from 23 to over 105. 260 bounty proposals were received, resulting in 83 successfully completed bounties, underscoring TON’s dedication to nurturing a vibrant and robust ecosystem.

## Bounty program overview

### 1. Total bounties approved

[53 bounties approved](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20created%3A2024-01-01..2024-12-31%20label%3AApproved%20label%3A%22Developer%20Tool%22&page=1), driving innovation and ecosystem development.

### 2. Bounties in progress

Developers and contributors are currently working on 26 active bounties.

### 3. Successfully completed bounties

[50 bounties were successfully finished](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aclosed%20closed%3A2024-01-01..2024-12-31%20label%3AApproved&page=1), rewarding contributors with a total of **$150,000**.

### 4. Program growth and participation

The program saw remarkable growth, doubling the number of active developers from 23 to over 105 contributors.

**260 bounty proposals** were submitted, reflecting the increasing interest and engagement in TONʼs ecosystem.

### 5. Category breakdown

- **Developer tooling:** 30 bounties completed, enabling seamless development within the TON ecosystem.
- **Education:** 17 bounties focused on fostering knowledge sharing and developer onboarding.
- **Resources:** 3 community-driven initiatives, including TON Wiki, an essential knowledge repository.

## Key categories and insights

### 1. Developer tooling

Developers played a crucial role in enhancing TONʼs technical foundations. Notable contributions include:

- **TON Static Analysis via Symbolic Execution:** An advanced security tool automating smart contract audits, cutting costs while identifying critical vulnerabilities at the TVM bytecode level with high accuracy. ([Issue](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/489) [#489](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/489))
- **Advanced Misti Tact Detectors:** A powerful security solution that enables automatic vulnerability detection, custom rule creation, and continuous code quality enforcement, ensuring robust protection for smart contracts. ([Issue #777](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/777))
- **Dart TonConnect Update**: Improved solutions for Dart projects and Flutter-based Telegram Mini Apps. ([Issue #436](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/436))
- **Tonutils – Python SDK for TON:** Improved developer workflows that simplify development, making it easier for developers to integrate and manage key features in the TON ecosystem. ([Issue #773](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/773))
- **TONAPI library for Python:** Offering comprehensive type descriptions while addressing usability improvements and efficiency. ([Issue #375](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/375))
- **MyTonCtrl Docker Images for TON Nodes**: Simplified deployment of TON blockchain nodes. ([Issue #444](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/444))
- **New SDKs and Tooling Implementations:** Expanding TONʼs developer ecosystem with improved API integrations.

### 2. Documentation and resources

Well-documented resources are key to ecosystem sustainability:

- **Multilingual localization collaboration system for TON Docs** ([Issue #717](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/717))
- **Infrastructure & Documentation Enhancements:** Improving TON developer resources. ([Issue #890](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/890))
- **TMA Documentation Overhaul:** A translation initiative making TMA documents available in multiple languages to reach a broad audience. ([Issue #891](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/891))
- [**TON Wiki**](https://tonwiki.space/wiki/Main_page): A community-driven initiative to consolidate knowledge and foster long-term engagement. ([Issue #431](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/431))

## Looking ahead: TON Bounty focus areas for 2025

Entering 2025, the [TON Bounty Program](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties) is poised to expand opportunities for developers, researchers, and community members. Priority areas have been identified to drive long-term progress:

- **Security and auditing:** Enhancing smart contract security with new automated analysis tools, supporting thorough security research, and strengthening audit frameworks.
- **AI and blockchain innovation:** Supporting the development of AI-powered blockchain applications, with a special focus on DeFi, serving as a testbed for AI agents and automation in risk assessment, smart contract management, and user experience.
- **Education and knowledge sharing:** Broadening multilingual documentation, offering advanced developer tutorials, and bolstering community resources, with a dedicated emphasis on refining Tact documentation to meet growing needs.

Additionally, the program will focus on improving existing infrastructure—boosting efficiency, scalability, and the overall experience for developers working across key TON tools and services. With an engaged community and a growing lineup of skilled contributors, the TON Bounty Program is gearing up for another round of impactful builds.

2024’s data shows solid momentum, with approvals and proposal activity fluctuations offering useful signals about where interest and priorities are headed. These takeaways are helping shape the 2025 playbook, with an eye on smarter support and even higher-value output.

## Thinking of jumping into a TON Bounty? Now’s your chance

We’re already in 2025, and TON’s grant program isn’t slowing down. It’s keeping the momentum going by backing bold, smart ideas and giving builders what they need to ship. With a growing list of funded projects and an ecosystem that rewards quality and creativity, there’s no better time to dive in, ship something real, and grow along the way.

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TON's grant impact: a year of funding innovation in 2024

The first two months of 2025 have been all about growth, big moves, and setting the stage for what’s next. New leadership, major partnerships, and serious traction across DeFi, GameFi, and payments. If you’ve been watching closely, you already know this ecosystem isn’t slowing down.

Here’s the **TL;DR of what went down in Jan–Feb:**

- **3.1M** new wallets activated
- **170K–590K** daily active wallets
- **3M–5M** monthly active wallets
- **$500M–$700M** monthly trading volume
- **20M–30M** weekly transactions, placing TON in the **top 8 blockchains**
- **790** new developers in January (+15%)
- **906** monthly active developers (+40%)

### **New president, big plans**

Manuel “Manny” Stotz is [TON Foundation's new president](https://blog.ton.org/ton-foundation-new-president). He’s been on TON’s board since 2023 and founded Kingsway Capital, managing **billions in assets** and backing **50+ blockchain projects.** Now, he’s leading **TON’s expansion in the US,** setting up stronger partnerships and getting the right people to pay attention.

### **Telegram + TON = fully locked in**

TON is now the [exclusive blockchain for Telegram Mini Apps](https://blog.ton.org/ton-telegram-exclusive-partnership-2025), a huge milestone in one of the world’s biggest social platforms.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said it himself:

> "TON will be our blockchain infrastructure for tokenization, payouts, mini app integrations, and more. This standardization will be great for Telegram users—giving them a consistent, predictable experience and better protection against scams."

Projects such as [TapSwap](https://x.com/tapswapai/status/1889350549746622813) (5.2M MAU) and [Tomarket](https://t.me/tomarket_ai/383) (2.8M MAU) have already switched to TON, and TON’s [marketing grant program](https://t.me/toncoin/1830) has helped developers transition smoothly to the ecosystem.

### **Unlocking cross-chain liquidity with LayerZero**

No more clunky bridges, no more insane fees.

TON has [integrated with LayerZero](https://blog.ton.org/ton-layer-zero) to enable seamless USDT transfers between Ethereum, TRON, and Arbitrum—with **100+ chains coming soon.**

Also, the upcoming launch of the **OFT (Omnichain Fungible Token) standard** will see Ethena ([top-4 stablecoin by market cap](https://app.rwa.xyz/stablecoins), [$5.6B TVL](https://defillama.com/protocol/ethena), 10–15% APY on stablecoin holdings) as the first adopter.

### **$100M for DeFi and PayFi on TON**

[TVM Ventures](https://www.tvm.ventures/) is betting big on TON—dropping [$100M](https://www.tvm.ventures/news/tvm-ventures-launches-100-million-fund-to-expand-ton-blockchain-as-global-financial-network) to fund the next wave of DeFi, PayFi, and infrastructure projects. Board member Steve Yun is steering the effort, and the team is already teaming up with top security experts to run thorough audits so you can trust your transactions. This fresh cash injection draws in new partners and sparks innovative DeFi projects, which means you'll soon enjoy a broader range of financial services right on TON.

## **Behind the scenes: infrastructure and dev upgrades**

TON’s devs have been grinding behind the scenes to make the network faster, smoother, and more powerful. Here’s what’s new:

TON is getting faster, smoother, and more secure with [TON Core’s upcoming upgrades.](https://t.me/toncoin/1807) A Layer 2 payment network (beta) is enabling instant, low-fee transfers for DeFi and gaming. Tact smart contracts are now [5–10% more gas-efficient](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@tact-lang/compiler/v/1.6.0) than FunC, and a [Trail of Bits audit](https://t.me/toncoin/1822) confirmed zero high-severity vulnerabilities. Lastly, [Nansen](https://t.me/toncoin/1789) and Pyth integrations bring deeper insights and real-time price feeds.

## **Growth across multiple sectors**

TON is seeing major growth across DeFi, GameFi, and social applications.

EVAA’s TVL hit a [record $84M](https://defillama.com/protocol/evaa-protocol), Storm Trade nearly doubled from [$15M to $26M](https://defillama.com/protocol/storm-trade), and memecoins now drive [30–40%](https://dune.com/ton_foundation/ton-memecoin-eco-d/1b24e7d0-9931-4ca6-a922-527b6488a5b0) of trading volume on TON. Telegram’s NFT ecosystem is also thriving, with [Durov Caps](https://t.me/caps/13) reaching 14.4M users and [Duckygram](https://t.me/toncoin/1820) pulling in 580K users and $1M in transactions. Meanwhile, Asian gaming studios are quickly gaining popularity, with popular WeChat IPs like [Cattea](https://blog.ton.org/ton-giants-cattea1) and Bombie hitting 6 MAU and $13.7M in revenue, respectively.

## **Wrapping up**

2025 came in hot—new leadership pushing US expansion, Telegram doubling down, DeFi and GameFi popping off, and major infra upgrades making everything smoother. With more liquidity, deeper integrations, and an expanding ecosystem, TON is shaping up to be one of the most exciting spaces in crypto.

Moving forward, TON remains focused on strengthening infrastructure, empowering developers, and building real-world applications that actually matter.

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TON Ecosystem Update: January – February 2025

The **TON Ecosystem 2024 Year-End Report** is here, highlighting the incredible milestones we’ve achieved together over the past year.

Here’s a quick peek at what’s inside:

- **Wallet growth:** 36.2 million new wallets, pushing TON into the spotlight.
- **USDt on TON:** $1.4 billion in net circulation and over 26 million transactions logged, showing massive adoption.
- **DeFi development:** A 55x increase in TVL and a range of exciting new projects taking off.

2025 is shaping up to be even bigger. Expect innovations like TON Teleport for Bitcoin integration, Society DAO to strengthen community involvement, and new Telegram tools to enhance collaboration.

Let’s build the future together!

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TON Ecosystem 2024 Year-End Report

TON Foundation proudly announces a pivotal leadership transition as Manuel “Manny” Stotz, a highly accomplished investor and advocate for blockchain technology, assumes the role of President. This marks an exciting new chapter in the foundation’s journey to accelerate global blockchain adoption, with a strategic focus on expanding operations in the United States.

Manny succeeds Steve Yun, who has played a critical role in shaping the foundation’s vision and achievements during his tenure as President. Steve will continue to contribute his expertise as a valued member of the Board, ensuring continuity and supporting the foundation’s ambitious mission.

“Steve Yun’s leadership has been instrumental in guiding TON Foundation to the level of unprecedented growth TON community has achieved today,” said Manuel, Incoming President of TON Foundation. “The entire TON Community is deeply grateful for his contributions and look forward to continuing to benefit from his wisdom and experience as we embark on this new phase.”

## **Introducing Manuel Stotz: a visionary leader for TON’s next chapter**

Manny Stotz brings a wealth of experience to TON Foundation, having served on its Board since its official inception in Switzerland. He is the Founder of Kingsway Capital, a London-based investment firm managing several billion USD on behalf of US institutional investors, focusing on frontier and emerging markets.

Through Kingsway, Manny has championed financial inclusion in regions home to over three billion people, many of whom are unbanked or underbanked and exposed to volatile fiat currencies. Recognizing the transformative potential of blockchain technology, Kingsway has backed over 50 blockchain sector leaders, including Animoca Brands, Blockchain.com, CoinDCX, and TON coin. Manny’s deep understanding of blockchain’s role in economic empowerment and investment history has created a network of global investors, institutions, and successful entrepreneurs, uniquely positioning him to expand TON’s adoption in the US market.

“Manny’s extraordinary track record in investment and passion for leveraging blockchain to empower communities make him the ideal leader for this next chapter,” said Steve Yun, outgoing President of TON Foundation. “His vision, commitment, and extensive global network align perfectly with the foundation’s renewed focus on strategic expansions into the US market.”

“I am honored to step into this role and build on the incredible foundation established by Steve and the entire team,” said Manny Stotz. “TON is uniquely positioned to lead the blockchain revolution. I look forward to working with our partners and stakeholders to accelerate this mission—especially in the dynamic and innovative US market.”

## **Continuity and momentum**

As TON Foundation embraces this leadership transition, the organization remains steadfast in its commitment to its mission and values. With Steve Yun’s ongoing guidance as a member of the Board and Manny Stotz’s visionary leadership, the foundation is poised for a future defined by growth, collaboration, and innovation.

The coming months promise significant steps forward for TON in the US, further solidifying its position as a leading player in the global blockchain ecosystem.

TON Foundation welcomes Manuel Stotz as new President to drive US expansion

Probably Something: history of mass minting on TON

Bitcoin, widely known as **digital gold**, is a powerful growth driver in the cryptocurrency industry, acting as both a store of value and a liquidity engine for decentralized finance (DeFi).

TON Teleport BTC builds on Bitcoin’s foundational principles to integrate its liquidity with TON's ecosystem and Telegram audience, uniting enhanced yield opportunities, accessible distribution capabilities, and next-generation security standards.

This document examines how TON Teleport BTC combines Bitcoin’s strong security with TON’s scalability and potential.

## **What is TON Teleport BTC?**

TON Teleport BTC brings Bitcoin directly into Telegram through TON as a tgBTC, allowing you to carry it in your pocket—inside the Web3 mini apps you use daily. (EVAA, STON Fi, DeDust, StormTrade, etc)

Through tgBTC, a tokenized Bitcoin, you can *securely* send and receive Bitcoin within not only @wallet but also the TON ecosystem. And all of that without relying on exchanges or third parties like custodians—just you, TON, and Telegram.

### **How tgBTC drives an era of Bitcoin on TON?**

TON Teleport BTC positions TON as the **ultimate gateway** between Bitcoin ecosystem and real-world applications ([Telegram Mini Apps](https://ton.org/mini-apps)), offering an unseen level of distribution to users engaged with Bitcoin.

Let’s explore how TON Teleport BTC will shape the Bitcoin Finance (BTCFi) on TON:

- **BTC’s Liquidity + TON’s DeFi = Yield:** With tgBTC’s in TON’s DeFi ecosystem, Bitcoin evolves from a store of value to a tool for financial growth. Earn more through lending, staking, and trading, leveraging Bitcoin’s liquidity for efficient collateralization and yield farming.
- **Trustless + transparent BTC = tgBTC:** Bitcoin meets trustless infrastructure with TON Teleport BTC. Decentralized control ensures security, with validators safeguarding transactions and tgBTC transparently backed 1:1 by Bitcoin.
- **Low-cost tgBTC transactions = Distribution:** Send Bitcoin like a message—no exchanges, no third parties. Thanks to TON's extra currency feature, tgBTC transactions will be 10x cheaper than standard Jetton tokens, making Bitcoin integration on TON fast, practical, and accessible.

Below we describe how exactly TON Teleport BTC is secured.

## **Technology behind TON Teleport BTC**

Transferring BTC into and out of the TON network involves several automated steps:

### **tgBTC deposit: Peg-in process**

 ![Peg-in.png](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Peg_in_d413584e05/Peg_in_d413584e05.png) 
1. **Transaction initiation**: Users send BTC to a specified Bitcoin address, triggering a smart contract that mints tgBTC on TON after six block confirmations.
2. **Bitcoin Light Client validation on TVM**: The peg-in process is fully automated and relies on Bitcoin Light Client developed as a TON smart contact, fully on TVM. The Light Client verifies Bitcoin blocks autonomously, ensuring trustless operations without external reliance.
3. **Minting process**: Once BTC is validated, it’s minted as a tgBTC on TON. Thanks to TON's extra currency feature, transactions are processed as fast as Toncoin.

 ![Peg-in (tgBTC Deposit).png](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Peg_in_tg_BTC_Deposit_008ed80280/Peg_in_tg_BTC_Deposit_008ed80280.png) 

While the peg-in process may be slower due to Bitcoin’s confirmation requirements, once on TON, transactions return to standard network speeds.

### **tgBTC withdrawal: Peg-out process**

 ![Peg-out.png](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Peg_out_4c5ec2e33f/Peg_out_4c5ec2e33f.png) 

tgBTC withdrawal involves two crucial aspects:

1. **Sign a transaction**: To withdraw BTC, users burn their tgBTC on TON, initiating a transaction that securely releases BTC to the specified address.
2. **Get Validators consensus**: Masterchain validators on TON oversee the Peg-Out process, ensuring that Bitcoin unlocking adheres to all pre-verified parameters.

This process eliminates double-spending by confirming the user’s intention through the burn and then securely transferring BTC. Peg-out, like peg-in, is fully automated and requires *no human intervention.*

 ![Peg-out (tgBTC Withdraw).png](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Peg_out_tg_BTC_Withdraw_c02860eede/Peg_out_tg_BTC_Withdraw_c02860eede.png) 

## **How TON Teleport becomes as secure as TON**

TON Teleport BTC goes beyond basic peg-in and peg-out with next-generation security mechanisms to protect users and assets. *By relying on its consensus*, TON Teleport BTC aims to be as secure as TON Blockchain.

1. **TON Validators consensus:** As we mentioned, to peg-out, you require the signatures of master chain validators (top 100 by stake) to approve a transaction.
2. **Validator rotations:** Validators on TON rotate *every 18 hours*, distributing transaction verification among a changing group of participants. Each rotation updates public keys and transfers Bitcoin control to the current validator group.
3. **Consensus-based upgrades:** In case validators reach consensus to update system components, it allows flexible enhancements like contract upgrades or added security features without compromising system integrity.
4. **Refunds for expired deposits:** A refund mechanism lets users reclaim funds if a Bitcoin deposit fails to complete before a validator rotation, which makes your money secure. Users set up a Check-Sequence Verify (CSV) script (with password) that refunds BTC if the transaction remains incomplete within a specified period (typically two weeks).
5. **Inspectors Layer:** They monitor transactions, temporarily pausing the system if it detects irregular activity. Inspectors cannot alter transactions but add a safeguard against potential risks.

### **Cryptographic super power**

TON Teleport BTC employs modern cryptographic technologies, including:

- **[Distributed Key Generation](https://www.hypr.com/security-encyclopedia/distributed-key) (DKG)**: It ensures no single validator can act unilaterally, maintaining decentralization.
- **[FROST](https://crysp.uwaterloo.ca/software/frost/) (Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold Signatures)**: Aggregates validator signatures, significantly reducing Bitcoin transaction fees.

## **Truly affordable minting process**

Aggregated signature technology in TON Teleport BTC controls transaction costs by replacing the traditional multi-signature method with a single group signature, which typically requires multiple individual signatures.

### **Here's how it works**:

TON Teleport BTC uses group signatures to combine multiple validator signatures into one, decreasing transaction size and fees on the Bitcoin network. With the Bitcoin Taproot upgrade, TON Teleport BTC now benefits from aggregated signatures, thanks to the efficiency of [Schnorr signatures](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/schnorr-digital-signature/).

Through Bitcoin's Taproot upgrade, we're also cutting costs while improving security and decentralization to optimize BTC transactions. By reducing the transaction size, TON Teleport BTC ensures you can move your assets with lower fees.

## **BTCFi: Next generation DeFi on TON**

With TON Teleport BTC and tgBTC you will see more DeFi and yield generation opportunities within the TON ecosystem by activating Bitcoin's liquidity.

tgBTC introduces arbitrage potential across platforms to leverage liquidity imbalances and promote active trading. TON Teleport BTC also aims to enhance Bitcoin’s scalability and cross-chain interoperability, contributing to a trustless, DeFi environment where Bitcoin’s liquidity and utility evolve.

Below is a summary of Bitcoin’s potential in TON’s DeFi ecosystem:

- tgBTC can serve as collateral for borrowing stablecoins, supporting liquidity pools, and leveraged trading in lending protocols (EVAA and others coming)
- tgBTC-backed assets power collateralized debt positions (CDPs), similar to MakerDAO’s model DAI.
- Through partnerships like [GoMining](https://gomining.com/), users can rent GPUs, pay for energy, and mine Bitcoin, withdrawing earnings directly in TON,

Thanks to trustless tgBTC, TON Teleport BTC technology enhances yield generation on TON with BTCFi, paving a brand new way for Bitcoin’s seamless integration into decentralized finance—a major step forward in Bitcoin’s evolution toward real-world applications and mass adoption.

*To read the full TON Teleport BTC Whitepaper please click [**here.**](https://tgbtc.gitbook.io/docs/whitepaper/abstract)*

Unlocking the future of Bitcoin with TON Teleport BTC: A new era of trustless interoperability

The long-awaited TON Teleport BTC testnet is now ready! Announced by Roman Krutovoy, Infrastructure Lead at TON Foundation and Roman Nguyen, CTO of RSquad Blockchain Lab at Gateway 2024, the launch of the testnet marks a step forward in bringing native Bitcoin to the TON ecosystem.

We're now excited to invite the community to join the testnet, offering early access to mint tgBTC and exploring its potential within TON's DeFi ecosystem.

## **Understanding TON Teleport BTC**

TON Teleport BTC is a decentralized bridge allowing for the seamless introduction of BTC to TON. This bridge enables BTC holders to leverage their assets within TON’s DeFi ecosystem, unlocking new possibilities like yield farming and using Bitcoin as collateral. For BTC enthusiasts, it’s an opportunity to transform dormant assets into opportunities for growth. 

## **Join the Testnet: Be the First to Mint tgBTC**

### **How to Mint Your First tgBTC (Testnet)**

▪️ [TON Testnet](https://tgbtc.gitbook.io/docs/getting-started/testnet-in-ton) wallet setup

▪️ [BTC Signet](https://tgbtc.gitbook.io/docs/getting-started/signet-in-btc) wallet setup

▪️ [Mint your first tgBTC](https://tgbtc.gitbook.io/docs/getting-started/how-to-mint-first-tgbtc)

▪️ [Burn tgBTC and receive BTC](https://tgbtc.gitbook.io/docs/getting-started/how-to-mint-first-tgbtc#peg-out-burn-confirm-and-receive-1)

### **Required Wallets**

▪️ [Tonkeeper](https://tonkeeper.com/) (TON Testnet)

▪️ [TON Space](https://t.me/wallet/start?startapp) (TON Testnet)

▪️ [Electrum](http://electrum.org/#download) (BTC Signet: Windows/Mac/Ubuntu)

▪️ [Unisat](https://unisat.io/download) (BTC Signet: Android/iOS)

### **Faucets (Obtaining Test Tokens)**

▪️ [TON Faucet](https://t.me/testgiver_ton_bot)

▪️ [BTC Faucet](https://signetfaucet.bublina.eu.org/)

▪️ [Another BTC Faucet](https://signetfaucet.com/)

### **Frequently Asked Questions**

▪️ [FAQ on TON Teleport](https://tgbtc.gitbook.io/docs/information-desk/faq)

**To keep updated with testnet access activities and announcements, join our community: https://t.me/tgbtc_news**

During the testnet, we'll release new versions and bug fixes every two weeks and run special contests for developers. This is a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation and contribute to the evolution of TON's DeFi ecosystem.

## **Looking Ahead**

TON Teleport BTC marks the beginning of BTC’s journey within the TON ecosystem. It offers BTC holders a decentralized, trustless path to engage with TON’s DeFi projects, trading platforms, and yield-generating protocols. We're just scratching the surface of what's possible. Keep an eye on our updates to see how TON continues to build the gateway between chains, creating new utility and value for digital gold on TON.

### **Learn More**

For more background information on TON Teleport BTC, read our introduction here: [Introducing TON Teleport: Bringing Bitcoin to TON](https://blog.ton.org/introducing-ton-teleport-bringing-bitcoin-to-ton)

Testnet is Here: Be the First to Mint tgBTC

*Co-Authored by Steve Yun, President - The Open Network Foundation & Jack Booth, Co-Founder - TON Society*

The TON community has matured impressively in the past year. TON keeps connecting the crypto industry to a mass audience of new users, while successful projects constantly emerge. Advocating for decentralization and reactive to community growth and maturity, The Open Network Foundation (“Foundation”) introduces Society DAO, a new governance model.

TON has been community-driven from day one. From its inception, the network has thrived thanks to dedicated community validators, securing its integrity, and resilience. The platform's growth has been led by developers who won public contests, becoming the leading contributors committed to TON's vision. TON's launch was uniquely fair, with initial distribution powered by Proof-of-Work mining, allowing participants to earn a stake. As the ecosystem expanded, the TON Foundation took the helm in business development, fueling a robust and dynamic ecosystem loyal to its decentralized, community-first ethos.

Honoring this DNA, The Open Network Foundation (“Foundation”) introduces Society DAO, a new governance model. We envision a governance framework that enhances decentralization, transparency, inclusion, competition, autonomy, participation, and resilience by democratizing access to the financial, socio-political, and human capital.

**Decentralization: A Progressive Journey**

Decentralization is an ongoing process. Over the past year, many founders have relied heavily on the Foundation for success, as it often serves as a central hub for capital. However, the Foundation sees this as a centralization risk—one that could lead to a single point of failure. How can the Foundation evolve to mitigate this risk and empower a more resilient, decentralized ecosystem?

**Challenges in L1 Governance: The Limits of the Corporate Model**

L1 governance faces complex challenges, starting with a concentration of capital. Across the blockchain industry, platforms often adopt a corporate model, with foundations overseeing strategy, partnerships, marketing, technical support, funding, and more. This centralized model can be efficient in the early stages, providing direction and producing initial use cases.

However, as the ecosystem matures and independent, competitive participants emerge, this model reveals its limitations. Capital and resources—financial, social, human, and political— accumulate around the foundation, making it difficult for projects to succeed without its official support. This concentration creates a gated environment, stifling the competition that’s crucial for a thriving ecosystem.

Additionally, operational inefficiencies arise as projects focus on navigating foundation processes instead of building products, leading to a lack of competitive innovation. Over time, this dependency risks undermining the original goal of ecosystem building, which requires decentralized, open support for incoming builders.

**Solutions for a Decentralized and Competitive Ecosystem: The Community Model**

To address the challenges of centralized governance the answer lies in democratized access to capital and fostering competition within a community-centric framework. By implementing open-source access to capital, projects earn resources transparently, rewarded for achieving key performance indicators (KPIs), which shift their focus to delivering exceptional products and results. In line with this, the Foundation is advancing a **Community Model** that redistributes resource allocation power back to the community. Under this approach, respected and proven community members are empowered to coordinate vision, goals, and strategies, collectively determining resource allocation in alignment with TON's overall growth.

This model also upholds a principle of competition, supporting at least two projects in each category, encouraging projects to excel, and fueling a vibrant innovative ecosystem. Previously monopolized roles within the Foundation can now be filled by competitive, independent teams, enhancing efficiency and resilience. Thanks to TON’s explosive growth and the emergence of widely respected ecosystem leaders, the Community Model enables proactive, autonomous, and competitive participation in the network.

Since its inception in 2023 as a Swiss non-profit, the Foundation has tested this model with a few leading teams, who have excelled in their roles. This competitive and decentralized model accelerates growth, promotes autonomy, and empowers community-led development, providing a scalable framework and better results for all TON ecosystem participants.

**Introducing Society DAO: Advancing the network adoption as a community**

With blockchain technology, the technical path to decentralization is clear. However, building a community capable of collective, coordinated action requires a more strategic approach. As the TON ecosystem grows, decentralizing at its core is essential to ensure resilience and long-term success.

Today, The Foundation is pleased to introduce Society DAO and its founding members; teams that have already been operating independently yet aligned with TON’s mission. Society DAO will become the organizing body for core ecosystem functions, its founding members comprise:

- **TON Core:** Core development, upgrading, and maintenance of the blockchain
- **TON Studio:** Developer experience
- **TON Society:** Community operations
- **Wallet in Telegram:** Payment adoption

The Foundation will support this DAO by reporting on its goals, KPIs, and strategies, ensuring compliance, and providing grants and other resources. Society DAO will grow to include proven and reputable community teams that can propose and execute a plan that supports the ecosystem’s objectives. It will welcome new contributors across roles such as marketing, app development, technology, stablecoin integration, DeFi, community growth, identity, and more. This model will make the community's brightest minds the key stakeholders in the growth and adoption of TON.

**TON Ecosystem Goals: A Transparent Route to Success**

The TON ecosystem is committed to a transparent path for accomplishing its goals. Like our network’s dynamic sharding architecture, smaller, independent, and focused teams can create better, more scalable outcomes. Our public goals are revisited every six months, ensuring they remain relevant and aligned with our community’s vision.

### **Key Features of Society DAO**

- **TON Ecosystem Goals**: Society DAO will publish The TON Ecosystem goals
- **Community Proposals**: DAO members can propose relevant strategies, expected time-bound, and specific key results for achieving the ecosystem goals.
- **Working Group Reviews**: Relevant DAO members will evaluate proposals across specialized working groups.
- **Grant Provided**: After DAO approval, The Foundation funds the plans, with the community team assuming responsibility for progress and performance.

### **Initial Goals of Society DAO**

Today, Society DAO sets the following initial goals:

1. **Position TON as The Gateway to Real-World Cryptocurrency Use Cases.**
2. **Establish TON as the Most Stable and Scalable Blockchain.**
3. **Grow the Developer and User Community in Super App markets.**

By January 2025, Society DAO will publicly publish the key initiatives and expected key results for H1 2025. With a public view over Society DAO’s objectives, the community can contribute their opinions and help guide the DAO on how best to achieve the Ecosystem goals. Shortly, Society DAO will continue to decentralize by inviting proposals from proven and reputable community teams. Successful proposals that align with our ecosystem goals can join the DAO as members, becoming core contributors to The Open Network.

**Debate and TON Society Reputation**

In 2025, Society DAO will enhance its transparency and community-driven focus by launching a public debate and voting platform. This platform will use TON Society onchain badges as a reputation marker, empowering active community members to have a voice in decision-making processes.

Over 3.6 million users have earned onchain badges on society.ton.org. This activity-driven reputation reflects your contribution and engagement within the ecosystem and will open access to contributing to debates and onchain votes.

Once the platform is live, DAO members will be supported by the real opinions of the active community. Together, we will cultivate an ecosystem of DAO members that self-regulates autonomously by collective insight and engagement.

**The Principle of Competition**

To ensure a decentralized approach, Society DAO is establishing the Principle of Competition as a core guideline for allocating all public resources, including financial, social, human, political capital, and incentive programs. This principle requires that at least two competing projects be provided with the opportunity to fulfill the KPIs in the same category.

Competition creates decentralization. Competitive environments make it difficult for single players to dominate. When an ecosystem depends on multiple players, it becomes more resilient to failures. If one competitor encounters issues or fails, others can take their place without significant disruption. Competitive ecosystems lead to higher transparency, as entities are motivated to act in users' best interests to maintain loyalty.

Moreover, competition encourages different approaches and ideas to address user needs. Each competitor brings unique strengths or innovations, leading to a richer ecosystem where multiple solutions coexist, reducing reliance on any single provider. Ultimately, this leads to a better user experience.

**Society DAO: Shaping a Resilient and Scalable Future for the TON Community**

Society DAO positions the TON community on the right trajectory to become more competitive, decentralized, and resilient. Overall, it aims to create a robust and scalable organizational structure. As this model continues to be proven further, it will lead to an autonomous community capable of collective action.

With a growing community of over 20 million members, we are stronger than ever and have the potential to make cryptocurrency accessible to everyone. Together, we can drive meaningful change and put crypto in every pocket.

TON’s Path to Decentralization: The Evolution of the Governance Model

**Growth of the TON Ecosystem**

Since the beginning of 2024, TON has undergone significant changes, particularly in the DeFi space. At the start of the year, there were about 10 projects; now, there are 35, all of which are listed on [DefiLlama](https://defillama.com/). A key milestone was the launch of USDt, which confirmed that TON is actively strengthening its position in the DeFi landscape. The largest liquidity pools for USDt pairs have emerged on TON Blockchain.

Currently, TON is nearing the completion of its first tier of DeFi primitives—we have already established lending solutions, liquidity staking, and CPMM model AMM protocols. Second-tier projects are also emerging, including launchpads, options, derivatives, and more. Upcoming plans include bridges between TON and other networks, such as BTC and EVM, which will allow the addition of new assets, including major stablecoins.

 ![B1.png](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/B1_1da52a9ecb/B1_1da52a9ecb.png) 

**Infrastructure for Stable Assets**

A crucial step will be the development of the CFMM (Constant Functional Market Maker) — a mechanism designed for the efficient trading of similar assets, such as stablecoins and Bitcoin derivatives, with minimal price impact during exchanges. TON Foundation supports this initiative by creating infrastructure for onboarding new stablecoins and similar assets from various networks. We have chosen the CFMM model as our first option, as it is optimal for upcoming assets. Curve-like Stable Swaps are best suited for these assets, providing decentralized exchanges that allow users to conveniently trade similar tokens such as USDC, USDt, FDUSD, DAI, and Bitcoin derivatives.

 ![B2.webp](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/B2_b3608b0600/B2_b3608b0600.webp) 

**Collaboration with Curve Finance**

To launch stable swaps on TON Blockchain, we joined forces with Curve Finance and Michael Egorov. Together, we initiated a competition for professional DeFi teams to develop CFMM model stable swaps. We received applications from 70 teams; 10 commenced work, and 5 reached the finals with completed CFMM protocols. Together with Curve, we carefully evaluated their code and experience, selecting winners during an online session that included 7 venture funds interested in potentially investing in these projects.

The winners of the competition were [Torch Finance](https://torch.finance/) and [Crouton Finance](https://crouton.finance/).

 ![B3.webp](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/B3_80730c7660/B3_80730c7660.webp) 

**Short Term Results**

This initiative, supported by Curve, enabled us to launch two stable swaps on the mainnet in just several months, achieving $300,000 in total liquidity and millions of active users through the projects' Telegram Mini Apps. TON Foundation and Curve plan to continue supporting these projects: Curve will serve as an advisor and grant access to the CFMM formula, while TON Foundation will allocate $150,000 to each project for audits, assist with initial liquidity in the pools for new stablecoins, and provide incentives for these pools. 

Additionally, TON Foundation has collaborated with [CrossCurve](https://crosscurve.fi/) to integrate the cross-chain stable swaps using liquidity of Torch Finance and Crouton Finance into the CrossCurve DEX. Backed by the founder of Curve Finance, CrossCurve addresses the issue of liquidity fragmentation in DeFi.

Furthermore, TON Foundation and CrossCurve will launch $500,000 incentives for cross-chain pools, enabling stablecoin exchanges between the TON Ecosystem and EVM networks.

Seven venture funds, including [TON Ventures](https://tonventures.io/), [DWF Labs](https://www.dwf-labs.com/), [GSR](https://www.gsr.io/), [Kenetic Capital](https://www.kenetic.capital/), [Foresight](https://www.foresightventures.com/), [Bitrue Ventures](https://x.com/BitrueVentures), and [Paper Ventures](https://paper.ventures/), have made a soft commitment of $2.3 million for investments in Torch Finance and Crouton Finance.

Full version of our live judging session with VCs announcements:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8SBHClQ5UE

As a TON DeFi Lead, [Vlad Degen,](https://twitter.com/VladDegen) I would love to share three essential messages through this initiative.

Firstly, for professional DeFi teams, you can build a significant DeFi protocol on TON with the support of TON Foundation, our partners, and venture capital.

Secondly, venture funds constantly search for the right place and time to invest. The right place is the TON Ecosystem, and the right time is now.

Finally, we are actively developing DeFi for TON holders. The upcoming year will be the year of DeFi on TON.

Infrastructures for stable assets with Curve

TON will integrate Axelar’s Mobius Development Stack (MDS) as an interoperability layer. This integration will be made possible by Axelar's Interchain Amplifier technology, advancing TON’s scalability and expanding opportunities for mass adoption.

TON Blockchain has already evolved into a powerful combination: 950 million Telegram users, a top 10 position with over $16B market cap, plus a fast-growing ecosystem of application builders. Now, we are adding an interoperability platform that will serve as a secure onramp, opening TON Blockchain opportunities to applications, assets and users across Web3. Axelar already connects any Cosmos (IBC), Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and Polkadot ecosystems; other popular consensus approaches such as Flow, Hedera, Solana, Stellar, Sui and XRP Ledger are expected later this year.

TON Foundation recognizes Axelar MDS as an open interoperability platform: MDS is fully programmable and permissionless, allowing any project to build its connection and compose freely with any blockchain or off-chain resource. This commitment aligns closely with the TON ethos – and has made Axelar one of the leading platforms for connecting diverse blockchains.

> “TON community values fast network performance, decentralized infrastructure, and a seamless user experience,” said Anthony Tsivarev, Director of Ecosystem Development, TON Foundation. “Axelar MDS is an ideal choice for a TON interoperability layer: it’s an open, developer-friendly stack that enables secure, one-click integration for building apps across networks.”

As TON’s new interoperability platform, Axelar MDS will act as a consensus point, preventing fragmented liquidity and user confusion that comes with multiple bridged versions of the same asset. Collaborating with more bridges is key to enhancing Web3 interoperability within TON. Axelar MDS also includes solutions like Interchain Token Service (ITS) that go beyond bridges. In short, MDS will deliver a secure, unified cross-chain connection, available to all users and developers on TON.

> “Innovative platforms like TON Blockchain are exactly what Axelar MDS was built for,” said Georgios Vlachos, co-founder of Axelar protocol and director at Axelar Foundation. “We’re inspired already by what developers are building on TON, and we’re looking forward to connecting MDS so devs can bring it openly to users and assets across Web3.”

For the community of TON builders already making headway with Mini Apps, Community Tokens and other innovative projects geared toward mass adoption, this secure and seamless interoperability layer will be a powerful on-ramp. Meanwhile, applications across Web3 are already preparing to take advantage of TON opportunities, expanding liquidity for the fast-growing TON community of users and builders.

TON will connect to Axelar via Interchain Amplifier, a developer toolkit that abstracts secure, protocol-layer connections between blockchains up to the smart-contract layer.

For more information about Axelar: [https://axelar.network](https://axelar.network/)

For updates on TON Blockchain’s Axelar integration:
https://t.me/toncoin

TON Is Integrating Axelar for Open Interoperability Across Web3

A Look Back at The Open League Hackathon: Meet the Winners

The TON ecosystem is on the brink of a new chapter. Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of [TON Ventures](https://tonventures.io/), a venture capital organization born out of the expertise and vision of former senior team members from the TON Foundation, Ian W. and Inal K. Backed by a $40M fund, TON Ventures is set to fuel the next wave of innovation in the TON ecosystem by supporting early-stage crypto projects.

The driving force behind TON Ventures is a team of early TON Foundation members and experienced builders. Leading this initiative are Ian W., the former Director of TON Accelerator, and Inal K., the former Gaming Lead at TON Foundation. Their past collaboration has led to the success of TON Web3 games like Catizen and Gatto and the perpetual exchange Tradoor.

At its core, [TON Ventures](https://tonventures.io/) is about more than just funding—it's about building the future. They focus on consumer applications that harness the power of Telegram’s social features and Telegram Mini Apps (TMAs). Their goal is to empower founders with the tools and infrastructure required to create applications with the potential for mass adoption and long-term sustainability. In addition to financial backing, the selected projects will benefit from the team's extensive experience, global network, and hands-on support. To boost the projects and help them succeed, TON Ventures will leverage Telegram Ads and provide access to exclusive growth experiments within TON. 

> “TON and Telegram have created a paradigm shift for web3. With our deep experience in the ecosystem, we believe the highest leverage point is in capital allocation for TON. Now, we have the exciting opportunity to share our insights and strategies for thriving in the unique design space created by TON and Telegram, empowering a new generation of innovators and builders. By connecting visionary investors with cutting-edge projects, we aim to accelerate the growth of the TON ecosystem and foster groundbreaking advancements in decentralized technology,” **said Ian W., Managing Director of TON Ventures**.

This exciting development comes at a time when the TON ecosystem is experiencing explosive growth. In recent months, [TON has surpassed Ethereum in daily active users](https://x.com/Delphi_Digital/status/1800199716367397300), with [total assets in use on the platform soaring to $1.14 billion in July](https://defillama.com/chain/TON)—up from $71 million at the start of the year. 

The rise of tap-to-earn gaming in 2024 has also played a significant role in this growth, drawing hundreds of millions of new users into the Web3 gaming space. A prime example is the meteoric rise of Notcoin, a game that captured the attention of 35 million players in just three months, distributing over 90% of its token supply to its dedicated community.

As we move forward, TON Ventures is poised to be a catalyst for the continued expansion and success of the TON ecosystem. By bringing together visionary investors and groundbreaking projects, they’re not just investing in technology—they’re investing in the future of decentralized innovation.

**For additional information, visit [TonVentures.io](https://tonventures.io/) and [follow them on X](https://x.com/TON_Ventures) and [Telegram](t.me/ton_ventures ).**

Introducing TON Ventures: A $40M Fund for Early-Stage Projects

With our goal of putting crypto in every pocket, supporting and encouraging the integration of USDt on TON is one of our key ways to achieve this. We're simplifying the integration of USDt on TON into crypto exchanges, onramps, payment services, and more as a significant step towards expanding the utility and accessibility of digital assets. To facilitate this seamless integration, several infrastructure providers play pivotal roles in ensuring the efficiency and security of transactions. 

But first, you need to know that USDt on TON runs as a Jetton.

In summary, Jettons represents tokenized assets that leverage the capabilities of the TON Blockchain for secure and efficient transactions.

The most relevant infrastructure providers have already integrated the Jetton standard, and here is a spotlight on the essential providers.

### **MPC Wallet Providers**
Multi-Party Computation (MPC) wallet providers are crucial for securing digital assets while maintaining accessibility. These providers utilize advanced cryptographic techniques to distribute private keys among multiple parties, enhancing security without sacrificing usability. For exchanges integrating USDt-TON, MPC wallet solutions ensure robust protection against potential threats while enabling efficient management of digital assets.

- **Dfns:** Dfns is a leading wallets-as-a-service platform known for its robust MPC security and reliable blockchain integrations, featuring clients such as Zodia Custody, Fidelity, ABN AMRO, Bridge, and many others. More recently, they have started enabling exchanges to deal with USDt on TON transactions. They are the first MPC wallet infrastructure to offer data indexing on the TON Blockchain, jetton broadcasting, balance tracking, token management, transfer history, and webhooks with TON.

### **Custodians**
Custodians play a vital role in the storage and management of digital assets on behalf of their clients. They offer secure storage solutions, often employing advanced security protocols such as cold storage and multi-signature wallets. For USDt-TON integration, custodians ensure that exchanges can securely hold and manage large volumes of digital assets, providing peace of mind to traders and investors alike.

- **Cobo:** Cobo is a trusted custody and wallet infrastructure provider that simplifies digital asset security. As the industry's only unified platform integrating Custodial, MPC, Smart Contract, and Exchange Wallets, Cobo offers advanced risk controls and developer tools that lay the foundations for any blockchain innovation and support over 3,000 tokens, including USDt on TON. Founded in 2017 by blockchain pioneers, Cobo is trusted by more than 500 organizations worldwide, safeguarding billions of dollars in assets with a zero-incident security track record.
- **PrimeVault:** PrimeVault's platform allows enterprise users to conduct and automate virtually any on-chain operation at scale while ensuring the security of digital assets, including Toncoin, USDt on TON, and any Jetton standard on TON blockchain.
- **Copper:** With a reputation for secure custodial services, Copper offers comprehensive insurance and compliance measures to ensure the safekeeping of digital assets, including USDt-TON.

### **RPC Solutions**
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) solutions enable communication between software systems, facilitating seamless interaction with blockchain networks like TON. RPC providers offer APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that exchanges can integrate into their systems, enabling functionalities such as transaction monitoring, balance inquiries, and smart contract interactions. These solutions are essential for the real-time integration and operation of USDt-TON on crypto exchanges.

- **TONX API:** Provides customized quotas for high-load users accessing RPCs. Focused on the TON blockchain and the Asian market, they offer better customer support and reliable service based on past experience with [TonStake.com](https://TonStake.com) and [TonKey.app](https://TonKey.app).
- **NOWNodes:** Provides access to shared and dedicated blockchain nodes via fast API with a load balancer. It supports 100+ protocols and networks and offers unlimited availability to TON nodes and indexers with no rate limits and 99.95% uptime.
- ** GetBlock:**  GetBlock is an RPC node provider and Web3 infrastructure platform. It fuels dApps of all types with reliable connections to full and archive nodes of 50+ blockchains, including all mainstream L1s and L2s, via JSON RPC, gRPC, and WebSockets interfaces. GetBlock was the first major RPC node provider to add support for TON, removing the need for TON-centric apps' teams to run full nodes themselves. GetBlock offers a 30% discount on your first subscription to any shared node package: one month, six months, or even a full year!

## **The Importance of Collaboration**
The successful integration of USDt on TON into crypto exchanges relies heavily on collaboration among these infrastructure providers. By leveraging their expertise in the blockchain space, crypto exchanges, onramps, and payment services can ensure a seamless user experience while maintaining the highest security and efficiency standards.

As the demand for diverse digital assets grows, these infrastructure providers continue to innovate, paving the way for broader adoption and integration across the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Their efforts not only support the operational needs of key platforms in the Web3 industry but also contribute to the overall growth and stability of the digital asset market.

**If you want to collaborate with TON or need technical support, contact Victor Mendes on Telegram (@jvictormendes).**




Simplifying Integration of USDt on TON: Key Infrastructure Providers

Welcome back to another edition of TON Culture Kings, where we dive into the world of memecoins on TON Blockchain. Today, we’re excited to feature Kakaxa (Russian for poop), a hot memecoin that’s captured the imagination and wallets of many. Kakaxa is making waves by emphasizing transparency, community engagement, and “cleaning the s**t out of blockchain.” Joining us today is the team behind Kakaxa.

Let’s dive in to learn more about their journey, community, and what lies ahead.

*IMPORTANT: This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of TON Foundation. This is not investment advice.*

## **TON Culture Kings: Kakaxa**

**Welcome to TON Culture Kings, Kakaxa! You guys had a phenomenal launch with a 48x return in 3 days. Can you share the story behind such a successful debut and what you believe contributed to this explosive start?**

Sure! Transparency and trust were also critical. From the beginning, we committed to cleaning the blockchain of dubious projects by being one of the first to openly reveal our identities. Sergey Romanovich, a well-known Russian actor, blogger, and crypto-enthusiast, leads our project. His credibility and large following of over 2.2 million subscribers significantly boosted our visibility and trustworthiness.

Our active and cohesive community was another crucial factor. We engaged in constant outreach, promotions, contests, and raids, creating a vibrant and enthusiastic community. Our hours-long AMA sessions were pivotal in building this community. During these sessions, we introduced our project and educated our audience about the TON blockchain and the broader crypto market. This transparent and interactive approach set a new standard and raised the bar for other projects.

Additionally, our commitment to social responsibility, such as planting over 2,000 trees for our presale participants and project holders, showcased our dedication to making a positive impact beyond the blockchain.

Lastly, our meticulous planning and execution were fundamental. We conducted numerous AMA sessions before launching our token, ensuring our community was well-informed and prepared. Listing our token during a live AMA session created a unique and engaging experience that further solidified our bond with our supporters.

**Tell us about humor and memecoins—your project has certainly relied heavily on humor for its success. Why do you think humor is such a powerful tool in the world of crypto and blockchain?**

Humor is a powerful tool in the world of crypto and blockchain because it makes complex and often intimidating topics more accessible and engaging. For KAKAXA, humor with slogans like “made a fortune on shit” and “invested in shit” captured people's attention and made our project memorable. 

This light-hearted approach helped create a sense of community and trust, breaking down barriers and encouraging people to participate and invest. For a meme coin with utility like KAKAXA, humor is crucial as it enhances the appeal, making the project a financial investment and a fun and relatable experience. By using humor, we could stand out in a crowded market, foster a strong, active community, and drive our overall success.

**You’ve mentioned that Kakaxa aims to clean the blockchain of “shit” by promoting transparency and de-anonymization. Can you elaborate on what you’re going to be doing and how you hope it will impact the TON Ecosystem?**

KAKAXA aims to clean the blockchain of “shit” by promoting transparency and de-anonymization, which is crucial given the prevalence of scam projects in the space. We were one of the first projects to reveal our identities with Sergey Romanovich and the whole team. We hold hours-long AMA sessions to educate our community about the TON blockchain and the broader crypto market, emphasizing the importance of knowing who is behind a project. By setting this trend of de-anonization and maintaining open communication, we hope to raise the standards for new projects, foster trust, and ultimately create a safer and more transparent TON ecosystem.

**Tell us about the team behind Kakaxa. How did you all come together? What are your backgrounds?**

We have been in the crypto space for a few years. We have one of the largest crypto communities, where we educate people about crypto, trading, FA, etc. 

Founder of our project is Sergey Romanovich who is  a Russian movie actor, blogger and crypto-enthusiast. He has more than 2.2 million people subscribed to his social networks.

The co-founder and advisor is Isa, who is a full-time trader with years of experience in the crypto market. 

Ozzy is a business developer.

Guseyn is a project manager who has been in the crypto and NFT space for a few years. 

**What are some of the most effective strategies you’ve used to keep your community active and cohesive?**

To keep our community active and cohesive, we’ve employed several effective strategies at KAKAXA. We focus on constant and engaging community outreach through regular promotions, exciting contests, and dynamic raids where we reward our community, and it keep our members involved and motivated. We also prioritize transparency and education by holding hours-long AMA sessions where we discuss the TON blockchain, the crypto market, and our project’s goals. This approach not only informs but also builds trust and a sense of inclusion. By combining these efforts, we foster a strong, engaged community that is passionate about KAKAXA and its mission.


**You recently released a whale tracker bot to follow large wallet activities on TON. How has this tool been received by your community, and what benefits do you see it bringing to your users?**

Our community has received the whale tracker bot with great enthusiasm. This tool allows users to stay updated on the activities of large wallets on the TON blockchain, tracking which tokens whales are buying and selling. By providing real-time insights into significant market movements, the whale tracker bot empowers our users to make more informed investment decisions and stay ahead of market trends. It enhances transparency within the ecosystem and adds an extra layer of value for our community, reinforcing our commitment to providing useful tools and maintaining a high level of engagement and trust.

**Can you give us a sneak peek into what your new Telegram game will be about and how it integrates with the Kakaxa ecosystem?**

Certainly! We're excited to give you a sneak peek into our upcoming Telegram games, KAKAXA LOVE and KAKAXA SHOT. KAKAXA LOVE is a tap-and-catch game where players use our character to catch poop, combining simple mechanics with our signature humor. On the other hand, KAKAXA SHOT is a more dynamic shooter game featuring various maps where users battle against monsters. This game will include seasons, battle passes, different skins, and a multiplayer option where friends can play together. Both games integrate seamlessly with the KAKAXA ecosystem, offering our community fun and engaging ways to interact with the brand while promoting active participation and engagement. These games also reflect our innovative spirit and commitment to providing unique value to our users on the TON blockchain.

**Can you discuss the KKX LABS project accelerator and its recent success with the $DOGG project’s closed pre-sale?**

Absolutely! The KKX LABS project accelerator is a key initiative by KAKAXA aimed at supporting and nurturing new projects entering the TON blockchain ecosystem. Recently, we had significant success with the $DOGG project’s closed pre-sale, which raised $400,000. This pre-sale was a milestone, demonstrating the accelerator’s ability to identify and foster promising projects. Following the pre-sale, the DOGG token saw a 250% increase upon listing, showcasing the project's strong market reception and our effective support strategies. Additionally, we are receiving numerous pitch decks from other projects, and we are meticulously reviewing and selecting the best ones to support. Through KKX LABS, we aim to continue driving innovation and success in the TON ecosystem by providing comprehensive support to emerging projects.

**How did your idea of planting more than 2,000 trees for presale participants come about, and what are your future plans for expanding this green initiative?**

The idea to plant more than 2,000 trees for our presale participants stemmed from our commitment to making a positive impact and giving back to the community. We recognized the importance of environmental sustainability and wanted to align our project with actions that benefit the planet. This initiative not only rewards our early supporters but also contributes to global efforts in reforestation and environmental conservation. 

Moving forward, we plan to expand this green initiative by planting more than 10,000 trees this year alone. Our goal is to continually increase our environmental footprint positively while inspiring others in the blockchain and crypto space to prioritize sustainability and social responsibility. This initiative reflects our core values of transparency, community engagement, and making a meaningful difference in the world beyond financial success.

**Looking ahead, what are some of the biggest challenges and opportunities you see for Kakaxa? Any major milestones or goals you’re aiming to achieve in the near future?**

Looking ahead, Kakaxa sees several significant challenges and opportunities on the horizon. One of our key priorities is expanding our community and ensuring its continued engagement. We aim to achieve this by further developing our games like KAKAXA LOVE and KAKAXA SHOT, creating a vibrant ecosystem within the TON blockchain. 

Another major goal is securing listings on tier-1 exchanges, which will enhance our project's visibility and accessibility to a broader audience of investors and users.

In terms of challenges, navigating the evolving regulatory landscape in the crypto and blockchain space remains crucial. We are committed to maintaining compliance and transparency while advancing our mission of cleaning the blockchain of fraudulent projects through de-anonization and community education. Ultimately, our goal is to solidify Kakaxa as a leader in the memcoin space on the TON blockchain, recognized for our commitment to innovation, community building, and sustainable growth. We are excited about the future and the opportunities it holds for us to make a lasting impact in the crypto world and beyond.

**Finally, any advice for other memecoin projects looking to get big in the ecosystem?**

For other memecoin projects aiming to succeed, focus on building a strong community through active engagement and transparency. Embrace humor strategically to capture attention, but ensure it aligns with your project's values. Prioritize utility by offering innovative solutions that enhance user experience, like Kakaxa's games and whale tracker bot. Maintain transparency to build trust and credibility, standing out in a crowded market. These steps can help memecoin projects establish themselves and attract sustained interest in the crypto ecosystem.


TON Culture Kings: Kakaxa

Another week, another exciting partnership. This time, we’ve teamed up with [Cocos Studio](https://www.cocos.com/en), aiming to revolutionize the Web3 mini-games landscape. This partnership will leverage CocosStudio's advanced game development tools and TON's ecosystem to kick off a new era in digital entertainment. From today, Cocos SDK will integrate with TON Blockchain, empowering its global user base of Web2 mini-app developers to experience the benefits of building and deploying decentralized mini-apps.


TON’s ecosystem has seen exponential growth across all sectors this year, with the blockchain's Total Value Locked (TVL) surpassing $750 million by 31st July 2024. Mini-Apps have been key in this expansion, with projects like Notcoin accumulating over 30 million users and Hamster Kombat recently celebrating 300 million users. The partnership between TON Foundation and Cocos Studio will enable developers to capitalize on the TON ecosystem's rise by creating easily monetizable dApps. As a powerful distribution channel, these dApps can leverage Telegram with its 950 million monthly active users.

> "Partnering with TON represents a monumental step in advancing Web3 game development,” **said Luna, CMO of Cocos Studio.** “We share the same values and long-term goals as TON: serving developers to achieve mass adoption, upgrading the industry, and reducing costs. Together, we are setting new standards and creating vast opportunities for developers worldwide."

Integrating [Cocos Studio](https://www.cocos.com/en) with TON will offer support for game developers creating innovative, high-quality mini-games. This collaboration will enhance the TON Ecosystem with in-house games from Cocos Studio and provide valuable resources to developers, projects, creators, and studios looking to contribute. By utilizing the Web2 expertise of mini-game developers, this initiative seeks to introduce more expertise, attract more players, and deliver immersive gameplay experiences to the Web3.

> “I firmly believe that the future of gaming will be on-chain, enabling a new paradigm in which everyone can focus on creating value rather than extracting it,” **said Inal Kardan, Gaming Lead at TON Foundation.** “This new partnership with Cocos Studio will seamlessly bring tens of thousands of mini-game developers from Web2 to Web3. By building TON-based mini-apps using Telegram’s Mini App platform, developers can reach a massive audience of engaged gamers. We’re delighted to be working with Cocos Studio to accelerate our mission of putting crypto in every pocket by building a Web3 ecosystem in Telegram.” 

In the future, Cocos Engine will roll out new features that enable One-Click Game Development for the TON ecosystem, continually expanding the possibilities in Web3 gaming. This will streamline the development process, making it easier for developers to create games within the TON ecosystem.

## **About Cocos Studio**
Powered by the [Cocos Engine](https://github.com/cocos/cocos-engine), Cocos Studio is a platform designed for the development, incubation, and acceleration of mini-games. Its community includes over 1.6 million developers spread across 203 regions worldwide. Cocos Studio facilitates a smooth transition for proficient developers from Web2 to Web3, offering an improved development environment on decentralized platforms.

**Cocos Engine dominates 64% of the global Web2 mini-games market.** By integrating the TON Blockchain with the Cocos SDK, the platform provides superior game resources, streamlines the development process, and presents valuable case studies for Web2 developers eager to explore the Web3 Mini-App ecosystem within Telegram. 

This collaboration goes beyond mini-games, encompassing 2D and 3D games, digital assets, online education, e-commerce displays, HMI, and XR, significantly enhancing the TON ecosystem.


We've Teamed Up with Cocos Studio to Supercharge Next-Gen Web3 Mini-Games

With yet another season of The Open League behind us, it is time to review how the season went and discover the best projects. In this article, we will look at the before and after-season data, review the winners, and share the updates for Season 6. 

### **Key Highlights**
The data below compares data points recorded before and after Season 5. 

- The number of active on-chain users increased by 48% from 743,706 to 993,876
- The total TON TVL with LP Boosts increased by 750k with an average 50% APR
- Season 5 brought 700k daily active wallets
- We recorded $130M in daily volumes on DEXs
- Over 2M new active wallets during Season 5

## **Final Rankings for The Open League Season 5**
In Season 5, we tracked four leagues – Token, App, NFT, and DeFi. Below are the final leaderboard snapshots as of the official end of the season. The rankings are based on various metrics for each category, mainly the number of holders, TVL, DEX activity, and distribution.

### **App Battle**
As in Season 4, the two top spots remain unchanged, with **Catizen** and **Yescoin** dominating the leaderboard. **Vertus** progressed from Season 4’s 4th spot to spot number 3, and **Gamee** jumped from 10th place to 4th. Newcomer **Pumpers** took the 5th spot, followed by **Fanzee** in the 6th place, and **Jetton** at number 7. These seven teams will share a total of $500,000 based on their league placement.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/app_071cfe6e52/app_071cfe6e52.png) 

### **Token League**
**NOT** grabbed the top spot, progressing from 2nd place in the previous season. **JETTON** skyrocketed from 15th to 2nd place, and **TONG** took 3rd place. Chasing after, we have **WALL** at 4th, **PUNK** at 5th, and **REGI**, winner of Season 4, at spot number 6. The last team of the top seven is **HYDRA**. These seven teams will also share $500,000 in rewards.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/token_9b5d4352fa/token_9b5d4352fa.png) 

### **NFT League**
The NFT League saw a few major changes, with Season 4’s 6th-place **Gatto** taking the top spot. The 2nd and 3rd places remain unchanged, with **Market Makers** and **TON Diamonds**. In 4th place, we have **Smeshariki**, followed by **TON Punks** at 5th, **RoOLZ** at 6th, and **Runeston** at number 7. **We decided to award special prizes this time to the top three contestants and organize a KOL campaign for them.**

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/nft_2_3c5c3d96df/nft_2_3c5c3d96df.png) 

### **DeFi League**
Season 5 brought big changes to the DeFi leaderboard, where nothing is as it was before. The top spot was grabbed by **EVAA**, who were sitting in the 2nd place in Season 4. In the 2nd spot, we have **DAOLama** moving up from the 5th, **Tradoor** at the 3rd moving up from the 5th, and **DeDust** at spot number 4. **Ston.fi** and **Storm Trade** are closing the leaderboard sitting at 5th and 6th place, respectively. This league shared a total of $150,000.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/defi_4_b8746bb5d6/defi_4_b8746bb5d6.png) 

## **The Open League Season 6**
**The next season of The Open League kicks off on September 4th, and there will be many new updates.** We’re taking a break to once again improve TOL and bring you radical positive changes that will elevate the competition to a whole new level. 

[Follow our channel](https://t.me/league) to stay updated with all the news and learn more about Season 6. 


These Are The Best Projects of The Open League Season 5

Welcome to TON Innovators, our written series in which we interview projects building within the TON Ecosystem and shaping the future of Web3. Today, we’re bringing you a second interview with Catizen, a Telegram game that took the world by storm. [We first interviewed Catizen in early May](https://blog.ton.org/ton-innovators-catizen), but much has changed since then, and Catizen has become one of the most popular and biggest Web3 games ever. 

Citizen has dominated The Open League leaderboard for three consecutive seasons, beating their competitors and highlighting their innovative approach to Web3 gaming with unique mechanics, evolving gameplay, and capturing visuals. 

In this interview, we will explore how they achieved an amazing 7% conversion rate of on-chain users and an impressive average revenue per user (ARPU) of nearly $30. We will dive into how Catizen leverages the unique mechanics of TON and Telegram to improve their business model and achieve virality. We will also discuss their plans and recent announcements, so read the entire interview. 


*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not an investment advice*


-----------


## **TON Innovators: Catizen #2**
**Welcome back, Catizen. We spoke to you over three months ago, and much has changed since then. Can you give us a brief overview of everything that shaped those three months?**
Compared to May (the last TON Blog interview), both our community and game evolved a lot. Over the past three months, Catizen has transitioned from Phase 1 to Phase 2 and is now entering the third phase. We have successfully implemented an innovative IAP+IAA self-sustaining business model, launched the game engine and SDK, and became one of the largest crypto-loving cat communities, completing our financing round.

We are now fully prepared to lead our community into the third phase, which includes the realization of our mini-game center and token airdrop, and the transition to a decentralized Catizen Ecosystem.

**You’re now the most successful project in the history of The Open League, winning three consecutive seasons in a row. How did you achieve this? Before this interview, you mentioned your impressive 7% conversion rate of on-chain users. How do you do this? What strategies and unique business models do you employ?**

The Open League evaluates games based on on-chain interactions and Unique Active Wallets (UAW), ensuring a fair assessment of mini-games within the TON ecosystem by considering community quality and on-chain conversions. Catizen has established a strong foundation in these areas.
Even when compared to tap-to-earn mini-games from other ecosystems with a much larger-scale user base, Catizen still stands out in these evaluation metrics. Our Telegram Premium user community has surpassed 2 million members. 

According to Statista, at the beginning of this year, there were approximately 5 million Telegram Premium users, meaning that over 40% of Telegram's paying users are members of the Catizen community. Additionally, we have over 1.5 million on-chain users and more than 550,000 paying users. These users are active and authentic.
The continuous conversion of our high-quality community is attributed to our well-defined product positioning from the outset and a business model that differs from the typical tap-to-earn approach.

By leveraging our rich and professional experience in Web2 mini-games, we understand how to utilize the unique advantages of the TON and Telegram ecosystems. By combining the IAB (In-App Bidding) and IAP (In-App Purchase) models, we have successfully implemented a business model that continuously and stably converts a large user base into a high-quality user group.

At Catizen, we have revolutionized the traditional In-App Advertising (IAA) and In-App Purchase (IAP) business model from Web2, transforming it into a combination of In-App Blockchain (IAB) and IAP. Major Web2 companies such as Google and Tencent have invested billions in training users to watch ads to complete tasks for boosts or additional game props. We have advanced this concept by guiding users through on-chain interactions, educating Web2 users on how to connect wallets, and gradually transitioning them into Web3, leveraging their familiar gaming habits to achieve higher game levels.

In a previous interview with Coindesk, we mentioned that many of our users are attracted not just by airdrops but by the joy of gameplay. Hyper-casual games operate in this manner, and within the Web3 ecosystem, activities such as playing games, purchasing in-game items, and participating in on-chain interactions can provide users with opportunities to earn additional income, thereby offering further incentives. Catizen's healthy revenue stream is due to our simplified IAP model. When users engage with Catizen, they have clear objectives—they aim to climb the leaderboard for higher rankings. To achieve this, they need to purchase Fishcoins (in-game currency) to gain more control over their game progression. 

We have designed Catizen to be straightforward, considering it the starting point of our ecosystem. This ease of use ensures that everyone, whether from Web2 or Web3, can quickly get started. Users can explore the functions of earning Fishcoins, learn to connect to the blockchain, and gain extra boosts. The process encourages users to explore on their own, and it’s simple enough that the transition from playing to purchasing, from Web2 to Web3, from being a regular player to potentially becoming a $CATI Holder, only takes about three clicks. Regular engagement with Catizen will familiarize users with the process.

We established this business model from the inception of Catizen because we recognized that changing business models and user expectations mid-course is challenging. Unlike many mini-apps that follow the meme-way, lacking a sustainable business model post-TGE, Catizen aims to educate users and familiarize them with Web3. This is evidental in our conversion data. Our high-quality user base and strong purchasing power position us well for future growth. 

Catizen's unique approach and deep foresight in building a robust ecosystem, rather than just another clicker game, set us apart. We believe this strategic differentiation is key to our long-term success and our ability to embrace future roadmaps. Our IAP and IAB models are the result of in-depth research and seamless integration into our product, and we're pleased that our community has recognized the value of our assumptions and practices.

**On July 23, you published the news about Binance Labs investing in Pluto Studio, the publisher of Catizen. What does this mean for the future of Catizen?** 

That’s right, we recently announced the financing of our launch platform, Pluto Studio, with investments from TOP, Hashkey, Binance Labs, and Folius Ventures. All investors (TOP, Hashkey, Folius, Binance Labs) will be allocated a certain proportion of the Catizen team's tokens. Without affecting our airdrop economic model, they have chosen to invest in the long-term value of Catizen. 

This type of investment is rare in Web3; most investors, even those with a lock-up mechanism, do not fully align with the team’s interests. However, Pluto's investors stand with the team, moving forward and developing the future together.
We have discussed extensively that our business model and future development are not affected by the airdrop. The airdrop is merely the beginning of opening the entire Catizen ecosystem to the community.


**You’re the first TON project to receive an investment from Binance Labs. Why do you think Binance Labs decided to invest in Pluto?**

Binance Labs' investment in Pluto is primarily aimed at expanding within the TON ecosystem, which is recognized for its immense potential and promising future. From my perspective, the reason Pluto stands out as their first chosen project is due to the in-depth investigation by investors who have identified our distinct advantages over other projects. For instance, our high-quality community conversion model and our team's ability to conduct thorough research on ecosystem characteristics have enabled us to develop smart leveraging skills tailored to the unique features of the TON ecosystem.

Additionally, I believe our game center is another aspect that investors find highly promising. These investors focus on long-term value, so our future roadmap is undoubtedly a key factor in their decision to invest in us. This is another major distinguishing feature of Catizen compared to other mini-games in the ecosystem.

As mentioned previously, our team began developing the Catizen gaming bot in 2023, and it was launched in March 2024, well before Notcoin became globally recognized. During the development period, we conducted several AB tests on different core plays and extensive research within the TON and Telegram ecosystems, aiming for a strong start on TON. From day one, we have differentiated Catizen from all the clicker and tap-to-earn mini apps within the TON ecosystem.

From the technical level to our business model and community distribution, Catizen stands apart from other clickers on the TON chain. Unlike other Telegram Gaming Bots that are built as simple clicker games, we have our own game engine and SDK. While users might not immediately notice these technical differences due to the current focus on short-term airdrops, having our own engine and SDK allows us to establish an ecosystem and evolve into a mini-game hub. As our ecosystem matures, we can rapidly release new games to our community, creating a game matrix. We have already signed over 18 well-established Web2 mini-games, some with strong community bases and others generating substantial revenue. This technical barrier, along with the head-start advantage and our long-term vision, sets us apart significantly. 

Developing within the TON Ecosystem requires mastering its unique language, FunC, which is vastly different from other Web3 languages. Many developer teams are reluctant to invest time in learning a new, complex language in this fast-paced Web3 era. Moreover, we have the first-mover advantage, having focused on the TON ecosystem since 2022, spending over six months refining the Catizen Bot's experience and on-chain interactions.


**Your average revenue per user is almost $30. That’s very impressive. How did you achieve this, and what does it mean for Catizen?**

In fact, our ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is growing at a rate of $1 per week, with the most updated data at 31.02 USD. This number is astounding, especially considering that, according to Token Terminal data, the average ARPU for projects in the crypto space is approximately $0.20 USD. Our ARPU is growing at a rate five times higher than this average each week. For Catizen, this means that we can benchmark ourselves not only against mini-games within the TON ecosystem but also against most crypto and GameFi projects.

Our community of on-chain users and paying users is continuously expanding. This exceptional growth indicates that we have achieved beyond-expected success in Phase 2, laying a solid foundation for leading our community into Phase 3.

**Longevity is the main issue of Web3 games. They often fail to survive long-term and keep their players active and engaged. How will Catizen’s existing advantages be applied to your future plans? How will the mini-game center and Launchpool mutually benefit the community and project partners?**

Longevity issue has not only appeared among web3 gamefi, but also web2 games. In specific, the lifecycle of any mini-game or even a well-crafted game is inherently short. Therefore, Catizen aspires to be more than just a short-lived mini-game, which is why we turned our attention to Web3. 
Web3 is an untapped blue ocean, lacking high-quality communities, experienced game development teams, and a fusion of skilled game developers with seasoned Web3 designers. In many projects with incomplete product models, crypto accelerates their decline. However, in a project with a comprehensive business model, crypto can be the core support that sustains upward development. This is because the user base and the Catizen ecosystem are continually reinforced by robust token incentives.

Pluto Studio is committed to expanding its portfolio of games. We have already contracted 18 games, which will be released soon. These games will cover a variety of genres and incorporate similar Web3 functionalities to engage further and educate our players. 

The 'Launchpool' feature in Catizen is designed to integrate gaming with DeFi principles. It allows players to stake their in-game assets, such as Cats or Fishcoins, to earn rewards over time. This mechanism not only enhances the gaming experience but also educates players about fundamental Web3 concepts like staking and liquidity provision.

How will our community continue to benefit?
Our community’s $CATI holders will receive various incentives:

- **Open Task Rewards:** By completing tasks, $CATI holders can earn tokens or stablecoins from other projects.
Revenue Sharing: A portion of the revenue generated from the mini-game center will be used to buy back tokens, ensuring the stability of the $CATI token value.

- **Game Center and Launchpool Participation:** Once mini-games gain community recognition, they will be added to the Catizen Launchpool. All $CATI holders can participate in the Launchpool by staking their tokens to earn additional tokens from other popular games.

Through these initiatives, we aim to create a robust and rewarding ecosystem for our $CATI holders, driving growth and engagement within the community.

If you understand the scale of traffic and numbers involved, CATIZEN will achieve a very strong cycle. By leveraging the advantages of Web3, Catizen can offer a sustainable and thriving platform far beyond the capabilities of a standard Web2 game, essentially creating a Catizen Gaming Universe where the best mini-games in the world are offered, built around the $CATI token.


**Lastly, you recently announced some game changes that received criticism and negative feedback. Would you like to share something about this with our readers?**

We've received many heartfelt inquiries about the progress of our airdrop, as well as concerns regarding recent changes within Catizen. 

Building a product in the ever-evolving and innovative world of Web3 is no easy task, and not everything can be perfect. We truly value your feedback and are always listening closely to our community. While some updates might seem unsettling now, we believe they are necessary for the long-term benefit of players and the future development of the Catizen Ecosystem.

**Here, we wish to specifically address the concerns raised by our community.**

- **Airdrop Delay:**
Delaying the airdrop was a difficult decision, and we understand the frustration it may have caused. After consulting with our partners, we felt it was the best course of action. Our main priority is to ensure that when the airdrop happens, nearly 27 million Catizen users can be benefited, and CATI holders have plenty of choices and potential. To achieve this, we are doing our best to make it happen:

- **Strategic Partnerships:** In order to secure valuable and expert partners who can provide us with professional advice and support, we have allocated a portion of our team's tokens for financing. 

- **Open SDK & Game Platforms:** To ensure we are fully prepared for the airdrop, we have opened our SDK and gaming platform. Our aim is to be prepared before the airdrop, focusing on long-term value rather than treating $CATI as a mere meme coin, which we think it is crucial for delivering a sustainable tokenomic structure for $CATI’s potential and use case scenarios.

- **Token Distribution Evaluation Integral:** We have divided the in-game props into several different dimensions (vkitty, fishcoin, wCati, xZen). The mechanism was designed to set fair ratios for player engagement and airdrop allocation at each stage, ensuring that every community member benefits equitably.

- **Previous Donations to PETA:**
We have received feedback from the community regarding PETA's past actions of euthanizing animals. In response, we have contacted the PETA team and received the following confirmation:
    1. [PETA has provided an official statement](https://www.peta.org/features/peta-kills-animals-truth/) addressing their past practices of euthanizing animals.
    2. We have confirmed with PETA that all donations from Catizen will be used exclusively for feeding, vaccination, rescue, and adoption assistance.
    3. We will maintain ongoing connections with PETA to monitor the use of our donations and will keep the community updated.

**We value your voice and stand with you! To ensure that our future donations align with our community's values:**
1. Catizen has temporarily suspended the in-bot collaboration with PETA and has halted the next planned donation.
2. We will first observe the impact and feedback from our previous donation before deciding on the next partner for our donations.
3. During this period, we encourage the community to actively report and recommend suitable organizations. All recommendations will be considered as potential partners for our future donations.


TON Innovators: Catizen #2

We all know that feeling when you get a FOMO, and you need to make a quick swap or have a need to make a fast transaction just to realize that your assets are stuck in your wallet as you don't have enough native tokens to pay for the gas fee. It's such a headache–you can't move your assets, and the only way to resolve the issue is to deposit more assets from another wallet or an exchange. 

The Tonkeeper team and the TON Core team of developers working on The Open Network decided to end this obsolete mechanism that hurts the user experience of Web3 and implemented a new solution that is a game-changer to how we interact with the blockchain. 

## **Introducing the W5 Smart Wallet**
We're excited to announce the launch of the W5 Smart Wallet, a groundbreaking development enabling gasless transactions. The W5 wallet introduces a new feature, the so-called gasless transaction. Users can now use USDt for gas fees when sending USDt and Notcoin for gas fees when sending Notcoin. This means you no longer need to hold Toncoin to make transactions, significantly lowering the entry barriers to using the TON Blockchain. 

**The W5 wallet is now live on Tonkeeper and will soon be available on TON Space and MyTonWallet.** Other TON-based wallets are expected to adopt this innovation in the coming months.

> "The W5 Smart Wallet has pushed the boundaries of what's possible on TON blockchain," **said Oleg Andreev, CEO at Tonkeeper.** "Our collaboration with TON Core ensures that users experience unparalleled security, efficiency, and ease of use. This simplicity holds the key to bringing blockchain technology to a mainstream audience and putting crypto in every pocket." 

This milestone showcases the TON Community's commitment to making crypto accessible and user-friendly. With over 5.8 million monthly active on-chain wallets, TON's growing Web3 ecosystem can now offer an efficient, headache-free payment experience, combining the ease of Web2 with the benefits of Web3.


### **Parallel Processing for Better and Faster Batch Transactions**
The W5 smart wallet also offers advanced parallel processing capabilities, allowing you to execute up to 255 transactions simultaneously. Imagine using blockchain to pay subscriptions, or setting up robust security features like two-factor authentication, wallet freezing, and key recovery all at once. This enhanced functionality makes the user experience smoother and more efficient.

> **Anatoliy Makosov, Technical Lead at TON Core, added**, "TON's almost limitlessly scalable architecture, backed by Telegram's unparalleled power as a distribution channel, has the potential to create a paradigm shift for payments. The W5 Smart Wallet is the latest step in this journey, bringing industry-leading affordability, speed, and simplicity to TON."



-----------

With W5 Smart Wallet, we're not just inventing new ways of interacting with the blockchain; we're fixing the issues that have pained the community since blockchain first came into existence. This is yet another step on our journey towards putting crypto in every pocket and enabling mass adoption of Web3 through building easy-to-use and affordable solutions. 

We want to encourage other TON wallet service providers to embrace this solution and integrate it into their wallets as a top priority to ensure that everyone on TON can enjoy the latest benefits and have the same seamless user experience. 


Introducing the W5 Smart Wallet: Evolving Transactions on TON Blockchain

TON Culture Kings is back again! This is where the TON Foundation explores meme coins in the TON Ecosystem. Today, we’ll be talking to Hydra, a coin with a Telegram Mini App that aims to simplify user interactions with the TON Blockchain and breathe new life into the ecosystem NFT market. The Hydra team will join us today to share more about their mission, progress, and future plans.

Let’s dive in to learn more about Hydra’s journey, its community, and what’s on the horizon. The team put a lot of effort into this interview, so grab a coffee or your favorite drink, sit down, and relax. This one is quite long, but we're sure it's worth every second. 

***IMPORTANT:** This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not investment advice.*

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/tg_image_3024337545_f8c0049b3e/tg_image_3024337545_f8c0049b3e.jpeg) 
**Guys, welcome to TON Culture Kings! Can you start by telling us about the inspiration behind the Hydra Project and what motivated you to launch a Mini App?**

We have been working with the TON blockchain for over two years and deeply understand its structure and features. During this time, we have identified many aspects that frustrate us. It is no secret that there are many scammers and idle talkers in the Web3 ecosystem. Hydra Coin's goal comes from the opposite: we aim to create a high-quality product with unique farming mechanics and support projects that have run into difficulties or have been abandoned by their creators.
 
First of all, we do not divide tokens into ‘meme coins’ and ‘serious coins.’ We view each token as a tool. Each of the 65 tokens is our partner, to whom we will give the best utility, namely: extremely profitable earnings on liquidity supply and tight integration into Hydra services.
 
The situation in the NFT market is even more dire. The NFT era will end in 2022, and that ending was tragic for most holders. TON Hydra also has noble goals in this field, and with our game, we want to revive some NFT projects.
 
We have been searching and interviewing specialists for a long time to realize our idea but have only encountered misunderstandings and unscrupulous teams, which resulted in the loss of considerable time and money. Even people deeply involved in the IT sphere could not understand our service's concept or the mechanics of cryptocurrency in general. However, in January 2024, luck smiled on us: DEX DeDust.io was equipped with functionality similar to what we had planned to implement.
 
Currently, the TON blockchain is experiencing a ‘token era’. We have realized that many token holders will soon be left with useless tokens instead of the promised revenue. This is because most teams are either not positioned well or too inexperienced to fulfill the promises they make or are inherently fraudulent and only seek instant profits.
 
Therefore, we developed a unique mechanic for our $HYDRA coin by integrating the DeDust boost mechanism. We are applying a similar approach to our NFT @Hydrant. Together, implementing these ideas will allow many investors to offset the losses incurred in other projects with our infrastructure. Below, we will explain in detail how it all works.

**Can you tell our readers, just for clarity, what exactly a “liquidity-to-earn jetton” is?**

When we say that TON Hydra is a unique project with innovative mechanics, we do it not for the sake of pathos, but because it really is. **And here's why:**

Let's turn to history. Bitcoin mining mechanics was revolutionary for its time, but by today's standards, it is outdated and extremely energy-consuming. The Proof of Work algorithm consumes a significant amount of electricity and requires “meaningless hardware” while showing low KPI metrics. The new generation of cryptocurrencies, such as TON, have offered new mechanics and integrated a more advanced algorithm: Proof of Stake. This algorithm has significantly higher KPIs than PoW and allows investors with small budgets to earn passive income. However, staking has its disadvantages: it provides low returns while not increasing such an important indicator for blockchains as liquidity, and it does not contribute to the development and support of coins created based on this blockchain.
 
TON HYDRA offers an innovative mechanism called Proof of Liquidity (PoL). PoL eliminates the need for significant capital investment for staking, validation, or mining. Liquidity providers receive commissions on exchange transactions and are rewarded with new $HYDRA, making participation in the liquidity pool affordable and attractive to a wider audience. $HYDRA has 65+ liquidity pools with various prospective tokens on the TON platform, with a TVL of $3,000,000 already. TON Hydra encourages each holder of these coins to supply liquidity to any pool. Through this, $HYDRA receives collateral from 65+ third-party coins, each backed by the other 65+ coins, with Hydra serving as a bridge for them. DeDust also automatically reinvests swap fees into the liquidity pool, increasing the share of providers in a particular pool, further incentivizing participation, and increasing returns.
 
In this article, we won't go into exactly how the 65 pools incentivize $HYDRA growth, as this is difficult information for newbies to understand. To that end, we maintain a YouTube channel where we teach users the mechanics of DEX and Hydra. Our video tutorials help the TON audience to easily master the basic processes and effectively utilize the blockchain's capabilities.
 
However, it is worth noting the unique "routing" mechanism of the DeDust exchange, which allows strong tokens to support weak tokens through arbitrage performed by special trading bots. Only Hydra was able to effectively utilize this mechanism to its own benefit, as well as to the benefit of all our affiliated projects. In our team, we call them  “bees” that transfer “honey” (money) from one pool to another, helping to rebalance liquidity. By the way, you can also observe the honeycomb in our logo.
 
All of the above contributes to the fact that Hydra Coin takes the leading position in the number of transactions with tokens.
 
Thus, we created a self-sustaining token that allows users to earn from various cryptocurrency mechanics. Users can observe trading between pools and between DEX and CEX exchanges and capitalize on arbitrage opportunities. You can follow this activity through our affiliate channel: [@Hydra_Radar](https://t.me/Hydra_Radar).

**What kind of feedback have you received from the community about Hydra so far?**

Our project has a [special section on the forum](https://t.me/Ton_HYDRAcoin/28683/28684%20) where users can leave feedback. These reviews are not moderated, and everyone can express their opinion. We welcome constructive and reasoned criticism to help improve our project. We receive most of our feedback during live broadcasts, which we hold several times a week. These broadcasts provide an opportunity for open communication with the audience and prompt feedback.

**Community engagement is crucial for any project’s success. How are you fostering a sense of community among Hydra holders, and what strategies are you using to keep them engaged and excited?**

We hold 10-15 AMA sessions every month, lasting from 2 to 10 hours. These sessions occur on the [main channel](http://t.me/Ton_HYDRA_Community), on [our forum](https://t.me/+VzRDqV3w0e03Yzky), and in two closed chat rooms, one of which already has over 600 active participants, each of whom has paid to participate. During these sessions, each participant can ask questions and express criticism, receiving reasoned answers. We also discuss off-topic topics, which helps to strengthen the community. These events bring the community together significantly, and we are proud of the open and friendly atmosphere we have created with our audience. Many great people have joined our project, making the community even stronger.

**What are some of the key milestones you’ve achieved with Hydra so far?**

1. The cumulative TVL of our coin has exceeded $3,000,000.
2. Hydra Coin's capitalization has reached $160,000,000.
3. Listings have passed:
- [DeDust.io](https://dedust.io/swap/TON/HYDRA)
- [@xRocket](https://t.me/xrocket)
- [@OpenShieldBot](https://t.me/OpenShieldBot)
- [CoinGecko](https://www.coingecko.com), [Dyor.io](https://dyor.io/token/EQD4P32U10snNoIavoq6cYPTQR82ewAjO20epigrWRAup54_), [GeckoTerminal](https://www.geckoterminal.com/ton/pools/EQBF-YYoDy6ue0J4K-v5L_HYzwWCLpwXSLsTFmT7hr2uqHf5), and [OpenViewer](https://viewer.openproject.app/)
- [Tonex](https://tonex.app/nft/market)
- [EXTON](http://t.me/EXTON_SWAP_BOT)
- [TonBubbles](https://tonbubbles.com/)
- [Jetton.vote](https://jetton.vote/)
- At the time of writing, we are verified on [CoinMarketCap](https://coinmarketcap.com/dexscan/ru/ton/EQBF-YYoDy6ue0J4K-v5L_HYzwWCLpwXSLsTFmT7hr2uqHf5/)
4. [Took third place in Open League season 4](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-season-4-results-new-champions-emerge), receiving a prize of $100,000 for the development of our project.
5. Created [@TonHydraBot](https://t.me/TONHydraBot), which simplifies interaction with DEX for inexperienced users.
6. We gave away $20,000 worth of [retrodrops](https://t.me/Ton_HYDRA_Community/67).
7. Over $1,000,000 was mined in 6 months from liquidity pools.
8. [Recorded several tutorial videos on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Hydracoin), and spent more than 250 hours at open AMA conferences, answering all questions about the project and teaching newbies the nuances of our mechanics.

Hydra Coin currently supports about five tokens whose creators cheated and abandoned their audience. Hydra helps holders of these coins convert unprofitable tokens into liquid assets. The first service we partnered with was [@xJetSwapBot](https://t.me/xJetSwapBot). Unfortunately, this service was hacked, and 1,000 Hydra coins have not yet been returned, although, according to our records, the attackers have recovered the stolen funds. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

**You’ve mentioned plans to expand your use of NFT collections. Can you elaborate on how you intend to use NFTs? Which collections in particular do you have your eyes on?**

We are very saddened by the fact that many worthy NFT collections on TON have fallen victim to fraud due to the greed of their founders. These collections, with excellent visuals and a close-knit community, deserve to be supported.
 
We intend to give NFTs real utility. The first collection to be integrated into our ecosystem will be [TON DOODLES](https://getgems.io/collection/EQBdHpUa1u3IVs1b3xfjpSlXVD5lkNsfIcJMqtXu1IJ0rLHK). We plan to integrate other projects in the future for mutual benefit. As part of the initial phase, we will offer the ability to change the skin of the main character using NFT, as well as customize individual NFT attributes directly within the game. Our ambassadors' NFTs will be integrated as additional locations in the game and stylized to the ambassador's project.
 
[HYDRANTS NFTs](https://t.me/hydrant) released by us will provide players with additional bonuses. These NFTs will include a token mining mechanism on our smart contracts and will be integrated into our @farmizen game, providing additional value and functionality to our community members.

**What has been the most memorable moment within the Hydra community so far?**
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/tg_image_2347823986_1713896991/tg_image_2347823986_1713896991.jpeg) 
We have accomplished a lot in such a short period of time and we are proud of what we have achieved. There have certainly been events that have left their mark on our memory, but Hydra is, first and foremost, about the people who create it and the projects that integrate it. In this section, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who helped us overcome difficulties and supported and continues to support our aspirations to create a truly historic project not only within The Open Network but also in the crypto world in general.
 
First and foremost, we extend a special thanks to the DeDust.io exchange for giving us the opportunity to realize such a unique project as Hydra Coin.
 
We express our gratitude to all the teams on TON who support us.
Among them are SCALE, JVault, Raffles, Web3, Lucky, Microdiving, Dyor, Bolt and DHD Holders, Sharks Club, IVS, ScamScore, Potato, Grabs, CAVI, Fish, Kingy and DAO LLama. These teams and members have been with us since the inception of Hydra.
 
Seeing all the support from these teams and their commitment to our project, we realize that we have achieved our goals. Our name and logo symbolize the mythical Hydra, where ruby-shaped heads represent liquidity pools, each representing Hydra's invulnerability and cohesion with partner tokens. With this concept, we will be able to jointly overcome any challenges that are bound to arise on the TON blockchain.
 
We are confident that only by working together can we achieve great heights and overcome all obstacles in our way. Therefore, we feel it is our duty to mention all the teams and people who have made TON Hydra what it is, for they deserve it.

**How about the team behind Hydra? Are you guys doxxed?**

Our CEO, Sonya, is engaged in the most important tasks of strategic development of the project and is responsible for its successful implementation. Under his leadership, the project is steadily developing and reaching new heights. He actively interacts with partners and investors, representing the interests of the project. Ton Foundation has all the detailed information about him.
 
The second member of the team: Ihor.ton (whose text you have been reading for the last ten minutes and who apologizes for his lack of brevity) deals with various tasks related to coordination of the development and design team, provision and validation of their work; writing texts and programs; collaboration issues; development of identity; video/text instructions; and site/channel/chat moderation.
 
Also worth mentioning is our development team from [Taiga.Labs](http://taiga-labs.pro/) - Bauman graduates with excellent discipline and experience in working with startups, which is crucial for effective development in Web3. In particular, thanks to Mikhail for his high professionalism.
 
We are grateful to Kirill for his contribution to the project's development. He successfully negotiates with various projects, popularizes Hydra in the information space, promotes the project on personal media resources, and provides support in project management.
 
We want to emphasize the professionalism and contribution of our illustrator, Artemy, who easily understands all our ideas and provides high-quality and creative work. Thanks to designer Maxyao, who created the illustrations for this article. Special thanks to Andrei from [Microdiving](https://t.me/microdiving) for the high-quality merch with our project's identity!
 
We express our gratitude to our volunteers: Marina, Helena, Victor, Roman, Vladislav, Signor Tomato, Andrey, Rulet, Alexander, Mark Avreliy, Groot, Nikolay, Pill, Michael, Serge Che, Desoto, as well as to AlphaTon community, and many other holders and participants of our project, all of them are the standard of a cohesive community, the analog of which is hard to find on TON!
 
In conclusion, we would like to thank TON Foundation for the opportunity to publish this article. Your support is a key factor in developing our ideas and the TON blockchain ecosystem!

**Have there been any major challenges or setbacks that Hydra has faced? How did the team address these issues, and what lessons did you learn?**

We face difficulties and challenges daily, but that doesn't mean we will back down. Various methods were used against us: threats, blackmail, reports on our channels, and on the founder's account. Every possible “stick in the wheel” has been used against us. But fortunately, our rocket has no wheels, so we continue to move forward calmly and confidently. ;)

**Looking ahead, is there anything else we haven’t already mentioned that the community can expect from Hydra in the near future?**
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/photo_2024_07_22_02_40_11_d993e82b1d/photo_2024_07_22_02_40_11_d993e82b1d.jpeg) 
As we mentioned earlier, we are making a game called [Farmizen](https://t.me/farmizen). While we can't give a lot of details yet, we can share some details. This game will directly interact with DEX mechanics, specifically liquidity provision and swaps. By its design, you can guess the setting and understand how the farmer game will be connected to Hydra Coin mechanics. This implementation will attract a large paying audience that we plan to actively engage with by integrating them into the blockchain and educating them on the possibilities of cryptocurrency through gamification so that their experience will seamlessly transfer to the actual mechanics of working with cryptocurrency.
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/blog_tf_farmizen_fe05360f27/blog_tf_farmizen_fe05360f27.png) 
As for the logo, you can see in [@Farmizen](https://t.me/farmizen) that it is simply an inverted Hydra logo. However, there is a lot more meaning behind it. In addition to the core Hydra concept, the logo features elements of various shapes and sizes to symbolize the islands in our game.

The game's setting includes a system of flying islands on which the player grows various plants. It's not hard to guess that these islands represent Hydra's partner projects.
 
TON Hydra's mission is to provide a service with easy integration for the audience and passive income opportunities. Most people do not yet realize the full promise of the TON blockchain. We believe that many promising services will soon emerge on this blockchain, and we will contribute to this by developing and applying them. Smart contracts on the TON blockchain have greater functionality and flexibility than other blockchains, which allows us to more effectively integrate various DeFi mechanics into the game setting.

We believe that the main breakthrough of the TON blockchain will be in the area of interactive and gaming applications, and Hydra aims to succeed in this area.

**Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring memecoin creators looking to make it big in the TON Ecosystem?**

Don't create projects for the sake of money.


-----------





TON Culture Kings: Hydra

One of the initial long-term visions of The Open Network was to become a “blockchain of blockchains,” integrating the top Web3 services into a single network. Today, we’d like to share with the TON Community our latest step toward this vision: TON Teleport BTC; an upcoming  decentralized, secure, and trustless way to bridge Bitcoin to TON. We want to give Bitcoin holders the trustlessness and security of Bitcoin along with the speed and scalability of The Open Network.

### **What is TON Teleport BTC?**
TON Teleport is a new planned infrastructure project for the ecosystem that allows users to transfer (‘peg-in’ and ‘peg-out’) BTC between the Bitcoin blockchain and TON without relying on central intermediaries. It will use a trustless system for heightened security and autonomy, ensuring that transactions are transparent and free from outside control.

The process will involve users sending their BTC to a specific Bitcoin address unique to each individual user. Once the Bitcoin transaction is confirmed, an equivalent amount of BTC will be issued to the user’s address on TON Blockchain. Users can then use these BTC tokens in various dApps on TON or redeem them for BTC on the Bitcoin network. For the reverse process, users will burn their BTC tokens on TON, which triggers the release and return of their BTC.

The TON Teleport BTC process is trustless and transparent, operating without a centralized issuer. **Each BTC on TON will be 100% backed by actual BTC**, pegged through the teleport process, ensuring secure and reliable transactions. This system automates all operations, from verification to confirmation, via network validators and smart contracts, eliminating the possibility of human error, censorship, or fraud. This automation and lack of intermediaries not only enhance security but also maintain the transparency and freedom of users to manage their cryptocurrency without interference.

In short, the only potential points of failure for Teleport are the Bitcoin and TON blockchains themselves. Security depends entirely on the chains and the accuracy of smart contract algorithms.


### **Key benefits**
- **Enhanced DeFi Integration:** TON Teleport BTC will significantly boost the DeFi sector within TON Blockchain by allowing for new Bitcoin-based financial mechanisms and products like DEXs, lending platforms, and advanced wallet services. Bitcoin will be transformed from just a stored asset on TON into a tool for generating additional returns.

- **Blueprint for Future Integrations:** The architecture of TON Teleport BTC extends beyond just the Bitcoin network, setting a precedent for future systems that could link TON with other EVM-compatible networks and demonstrating its potential for wider blockchain integration. 

### **This will be huge!**
TON Teleport BTC, when implemented, will be a major technical achievement and a vital step toward a more connected and efficient global blockchain ecosystem. It offers a decentralized, secure, and transparent method to integrate Bitcoin into the TON Ecosystem without centralized intermediaries, ensuring there is no censorship or control over asset flow. 

The only vulnerabilities are those inherent to the blockchains themselves, ensuring robust security and immediate token reclaimability. TON Teleport BTC promises to redefine the boundaries of the TON Ecosystem and could kickstart a new era of connectivity and innovation within Web3. 


Introducing TON Teleport: Bringing Bitcoin to TON

Welcome to TON Innovators, our blog series celebrating the cutting-edge projects and brilliant minds within the TON Ecosystem. Today, we feature [Nomis Protocol](https://nomis.cc/), a leading on-chain reputation system that uses Soulbound Tokens ([SBTs](https://github.com/ton-blockchain/TEPs/blob/master/text/0085-sbt-standard.md)) stored in users’ wallets. Nomis Protocol launched on TON on July 4, aiming to revolutionize how user activity is assessed and rewarded.

Nomis Protocol has already seen widespread adoption across major ecosystems like Blast, Scroll,  Linea, LayerZero, zkSync, and Polygon zkEVM. Its scoring solution effectively filters out Sybils, ensuring fair distribution of rewards and safeguarding these ecosystems.

As more users adopt this on-chain reputation system, the TON and Telegram communities will benefit from a stronger, more connected network. With its launch on TON, Nomis Protocol has the potential to redefine digital interaction in the Web3 space, fostering a more trusted and user-centric industry.

*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not investment advice.*

---

**Nomis! Welcome to TON! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your project and how the idea of an on-chain reputation system came about?**

Hey! Thanks for having us! We are extremely proud to become a part of TON Ecosystem and safeguard it with our unique solution. Let’s start from the beginning. 

Before this project, the team collected data from open internet sources and built mathematical models using neural networks. At some point, we questioned the availability and openness of large amounts of information. This led us to analyze blockchain data due to its transparency. 

The first version of our product was designed for DeFi projects to revolutionize loan issuance with excess collateral. We proposed adjusting the collateral amount based on the borrower's score, similar to the real-world process. As the project evolved, we developed a Web3 reputation system that can be applied to a broader range of projects, allowing providers to offer personalized conditions based on the scoring.

**How does the Nomis scoring model work, and what parameters are considered when assigning a score from 0 to 100?**

The Nomis Scoring Algorithm leverages 50+ onchain data points around a wallet and AI-powered mathematical modeling technologies, and sits on an infrastructure connected to 45+ top TVL blockchains and more than 30 data sources, including block explorers, Chainanlysis, HAPI, Greysafe, Snapshot, etc. 

It collects such wallet activity data as:
- Number of deployed smart-contracts
- Wallet balance
- The movement of funds on the wallet
- Total сonfirmed and rejected transactions on wallet 
- Time since the last transaction
- Value of all holding tokens

**What challenges did you face while developing Nomis Protocol, and how did you overcome them?**

Firstly, since no one had comprehensively addressed this issue before us, we essentially created a reputation layer for Web3 from scratch, considering all the features and challenges of such a large-scale task.

We encountered numerous problems, but we successfully resolved them. These included scaling the solution across various blockchains (Multichain Score, Crosschain DeFi Score, LayerZero Score, and others) and efficiently collecting wallet information from multiple sources quickly and comprehensively for scoring.

We also faced non-technical challenges, such as explaining to users (drophunters, degens, or normies) the importance of monitoring their Web3 reputation and its potential impact on them.

A significant amount of organizational, technical, and strategic work has been done to bring Nomis Protocol to its current state.

**How will the integration of Nomis Protocol with TON Blockchain enhance the overall ecosystem?**

We believe that onchain reputation can unite all power users and builders in one place — Web3. Increased onchain actions result in higher ecosystem volume and TVL. The more users contribute, the more they should be rewarded. This cycle determines the success of every project and product.

It's simple: to get a higher TON Score, users need to stay active on chain. This includes collecting unique activity days, making transactions, depositing, withdrawing, and using as many products as possible to sustain TON activity. As a result, TON Ecosystem grows. To reward this activity, we offer TON holders various options to leverage their Score and receive proper rewards. We gather all TON power projects and their offers on our ScoreFront. Just pick an offer and claim your rewards. Rewards are given simply for being a TON Score holder and supporting the ecosystem!

**Can you explain the significance of Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) in Nomis Protocol and how they contribute to user reputation?**

Soulbound Tokens are unique, non-transferable assets tied to individuals. Unlike traditional tokens, SBTs are permanently linked to their owner and cannot be transferred. They are used in personalized rewards and loyalty programs to signify achievements and unlock privileges.

SBTs are also essential for reputation systems, building trust and credibility through users' historical transactions. Nomis Scores are SBTs and Nomis uses it exactly for this purpose.

Minting your Nomis Score means getting the NFT of your onchain activity in your wallet. Each onchain action alters your Score, necessitating updates and re-minting, creating a new Score and NFT.

Nomis Score highlights blockchain's potential beyond finance, offering recognition and rewards to users while serving as a tool for project engagement and management. By aligning user activities with ecosystem rewards, Nomis Score sets a new standard for valuing contributions in the digital age.

**Can you explain how Nomis Protocol protects users and enhances security?**

The Nomis scoring model uses advanced machine learning methods to evaluate various parameters and determine a user's score. This score reflects the user's reputation within the ecosystem and indicates their relative usefulness. 

We do not store any sensitive or personal user data. Additionally, the data we use for scoring is publicly available and visible to everyone. We simply know how to analyze and use it competently.

**Can you share some success stories or case studies where Nomis Protocol has made a significant impact in other ecosystems?**

Nomis is one of the attesters for Linea, providing users with Proof of Humanity. During the Linea Park Campaign, the total value of minted Linea Scores reached $1 million, propelling the Nomis smart contract to the top spot on Linea. Overall, Nomis issued 251,000 attestations through Linea Park.

Additionally, Nomis was an attester for BAS Attestation and ran a solo campaign on Bast to increase its number of unique power users.
Nomis also helped QuickSwap to distribute the $MANTA airdrop among Galxe participants in the QuickSwap campaign using Multichain Score powered by Nomis. 

The team provided a solution with its data analytics and wallet scoring system to reward power users, with additional rewards for those with high onchain activity, effectively deterring Sybils and bots. Thus, Multichain Score holders received extra 10% of $MANTA. 

**How does Nomis Protocol plan to engage and educate the TON and Telegram communities about the benefits of on-chain reputation systems?**

Nomis is a protocol, meaning it can be utilized for various scenarios in permissionless yet trustless ways by anyone or any project. While it has been primarily used for Sybil prevention, our broader vision is to ensure fair rewards distribution for contributors, early adopters, and active participants. In line with this, we developed ScoreFront — our own product built on the top of the protocol. This platform allows Nomis Score holders to convert their onchain reputation and crypto traction into eligibility for a wide range of rewards: airdrops, whitelists, points multipliers, discounts, unique access, rates, powers, and many more. Essentially, the higher your Score, the better your chances of receiving personalized and beneficial experiences, acknowledging you as a real power user. 

Our primary goal in deploying on TON was to deliver meaningful and personalized experiences for TON Score holders from the very beginning. The launch of the protocol wouldn’t have been as impactful for ordinary users without the adoption by the ecosystem projects. These integrations provide rewarding experiences by ScoreFront offerings, and also enhance security and efficiency for end users of other dApps. Here are notable projects utilizing our solution: StormTrade, Aqua Protocol, STON.fi, Nimbus, DeDust, Tonkeeper, Addickted, DeGuard, Wonnie, XYRO, DAOPEOPLE, Pumpers, Campfire, with many more to come in the following months!

In summary, Nomis Protocol, through ScoreFront, engages and educates the TON and Telegram communities by highlighting the benefits of onchain reputation systems and offering valuable experiences and rewards for active Web3 participants.

**What future developments or features can we expect from Nomis Protocol after its launch on TON?**

First, we aim to expand the impact of TON Score on the TON Ecosystem, enabling most protocols to use it to protect their users and distribute value more equitably. To achieve this, we are actively pursuing various partnerships.

Additionally, beyond the Nomis’ TON Score, projects will establish an ecosystem where user reputation is paramount. We provide the necessary infrastructure, handling the most challenging aspects of user scoring.

Regarding our future developments, we have prepared our own quest platform. On this platform, we plan to launch a global ecosystem quest for TON. This quest will attract projects from the ecosystem interested in high-quality, engaged users, as well as users from other ecosystems with whom we have successfully interacted for some time. These users will be encouraged to explore TON and its ecosystem projects.

We also created Web3Social Score for Cyber that scores activity on Base, Ethereum, Blast, and even Farcaster. Similar to this Score, we plan to create a Social Score that reflects the social activity of users, influencers, and channel owners. Drawing from our relevant experience, we aim to offer all parties the opportunity to monetize their Social Score through various mechanisms, including gamification.

This initiative, we believe, will attract more attention to TON and drive mass adoption.

**What advice would you give to other developers looking to build on TON, especially those interested in creating socially-oriented solutions like Nomis?**

Start developing now while the TON ecosystem is still growing. This is the perfect time to build on TON. Integrate Nomis Score into your applications to reward your most active users, and they will bring you even more benefits. Contact us; we are always open to collaborations and partnerships!

TON Innovators: Nomis

As the TON and Telegram ecosystem rapidly grows in popularity, with [over 38 million accounts now active](https://www.tonstat.com/), the increased interest brings greater risks. Scams and malicious actors are targeting the influx of new, inexperienced users, aiming to exploit the work TON and Telegram have done to make crypto accessible to everyone. While crypto offers exciting opportunities, it’s essential to stay aware of potential risks, even in the safest ecosystems.
Today, we’ll guide you through the most common scams and share tips on how to protect yourself. 

By staying informed, you can enjoy the benefits of TON and Telegram without worry.

## Common scams to watch out for

- [Friend in Need](https://news.sky.com/story/whatsapp-users-urged-to-be-wary-over-friend-in-need-scam-12465434): Scammers impersonate friends or family, urgently asking for money. Always verify their identity.
 
- [Phishing](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams): Fake websites mimic real ones to steal login details. Verify URLs and avoid unsolicited links.
 
- [Investment Scams](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/investment-scams): These scams are very common in crypto generally, they promise high returns without proof. Research thoroughly; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
 
- [Fake Surveys](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/investment-scams): Offers of prizes for participating in surveys to steal personal info. Avoid sharing details with unknown surveyors.
 
- [Fake Job Offers](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams): Attractive job ads asking for personal info or payments. Verify through official channels.
 
- [Classified Ad Scams](https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/Publications/InternetClassifiedScams.asp): Fake listings directing you to fraudulent Telegram bots to steal info.
 
- [Pump and Dump](https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/Publications/InternetClassifiedScams.asp): Groups manipulate crypto prices for profit, leaving others with losses. Always research and verify investment advice.
 
- [Romance Scams](https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/romance-scams): Online relationships where scammers request money or personal information. Be cautious with online acquaintances asking for money.

## Beware of Toncoin pyramid schemes

Telegram’s support for TON Blockchain has unfortunately attracted scammers looking to exploit unsuspecting users. Here's a detailed breakdown of the scam:

- **Set Up**: Scammers send a link to an “exclusive earning program” that seems to come from friends or contacts. They prompt users to join an unofficial Telegram bot, falsely claiming it is for storing cryptocurrency.
- **Investment**: Users are instructed to buy Toncoin through legitimate channels like [Wallet](https://wallet.tg/), P2P markets, or crypto exchanges. This adds false credibility. Once purchased, users must transfer their Toncoin to the scam bot.
- **Boosters**: Victims are pressured to buy “boosters” via a separate bot, costing between 5 to 500 Toncoin. At this point, users lose their cryptocurrency.
- **Recruitment**: Scammers promote a referral program, asking users to create private Telegram groups and invite friends. They promise earnings from a fixed payment of 25 TON per referral and commissions based on the boosters bought by referrals.

In reality, this is a classic pyramid scheme. The scammers make money while everyone else loses their investment.

Stay vigilant and only use official channels to manage your Toncoin.

## How to keep yourself safe

To protect yourself from online scams and ensure the security of your Telegram account, follow these essential steps:

- **Enable Two-Step Verification on Telegram**: Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Two-Step Verification to add extra security to your account.
- **Verify Contacts**: Be wary of unsolicited messages asking for personal information or money. Confirm the sender’s identity through other means.
- **Review Telegram Account Activity Regularly**: Go to Settings > Devices > Active Sessions to check for unknown devices or sessions logged into your account.
- **Report Suspicious Activity**: If you encounter a scam, [report](https://t.me/notoscam) it to Telegram.
- **Avoid Get-Rich-Quick Schemes**: Be cautious of schemes, even if promoted by friends or family—they might be unaware victims.
- **Never Transfer Cryptocurrency to Unknown Wallets**: Always verify the recipient before transferring cryptocurrency to avoid scams.

Staying safe in TON and Telegram requires vigilance and awareness. By recognizing common scams and following these security tips, you can protect your assets and personal information. Always verify sources, be skeptical of too-good-to-be-true offers, and use only official channels for transactions. By staying informed and cautious, you can enjoy the benefits of TON and Telegram without falling victim to fraud!

How to stay safe on TON & Telegram

The Open Network (TON) is growing like no other ecosystem in history. With over USD$580,000,000 in circulation, USDt on TON is already the fastest-growing stablecoin ever. Although everyone at TON Foundation is proud of our ecosystem’s growth, we are not satisfied. Last month, we introduced the world to our ambitious plans of making USDt on TON accessible to everyone, everywhere. Today, we're excited to bring you the first updates on this journey and share that over 60 new partners are supporting Tether USDT on The Open Network. 

The main driver behind this initiative is our hunger for freedom. We're dedicated to providing accessibility and ownership to people worldwide. USDt on TON combines the speed and security of TON Blockchain with the trust and notoriety of the US dollar. This record-breaking asset allows everyone to earn, spend, and transfer their value at their free will. Our integrations and collaborations prove that builders and enterprises around the world also believe in a world where currency may be free from unreasonable requirements, bereft of unnecessary barriers to entry, and enjoyed as easily as sending a text.

Below is a list of our first set of over 60 projects and platforms from around the world that support and have integrated USDt on TON. 


#### **Centralized Exchanges**
- [Aliniex](https://www.aliniex.com/)
- [Binance](https://www.binance.com/)
- [BIT](https://www.bit.com/)
- [Bitfinex](https://www.bitfinex.com/)
- [BitPoint Japan](https://www.bitpoint.co.jp/)
- [ByBit](https://www.bybit.com/)
- [C-Patex](https://www.c-patex.com/)
- [CoinDCX](https://coindcx.com/)
- [CoinOne](https://coinone.co.kr/)
- [Cryptal](https://cryptal.com/)
- [Flipster](https://flipster.io/)
- [Gate.io](https://www.gate.io/)
- [Gate.io Turkey](https://www.gate.io/tr)
- [KuCoin](https://www.kucoin.com/)
- [MEXC](https://www.mexc.com/)
- [OKX Global](https://www.okx.com/)
- [OKX Turkey](https://www.okx.com/tr)
- [ONUS](https://onus.finance/)

#### **DeFi & Decentralized Exchanges**
- [DeDust](https://dedust.io/)
- [EVAA](https://evaa.io/)
- [Mars](https://www.marsprotocol.io/)
- [Ston.fi](https://ston.fi/)
- [TON Diamonds](https://tondiamonds.com/)

#### **Onramps (Buy & Sell)**
- [Alchemy Pay](https://www.alchemypay.org/)
- [Alpyne](https://alpyne.io/)
- [Avanchange/Dreamwalkers](https://avanchange.com/)
- [Banxa](https://banxa.com/)
- [Changelly](https://changelly.com/)
- [ChangeNOW](https://changenow.io/)
- [Coinet.ge](https://coinnet.ge/)
- [FonBank](https://fonbank.io/)
- [Guardarian](https://guardarian.com/)
- [Mercuryo](https://mercuryo.io/)
- [MoonPay](https://www.moonpay.com/)
- [Neocrypto](https://neocrypto.io/)
- [Onramp.money](https://onramp.money/)
- [Ramp](https://ramp.network/)
- [Transak](https://transak.com/)
- [Transfi](https://transfi.com/)
- [Unlimit Crypto](https://crypto.unlimit.com/)
- [Utorg](https://utorg.pro/)

#### **Wallets**
- [Bitget Wallet](https://www.bitget.com/)
- [Coin98 Wallet](https://coin98.com/)
- [CryptoBot](https://cryptobot.com/)
- [Defexa](https://defexa.io/)
- [Ledger](https://www.ledger.com/)
- [MyTonWallet](https://mytonwallet.org/)
- [SafePal](https://www.safepal.io/)
- [Tangem](https://tangem.com/)
- [TonHub](https://tonhub.com/)
- [Tonkeeper](https://tonkeeper.com/)
- [Wallet in Telegram](https://telegram.org/wallet)
- [xRocket](https://xrocket.io/)

#### **Other**
- [Elliptic](https://www.elliptic.co/) - Blockchain analytics
- [Copper](https://copper.co/) - Custodian
- [Gamefi.org](https://gamefi.org/) - LaunchPad
- [Gregorian](https://gregorian.co/) - MarketMaker
- [iVendPay](https://ivendpay.com/) - Payments
- [Mantle Network](https://mantle.network/) - Infrastructure
- [Oobit](https://oobit.com/) - Payments
- [Smartpay](https://smartpay.com/) - Payments, Onramp
- [TokenTerminal](https://tokenterminal.com/) - Onchain data
- [Travala](https://www.travala.com/) - Travel
- [Uquid](https://www.uquid.com/) - Marketplace

### **How To Get Involved**
Your participation and feedback are essential as we continue to roll out these integrations. Want to join us on our journey? Stay informed, get involved, and spread the word.

[Follow us on Telegram](https://t.me/toncoin) and [X](https://x.com/ton_blockchain) to keep up with our integration roadmap updates. Be the first to learn about new partnerships and their benefits for you. Explore how you may use USDt on TON with our partners and demonstrate the strength of the TON Ecosystem for yourself. Your experience will help shape the future of Web3. We’re putting crypto in every pocket, so don’t keep it to yourself! Share the experience with your friends because the more people who know about the benefits of USDt on TON, the stronger our community will become. 


USDt on TON is Expanding Horizons with Over 60 New Integrations

Decentralized games are transforming the landscape of the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. Unlike their centralized counterparts, these games offer transparency, greater monetization opportunities, and increased earning potential for players.

Distinguished by its rapid transaction processing, low costs, and a rich array of tools that increase player engagement, TON serves as a robust platform for decentralized gaming.

In this article, we’ll discuss the key benefits and practical use cases of TON and demonstrate how it can elevate the gaming experience and offer developers and players alike new opportunities for innovation and profit.

## Key reasons for building decentralized games on TON

The development of decentralized games on top of TON Blockchain offers a suite of advantages for businesses and developers aiming to redefine the gaming landscape.

Let’s take a look at the key reasons why TON is becoming a preferred platform for decentralized gaming.

### Integration with Telegram

TON's integration with Telegram provides access to over 900 million monthly active users, enabling the quick and easy launch of games directly on Telegram, in contrast to traditional app stores. 

On operating systems like iOS and Android, users typically go through multiple steps, such as downloading and authorizing. Conversely, TON-based games on Telegram allow users to start playing immediately by simply opening the bot or game directly or through the Telegram Apps Center.

### Robust user acquisition and retention tools

Leveraging TON and Telegram, you get a comprehensive set of tools designed to enhance user retention and improve their experience within your game. Some of these tools include:

- **Telegram Apps Center**, a one-stop destination for a variety of tools, utilities, and games, all integrated within Telegram’s ecosystem.
- **Telegram ads** allow for executing ad campaigns across almost any channel on Telegram, advertising your game to millions of users.
- **Notifications** can be sent directly within the messenger to ensure higher open rates compared to native push notifications in games.

These tools are tailored to keep players actively participating within the game environment, thereby helping you maintain a vibrant user base.

### Fast and cost-effective blockchain

TON Blockchain is recognized for its high speed. It is capable of processing over 100,000 transactions per second while keeping fees low. These features are essential for maintaining the performance and scalability of decentralized games, especially when handling the high throughput of player interactions.

### Diverse monetization opportunities

TON provides a variety of monetization strategies for developers, from in-app ads and the integration of non-fungible tokens that players can trade and sell, to the creation of in-game economies that mirror real-world economic principles. This opens up diverse revenue streams and boosts the financial viability of your game projects.

### Simplicity and accessibility

TON is a user-friendly and accessible blockchain, which is crucial for mass adoption, especially within the gaming sector.

For GameFi Web3 developers and gamers alike, TON offers a comprehensive toolkit, making it ideal for those looking to transition into the world of decentralized gaming.

## How TON is transforming decentralized gaming experiences

**TON use cases for decentralized gaming**

- Play-to-Earn games
- Ensuring the safety and security of gaming items
- Interconnected gaming universes
- Decentralized gaming tournaments

There are plenty of TON use cases that enhance player experiences and guarantee a high level of security.

Let’s take a closer look at each.

### Play-to-Earn games

The Play-to-Earn model allows players to earn real-world value through gaming achievements, such as acquiring unique digital assets or earning cryptocurrency for their in-game activities. TON's fast transaction speeds and low fees make it an ideal platform for these types of games, ensuring that players can earn and trade without prohibitive costs.

### Ensuring the safety and security of in-game items

In decentralized gaming, the security and protection of in-game assets, often representing significant time investment and real-world value, is crucial.

TON for its part provides robust security features that protect these assets on the blockchain. Items and currencies are stored in decentralized ledgers, which prevents them from hacks and fraud.

This undoubtedly builds trust among players, as they feel secure investing their time and resources in the game.

### Interconnected gaming universes

The interoperability of TON allows for cross-game compatibility, where assets or achievements in one game can be utilized in another.

Such a high level of interoperability creates some promising opportunities for developers and enables them to create expansive and interconnected gaming universes that increase the longevity and engagement of each game.

### Decentralized gaming tournaments

Leveraging TON to organize and manage decentralized gaming tournaments can help you streamline operations and increase transparency. You can manage payouts, participant tracking, and rule enforcement through the blockchain, thus providing fairness and reducing the potential for disputes.

## What are the most popular games on TON?

TON Blockchain has quickly become a vibrant ecosystem for decentralized gaming that hosts a plethora of state-of-the-art games.

Let's delve into some of the most popular examples that are defining the gaming experience on TON.

- **Notcoin**: A Tap-to-Earn game, enabling players to earn tokens by tapping
- **Catizen**: A Play-to-Airdrop game, where players breed cats to earn $CATS tokens 
- **Fanton Fantasy Football**: A Play-to-Earn game, where players assemble football teams and earn rewards

### 1. Notcoin

Notcoin was a simple yet engaging Tap-to-Earn game on Telegram that quickly became popular for its ease of play and enjoyable mechanics.

Players earned tokens by tapping, and their achievements were tracked in league rankings. They could also form squads by joining Telegram channels and chats, tackle various tasks, and climb the leaderboards.

The gameplay was improved with boosts and the ability to invite friends, which not only increased potential earnings but also improved user engagement.

### 2. Catizen

Catizen is an engaging Play-to-Airdrop game that blends elements of the metaverse, GameFi, and AI. The gameplay involves breeding cats by dragging them on top of each other to increase their levels and earn $CATS tokens. Players can also fish to earn Fish tokens, which are used for in-game boosts and upgrades.

In Catizen, players can purchase boosts to accelerate cat breeding, acquire new cats, and enhance their overall experience. The game’s shop allows the purchase of $CATS and Fish tokens for TON.

As players mine more tokens, they progress through different leagues, including Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond, reflecting their achievements.

### 3. Fanton Fantasy Football

Fanton Fantasy Football is the first play-to-earn game integrated with Telegram. In this game, players assemble a team consisting of five football players: a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder, a forward, and a substitute. The performance of these players in actual football matches determines the points they earn in the game.

Players rack up points through various on-field actions, such as scoring goals, assisting in goals, making saves, and other significant contributions. Users whose teams garner the most points have the opportunity to win valuable prizes, including cryptocurrencies and NFTs. This makes every match an exciting and potentially rewarding experience

### Summing up

TON Blockchain has firmly established itself as a robust and versatile platform for decentralized gaming that offers a wealth of benefits transforming the gaming industry.

Due to its seamless integration with Telegram, TON greatly simplifies game launches, making it easier than ever to get games off the ground. Plus, its advanced user acquisition and retention tools give developers the capabilities they need to create engaging and profitable decentralized gaming experiences.

If you are interested in diving deeper into the development of decentralized games on the TON platform, check out [this detailed documentation](https://docs.ton.org/develop/dapps/tutorials/building-web3-game) to guide you through the process and explore further possibilities.

TON Use Cases: Building Decentralized Gaming Experiences

What's cooking, TON Community? Season 4 of The Open League has wrapped up, and what an exciting season it was! We saw some fresh faces claim victory while our seasoned pros held their ground. Everyone brought their A-game.

The winners are set to get their well-deserved prizes, so it's time to introduce you to the best-of-the-best of TOL Season 4.

## **Final Rankings for The Open League Season 4**
This season, we tracked four leagues – Token, App, NFT, and DeFi. Below are the final leaderboard snapshots as of the official end of the season.
The rankings are based on various metrics for each category, mainly the number of holders, TVL, DEX activity, and distribution.

### **App Battle**
The two leading spots remain unchanged, with **Catizen** and **Yescoin** dominating the leaderboard, followed by **MomoAI**, **Vertus**, **SquidTG**, **TON Punks**, and **Gleam** tailing the top seven. These seven teams will share a total of $500,000 based on their league placement. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/app_719cbe22a9/app_719cbe22a9.png) 

### **Token League**
The token league brought us a few new faces, with **REGI** surprisingly dominating the leaderboard, followed by **NOT**, **HYDRA**, **STON**, **COFE**, **RECA**, and **MITTENS**. These seven teams will also share $500,000 in rewards. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/token_a70f440999/token_a70f440999.png) 

### **NFT League**
In this brand-new category, we’ve opened the competition to NFT projects. This season’s best three are **TON Frogs**, **Market Makers**, and **TON Diamonds**. The three best teams will share a total of $50,000. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/nft_962f5775e6/nft_962f5775e6.png) 

### **DeFi League**
Another new leaderboard dedicated to DeFi has seen just six competitors, with **DeDust** coming out at the top, followed by **EVAA**, **Storm Trade**, **Ston.fi**, **DAOLama**, and **Tradoor**. This league shared a total of $150,000.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/defi_38a4914855/defi_38a4914855.png) 

## **The Open League: Season 5**
**Season 5 kicks off on July 10 at 11 am UTC!** Applications are open now and close on July 3 at 11 am UTC. Details on the prize pool, LP boost size, duration, and methodology are coming soon. Stay tuned; it's going to be epic!

The top 10 projects from the Token Battle are in for a significant opportunity! They can snatch an LP boost for their liquidity providers in Season 5, but they need to meet the usual benchmarks:
- be ready to match the boost with your own token
- have an active token mining mechanism
- maintain a TVL of $200k+ in pairs with TON, stablecoins, and staked TON

Keep an eye out, as meeting these criteria could supercharge your project's growth in the next season!

<button href="https://ton-org.notion.site/How-to-submit-your-application-on-TONResearch-c9827f6f60fc4f64b6e8701a96643044?pvs=74" passutmsource="true">
Apply to The Open League
</button >
<br/> 

The Open League Season 4 Results: New Champions Emerge!

You might know Telegram as a popular messaging app, but in reality it's much more than that. 

From automatic responses and daily news digests to tracking your investment portfolio or translating languages, Telegram has evolved into a comprehensive platform for businesses and brands.

One of the most exciting developments on Telegram is the introduction of decentralized applications (dApps) known as Telegram Mini Apps. The applications have all the chances to bring blockchain technology into the mainstream.

In this article, we’ll explore whether Telegram Mini Apps are a worthwhile venture for developers and businesses, discuss the advantages they bring, and offer step-by-step advice on how to craft your own Mini App on TON Blockchain.

## Basics first: What are Telegram Mini Apps?

Telegram Mini Apps are decentralized applications that extend the functionality of Telegram beyond basic messaging, enabling a wide range of additional services directly within the chat interface.

Mini Apps represent a natural evolution of the traditional bot platform. They enhance it by offering a web interface that feels much like an ordinary website, making them more flexible than typical chatbots.

Users can interact with Mini Apps to perform various tasks such as making payments, playing games, managing finances, or even booking appointments without ever leaving the Telegram platform.

Designed to be both powerful and user-friendly, Mini Apps leverage the blockchain technology of TON to ensure security and decentralization.

## Is it worth building a Telegram Mini App?

Developing a Telegram Mini App opens up many exciting possibilities, enabling you to effectively grow and engage your community.

#### Key benefits of building Telegram Mini Apps

- Active user base
- Comprehensive ecosystem
- Easy onboarding
- Streamlined user acquisition
- Enhanced functionality
- Bot interaction
- Effective monetization opportunities

### Active user base

Telegram ranks as the world's third-largest messenger app by monthly downloads. With a community of over 900 million monthly active users globally, your Mini App can tap into a ready and diverse audience. This gives you multiple opportunities to introduce your services or product to a wide range of interest groups.

### Comprehensive ecosystem

The Telegram Mini Apps ecosystem offers a suite of tools for community growth and engagement, integrating seamlessly within the Telegram interface. This makes it easier to build and manage communities, run incentive campaigns, hold competitions, or create meaningful interactions to meet your growth targets.

Plus, the versatility of Mini Apps keeps users coming back. They support various user interface features like pop-ups, a navigational "back" button, and haptic feedback, improving the user experience.

### Easy onboarding

The familiarity of the Telegram platform significantly reduces user acquisition costs. Users can seamlessly transition to leveraging new Mini Apps, minimizing the typical barriers associated with adopting new technologies.

### Streamlined user acquisition

The inherent design of Mini Apps facilitates viral mechanics for user acquisition. Users engaged with one app are likely to discover and transition to others within the platform, driven by shared interests. This organic connectivity keeps users engaged and broadens the reach of each Mini App, boosting the success of the entire ecosystem.

### Enhanced functionality

Telegram Mini Apps provide a diverse array of functions, serving multiple uses like gaming, content distribution, and productivity improvements, among others. These apps broaden the scope of what Telegram can do, moving it beyond simple messaging. 

They feature smooth authorization processes, integrated payments through 20 payment providers, including Google Pay and Apple Pay, and the ability to send customized push notifications to users.

### Bot interaction

Telegram Mini Apps frequently utilize Telegram bots to deliver interactive and automated experiences. These bots can react to user inputs, execute tasks, and facilitate interactions within the Mini App, enhancing user engagement.

### Effective monetization opportunities

Telegram Mini Apps offer various monetization methods, such as in-app purchases, subscription models, and advertising. These options make them appealing to both businesses and developers.

## Tips on creating Telegram Mini Apps

With Mini Apps, developers have the capability to use JavaScript to design highly flexible interfaces that can be launched directly within Telegram. These interfaces can functionally replace traditional websites, offering a seamless and integrated user experience.

Below is a detailed step-by-step guide to help you develop your own Mini App on Telegram.

### Step 1. Analyze the platform and developer resources

Before diving into development, take some time to research the Telegram platform, including its capabilities and limitations. Telegram also has [comprehensive documentation](https://docs.telegram-mini-apps.com/packages/tma-js-create-mini-app) that provides in-depth guidance on creating Mini Apps, giving you a solid foundation to build upon.

There are also plenty of Mini Apps SDKs available to streamline your development process. For example, you can use [tma.js/sdk](https://docs.telegram-mini-apps.com/packages/tma-js-sdk). Crafted from scratch, this TypeScript library improves communication with Telegram Mini Apps. It is designed to simplify developers’ interaction with Mini Apps by dividing the process into distinct components, each catering to a specific aspect of the Telegram Mini Apps ecosystem.

### Step 2. Design your Mini App

Design the interface and user experience of your Mini App, ensuring it aligns well with Telegram’s established design principles.

These principles include:

- **Mobile-first and responsive design**. Every element should be crafted to be responsive to accommodate the primary way users interact with Telegram.
- **Harmony with existing UI components**. Interactive elements should mimic the style, behavior, and purpose of existing UI components within Telegram to deliver a coherent user experience.
- **Fluid animations**. Ensure that all animations are fluid, aiming for a smooth 60 frames per second.
- **Accessibility**. All inputs and images should be labeled appropriately to make the app usable for everyone, including those who rely on assistive technologies.
- **Dynamic color adaptation**. The app should offer a seamless experience by adapting to the dynamic theme-based colors from the API, ensuring visual consistency with Telegram.

### Step 3. Start building your Telegram Mini App

Building a Telegram Mini App involves developing three essential components: FunC-based smart contracts, a web frontend, and a Telegram Bot.

#### Create a Telegram Bot

You’ll need to create a Telegram Bot to get started. This is done through [BotFather](https://t.me/botfather), Telegram’s own bot that helps you create and manage other bots.

Simply search for BotFather in Telegram, start a conversation, and use the `/newbot` command to begin the creation process.

After setting these up, BotFather will give you an access token, which you can further use to authenticate your interactions with the Telegram API.

To delve deeper into setting up the bot, [here](https://core.telegram.org/bots/tutorial) is a useful resource.

#### Set up your development environment

Choose an integrated development environment (IDE) that supports the development languages and frameworks you intend to use. You’ll also need to pick up a framework or library that simplifies the handling of Telegram API interactions.

The Telegram community developed a whole range of language-specific libraries, including Telegraf for PHP and Node.js, Java API, python-telegram bot, and more. You can find a complete list [here](https://core.telegram.org/bots/samples).

#### Start coding

If your Mini App involves transactions or needs decentralized features, you’ll need to integrate **smart contracts**. This involves using the [FunC language](https://docs.ton.org/develop/func/overview) for smart contracts on TON and integrating these contracts with your Mini App.

For Mini Apps that require a more complex user interface or additional functionalities that go beyond basic bot interactions, you should develop a **web frontend**. This component can be built using React, JavaScript, CSS, and other technologies, and is designed to run within the Telegram app, providing a seamless user experience. Keep in mind that the frontend must be responsive and optimized for mobile devices.

#### Step 4. Implement your Telegram Mini App

The next step is to implement ways for users to launch and interact with your app. Telegram supports six different methods for launching Mini Apps, each catering to various user behaviors and scenarios. Here's how you can implement these options:

- **Keyboard button**. Mini Apps initiated from a **web_app** type [keyboard button](https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#keyboardbutton) can transmit data back to the bot as a service message via Telegram.WebApp.sendData. This enables the bot to generate responses directly, without the need for interactions with external servers.
- **Inline button**. Involves utilizing a **web_app** type [Inline KeyboardButton](https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#inlinekeyboardbutton), which gathers basic user data and can be used to send messages on behalf of the user to the chat with the bot.
- **Menu button**. Allows for launching from a customized menu button, which offers a quicker way to access the Mini App and functions identically to launching from an inline button.
- **Inline mode**. Mini Apps launched via a **web_app** type [InlineQueryResultsButton](https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#inlinequeryresultsbutton) can be used in any chat through inline mode. This allows users to create content within a web interface and then seamlessly send it directly to the current chat.
- **Direct link**. It’s possible to launch a Mini App from a direct link in any current chat.
- **Attachment menu**. Mini App Bots can be configured to appear directly in a user's attachment menu, enabling quick and easy launch from any chat.

#### Step 5. Initialize and test your Mini App

Once you’ve built and implemented your Mini App, you need to initialize and thoroughly test it to ensure it functions correctly and offers a seamless user experience.

To thoroughly test and resolve app-specific issues in your Mini App, here are the tools and steps you should use for different platforms:

**For Android:**

1. Enable USB-Debugging on your device. 
2. In the Telegram Settings, scroll to the bottom and press and hold on the version number twice. Then, choose '*Enable WebView Debug*' in the Debug Settings.
3. Connect your phone to your computer and navigate to *chrome://inspect/#devices* in Chrome. Your Mini App will appear there when launched on your phone.

**For Telegram Desktop on Windows and Linux:**

1. Download and launch the Beta Version of Telegram Desktop on Windows or Linux (this feature is not supported on Telegram Desktop for macOS yet).
2. Go to Settings > Advanced > Experimental settings and then enable webview inspection.
3. Right-click in the WebView within your Mini App and choose '*Inspect*' to begin debugging.

**For Telegram macOS:**

1. Start by downloading and launching the Beta Version of Telegram macOS.
2. To open the debug menu, quickly click 5 times on the Settings icon. From there, enable “*Debug Mini Apps*.”
3. Right-click in the Mini App and choose '*Inspect Element*' to examine and debug the app.

## Summing up

Building a Telegram Mini App opens up numerous opportunities for business growth, community engagement, and technological innovation. 

The platform's large and active user base, combined with its versatile and developer-friendly environment, makes it an ideal space for deploying applications that can drive user interaction and satisfaction.

For more detailed information on the development of Telegram Mini Apps, check out the following documentation:

https://core.telegram.org/bots/webapps 

https://docs.ton.org/develop/dapps/telegram-apps/


How to Create Your Telegram Mini Apps

Welcome to another thrilling edition of TON Culture Kings, where we dive into the wild world of memecoins and community projects on TON Blockchain. Today, we’re pumped to spotlight $ARBUZ, another well-known token that’s making waves in the TON Ecosystem by offering a fresh and fun way for users to earn juicy rewards.

In this interview, we’ll peel back the rind on $ARBUZ, exploring its origins and what’s next for the project. So grab a slice, sit back, and let's get into the sweet, sweet world of $ARBUZ! 🍉

**IMPORTANT:** *This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not investment advice.*

## **TON Culture Kings: ARBUZ**

**Guys, welcome to TON Culture Kings. Alright, spill the seeds—how did $ARBUZ get started?**

The name ARBUZ (watermelon) came from my past experience. In Russia, there is a law prohibiting the sale of watermelons cut in half. At one time, as a student, I wrote about it on the internet, and one of my subscribers called me the "watermelon chief" after drawing attention to the article. This inspired me to organize a watermelon festival and then create the token $ARBUZ.

**How does $ARBUZ stand out among other memecoins on TON Blockchain? Any secret ingredients?**

ARBUZ stands out because of his total commitment to the community, we gave away all the coins to people. First, it started its bidding exclusively on [xRocket](https://t.me/xrocket?start=i_none), with no DEX involvement. Secondly, the entire issue was given to the user and they determined the price themselves. This meant that there were no rules or restrictions. In order to get tokens, I had to purchase them together with other participants.

**So, what’s the deal with Arbuz Fest? Give us the lowdown on the main activities and rewards.**

The essence of the Arbuz Festival was the following: participants who received $ARBUZ were faced with the question of what to do with it. The festival became a learning platform, allowing them to understand how wallets and liquidity pools work on TON. Guests from the Web2 world quickly became familiarized and delved deeper into the process.

It was a sort of introduction of people to cryptocurrencies, as the check that drew them into the channel was like a pass to a new area. Just like what's happening with Notcoin nowadays, people were coming in and exploring the TON Ecosystem.

**What are some of the fan-favorite Arbuz Fest tasks, and how do they work?**

The easiest task was to send 1 TON to the wallet every day to earn 10 festival watermelons. Within a few months, this simple activity became a routine, and people started every morning by getting watermelons.

Later came ARBUZ Clicker, which gained popularity among people, and many began to perform tasks that appeared in it. The community realized that they wanted to have their own watermelon app, and they just made it.

**The $ARBUZ community seems super active and engaged. What’s your secret sauce for keeping everyone so pumped?**

Fun and joy is something that unites us all. Our project started as an experiment, conceived to see what would happen if we distributed watermelons to everyone and then started to lift people's mood. Today, we have over 10 admins in our Telegram channel who are creating memes and content. We have a team doing content for TikTok and Twitter. All of these people just enjoy the process. That's our secret sauce.

**How do you handle the highs and lows of the memecoin market? Any tips for your community on staying positive and engaged?**

Memecoins are what it takes to pump and dump. This is an integral part of it. The main purpose of a memecoin is to entertain the audience. If a memecoin has an original idea, it promotes deep engagement and creates an atmosphere of fun.

**For someone who’s skeptical about memecoins, what would you say to convince them to give $ARBUZ a try?**

Memecoins are such an unpredictable thing that when it seems like it's a total scam and nothing good is to be expected, then that's when it's time to look into them.

**What’s been the funniest or most unexpected moment in the $ARBUZ journey so far? Any memorable community moments you’d like to share?**

The ARBUZ project is pure fun. We create dozens of memes every day about $ARBUZ, the drop, clicker, and Vudi (author of the [investkingyru](https://t.me/investkingyru) channel in Telegram). What's especially fun is that there are many channels where people create their own content, contributing to the popularization of ARBUZ as a project.

**Looking into the future, what exciting updates or features can the $ARBUZ community look forward to? Any sneak peeks?**

Summer is known to be the time of watermelons. Now, they are appearing on the shelves of stores in the cities, opening up opportunities for offline fun. You can shoot TikToks, create videos, and just have a good time. Plus, we have a big drop coming up on August 2: 500,000 $ARBUZ will be distributed to participants of the ARBUZ Fest, which almost ten thousand people are looking forward to attending.

We're also actively entering Ethereum and Solana, developing clickers and bridges for them to bring in new audiences. This is just the beginning.

$ARBUZ also won the third season of The Open League, which saw record awards for liquidity providers in the league's entire existence. This is an achievement without precedent.

**For the newbies wanting to dive into the $ARBUZ world and Arbuz Fest, what’s your top advice for getting started?**

First of all, it's important to find out if people share our sense of humor. If the answer is yes, then welcome! After that, you can purchase a token, create your channel and share your memes. We will pay attention to you and invite you to become part of this large, friendly and fun community. We are open to everyone!


TON Culture Kings: ARBUZ

Welcome to another exciting episode of TON Innovators, where we celebrate the trailblazers and visionaries within the TON Ecosystem. Today, we’re *tapping* into the world of Yescoin, a viral swipe game that recently came 2nd in [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-season-3-results) and is becoming one of the fastest-growing Telegram apps. Yescoin is another example of a fun and engaging way to interact with blockchain technology while potentially earning rewards.

Today, we sit down with the team behind the real Yescoin to get the inside scoop on what makes their project stand out, how they are navigating the challenges, and what exciting developments lie ahead. Let’s dive into the conversation!

-------

**Yescoin! Welcome to TON Innovators! Can you start by giving us a brief overview of your project and what inspired you to pioneer a swipe game on Telegram?**

Yescoin is a casual Web3 game on Telegram, where players can collect gold coins by swiping their fingers. It allows users to onboard onto Web3 in a fun and seamless way, which significantly lowers the barrier to entry, thus becoming a bridge between Web2 and Web3.

All of our team members are avid Telegram users, and we've been thinking about the creation of an app for crypto mass adoption on this platform ever since Telegram's launch of Mini Apps in 2023.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Frame_4000233_9a37f3fef1/Frame_4000233_9a37f3fef1.png) 

Our choice of swiping as the core interaction for our product had two inspirations. Steve Jobs first created the idea of unlocking your phone by swiping in 2007, which made us realize that swiping is the most natural way for users to interact with mobile devices. Also, the classic game Fruit Ninja achieved billions of downloads using simple but addictive swiping gameplay, eventually becoming a global phenomenon.

In just over a month, our fun and easy gameplay has attracted over 18 million players and facilitated over 6 million users to connect their crypto wallets. Everything has happened sp fast. Sometimes even we ourselves can't believe we really did it! But one thing is for sure: We all need to be *swiping* our way to Web3.

**You guys came 2nd in The Open League – that’s a big achievement. How did you achieve such rapid success?**

Firstly, we'd like to thank TON Foundation. Actually, when we submitted our application, The Open League was set to officially start the very next day. However, we were still unsure about a lot of the details, and even debated whether we should wait to participate in the next round. But we decided to give it a shot and reached out to The Open League staff for help. To our great relief, they patiently explained the rules and provided us with extensive guidance, which made us feel truly welcome.

At that time, we were faced with a major challenge of helping millions of users to create and connect their wallets, which made us quite nervous yet also very excited. With user experience as our first priority, our team worked 24/7, tirelessly iterating and improving. To ensure our users' asset security and their smooth experience, we tested four beta versions before official launch. Although we only participated for one week with a middling ranking, our true satisfaction comes from helping millions of users seamlessly create and connect their wallets. In the first hour, as we watched 220,000 users connect their wallets and complete online interactions, the entire team was thrilled. At that moment, we saw the potential for mass adoption to become real. All this should largely be owed to Telegram's immense user base and strong support for developers.

Lowering user barriers and enhancing user experience is our shared mission. We hope more talented developers will join The Open League in the future, enriching the TON Ecosystem together.

**Can you explain how the game mechanics work? How do players earn Yescoins, and what kind of tasks can they complete, and have you got any special strategies or tips for new players?**

The basic gameplay of Yescoin is very straightforward - simply by swiping your fingers on your cellphone screen, you can collect gold Yescoin coins. During the game, you can earn more gold coins by opening treasure chests and purchasing various items, such as the YesPac robot. You can also do so by completing various tasks, including daily tasks, upgraded tasks, and event tasks.

For example, we recently launched a Daily Crypto Learning Task where users can learn about blockchain everyday and complete a check-in to open a YesBox, earning both on-chain and off-chain rewards. Other daily tasks include inviting friends to join, forming squads, following Yescoin on social media, and so on. Moreover, completing each upgraded task will earn players extra gold coin rewards, including connecting wallets and upgrading your accounts.

Of course, our occasional event tasks are great opportunities to win surprise rewards. So make sure you don't miss out on our special events, holiday activities, creative challenges, and more.

  ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Frame_4000236_24dcded500/Frame_4000236_24dcded500.png) 

For new players, we recommend completing daily tasks and inviting more friends to join. This will help them quickly accumulate their first Yescoins while getting familiar with the game mechanics. We also strongly encourage new players to participate in our special event tasks, such as limited-time missions and content competitions. These community events allow players to showcase their talents, win special rewards, and also quickly immerse themselves into the community and connect with Yescoiners from around the world.

**Tell us about your community. Have there been any particularly fun, memorable or meme-able moments among Yescoiners?**

Since the very first day of our launch, Yescoin has been experiencing explosive growth. Even with our years of development experience, we were amazed by Telegram's viral mechanics.

The team has been busy managing the pressure of a massive influx of users on our servers, without much time spent on brand promotion or business development. We decided to prioritize our community above all else, and every team member has dedicated time to listening to first-hand community feedback, iterating products, and optimizing user experience. In the meantime, our founder has always reminded us to listen to the unheard voices. Every week, we engage in in-depth one-on-one conversations with dozens of Yescoiners, to discover their genuine needs.

Perhaps it was because of our prompt responses and sincere communications with our community that more and more Yescoiners voluntarily started to promote Yescoin on social media, which eventually inspired us to launch the community content contest.

We are also actively discussing the long-term cultural development of the Yescoin community. Our inbox has received thousands of creative suggestions and personal stories involving Yescoin.

We received a rap song about Yescoin from a 16-year-old French boy and an oil painting dedicated to Yescoin from a Turkish artist. One Yescoiner shared a story about having a competition with a local team about who could invite more Yescoin players, while another talked about how they celebrated a birthday with a group of Yescoiners they had never met before. We even heard from a Yescoiner who taught her 85-year-old grandfather to swipe for coins.

There are countless creative ideas and stories, which we plan to compile into a collection to share with the community in the future, showing how Yescoin has helped create real human stories and how these narratives have in turn become part of the Yescoin story itself.

Optimism is a recurring theme mentioned by many Yescoiners. It appears all the time in the content and stories we receive, inspiring us to keep pushing forward. We hope more Yescoiners will use their creativity and stories to spread this optimistic spirit to more people.

Last but not least, we want to proudly talk about the Yescoiner community. In just over a month, over 18 million people from more than 200 countries and regions, despite their differences in languages, cultures, or identities, have come together because of Yescoin. This is incredible power, and also the most valuable asset of Yescoin.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Frame_4000238_891a95fbc5/Frame_4000238_891a95fbc5.png) 

In June, we'll officially launch the Global Yescoin Ambassador Program to invite more Yescoiners to co-build our community, creating an even greater story.

**With the success of Telegram Mini Apps, more and more scams are popping. It seems there are multiple ‘Yescoin’ projects too. Can you tell us what measures have you taken to protect your community?**

When we first started, our user base was growing very fast. However, soon after, multiple 'Yescoin' imitators appeared in the market. Initially, we didn't pay much attention, but as time went on, we encountered some truly challenging moments— our trademark and even our logo were maliciously registered by others, our backend servers were constantly under DOS attacks, and misleading rumors, phishing attempts, and fake Yescoin token announcements were muddying the waters.

Despite these challenges, we always prioritized our users and their asset security. We spent a considerable amount of time repairing servers to ensure everything is on track. We promptly clarified every suspicious piece of information on our Telegram channel and official Twitter.

We are immensely grateful for the trust and support from every Yescoiner, who stood by us during the hardest times. Please follow our official Twitter and Telegram. Asset-related announcements should be considered valid only if they were official communications.

We also discovered the presence of malicious bot farms in our app. Thanks to our unique swipe-based interaction and the relentless efforts of our technical team, we have largely prevented such malicious activities. But of course this is still an ongoing battle.

Defending the fairness of everyone in our community is our most important duty. We firmly believe that only by enhancing product experience, maintaining fairness, and valuing our community can we become the true Yescoin in the hearts of our users.

The name Yescoin originated from our team's idea in 2023 of a product that can bring large-scale users into Web3. We wanted a name that the world could immediately remember, and so we had three options: Seedcoin, Onecoin, and Yescoin. For various reasons, this product didn't enter the market back then. However, thanks to the emergence of Telegram bots, we decided to bring this idea to life and eventually named it Yescoin (we didn't overthink it back then).

We must admit there was an element of luck involved, as the novelty and huge success of Notcoin brought us quite a lot of extra attention. We extend our highest respect to the pioneer and its zero to one innovation. Standing on the shoulders of giants, we see a broader landscape full of possibilities. We can't help but think of the Dao in Eastern Philosophy, where mutual support leads to mutual success. We felt inspired to quicken our paces, hoping that one day YES and NOT will complement each other like 'Tai Chi' and become integral parts of the Telegram and TON Ecosystem.

**What role does TON Blockchain and Telegram play in Yescoin? How does it enhance the game and user experience?**

Telegram Mini Apps can be used without having to install anything, and Wallet and TON Space provide a seamless connection experience. These features are the crucial backbone of Yescoin's viral growth and the future large-scale onboarding from Web2 to Web3.

In the meantime, numerous Telegram communities and channels have become the main venues for users to share and interact with each other. Telegram's diverse user base, global distribution, high user engagement, and long online duration have greatly facilitated the promotion of our product.

Telegram is the core platform for Yescoin's growth. Thanks to the great performance of TON Blockchain, we are confident in our ability to onboard hundreds of millions of users into Web3.

**Can you share any upcoming features or events that Yescoin players can look forward to in the near future?**

During this month's rapid growth, our entire team has been working around the clock to create a cool and enhanced user onboarding system called the Three-Stage Rocket Plan, for rich on-chain and off-chain rewards and infrastructure preparation for the upcoming airdrops. It will be launched soon. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Frame_4000284_34d143d0f0/Frame_4000284_34d143d0f0.png) 

Also, we are planning a series of Summer Carnival-themed events with super surprises.

Additionally, we are currently brainstorming for the second half of the year. In the future, a boat named Yescoin will sail to ports in Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas to meet with more Yescoiners and host events, promoting our ultimate onboarding mission. The plan is still being developed, and we welcome interested partners or sponsors to contact us.

Still, it's just the beginning. Please don't hesitate to join Yescoin. We have some exciting partnerships and major announcements coming soon - but allow us to keep them under wraps for now. More details will be announced on our official Twitter and Telegram channel!

**You have 30 seconds to convince someone in an elevator to play Yescoin – what do you say?**

Do you want to earn coins by simply swiping your fingers? Join Yescoin now!

Do you want to receive the luckiest prizes this summer? Join Yescoin now!

Do you want to play the hottest Web3 game with friends from around the world? Join Yescoin now!

Do you want to co-build the future most inspiring community in crypto history? Join Yescoin now!

TON Innovators: Yescoin

This article aims to help everyone understand the USDT smart contract code in the GitHub repository provided here and to explain a bit about the FunC language (the smart contract language in TON).


This way, everyone can easily understand TON and the fungible tokens on [@TON_Blockchain](https://twitter.com/@TON_Blockchain).

It consists of just 290 lines of code for the Jetton Minter and 267 lines of code for the Jetton Wallet. So, let's begin! 

[Click here to access the USDt on TON Github Repo.](https://github.com/howardpen9/usdt_example_ton)


### **Architecture & The First Concept**
First of all, you need to have a basic understanding of Jetton Minter and Jetton Wallet; in the TON Blockchain, we refer to fungible tokens as Jetton Tokens. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeton)

**This means that every *'Wallet Address'* that receives USDT will be assigned a new Jetton Wallet address owned by *'You'*.**

For example, if you have 10 assets, then your main Wallet Address will manage the other 10 Jetton Wallet addresses, creating a one-to-many design compared to the Ethereum world.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Untitled_c67109ebe7/Untitled_c67109ebe7.png) 
*<center>The token structure for Jetton Token in TON.</center>*


**The benefit of this *'Sharding'* structure lies in two major ideas:**
1. The balances are isolated from each other, with storage being unique to different addresses. Therefore, there is no common "permit" attack as seen in the Ethereum world. This is a fundamental difference.

- When you deposit into the Staking contract, your balance changes, and the staking contract also has its own Jetton Wallet. **This setup allows you to 'Transfer the current balance you have in your Jetton Wallet' without worrying that a hacker can access 'ALL your USDt,'** even if you just stake a small transaction to the Staking Pool.
**This makes it safer.**

2. Simply put, the Jetton Master stores the total supply of USDT, and each Jetton Wallet resides in a unique contract address and is associated with only "One Owner."

- This is why TON can handle 100,000+ transactions without crashing while also maintaining safety in smart contract design. **At the same time, the contract enables asynchronous features that can scale the blockchain.**

### **First of FunC code - Storage**

```
{- 
    storage#_ total_supply:Coins admin_address:MsgAddress next_admin_address:MsgAddress jetton_wallet_code:^Cell metadata_uri:^Cell = Storage;
-}


(int, slice, slice, cell, cell) load_data() inline {
    slice ds = get_data().begin_parse();
    var data = (
        ds~load_coins(),    ;; total_supply
        ds~load_msg_addr(), ;; admin_address
        ds~load_msg_addr(), ;; next_admin_address
        ds~load_ref(),      ;; jetton_wallet_code
        ds~load_ref()       ;; metadata_url (contains snake slice without 0x0 prefix)
    );
    
    ds.end_parse();
    return data;
}

() save_data(int total_supply, slice admin_address, slice next_admin_address, cell jetton_wallet_code, cell metadata_uri) impure inline {
    set_data(
        begin_cell()
            .store_coins(total_supply)
            .store_slice(admin_address)
            .store_slice(next_admin_address)
            .store_ref(jetton_wallet_code)
            .store_ref(metadata_uri)
        .end_cell()
    );
}
```
The first part of the FunC code always claims the storage. As you can see, it is only related to the five major storages:
1. Total Supply
2. Admin Address
3. Next Admin Address
4. Jetton Wallet Code
5. Metadata URL

The Admin Address is crucial, as we all know from USDT on ERC20; it holds the highest authority and can manage many functionalities for USDT. Yes, the USDT contract is under centralized management.

The Next Admin Address is somewhat special, but we will discuss this later.

The Metadata URL is also commonly used when discussing tokens on other networks, similar to NFT metadata.

And yes, we store the contract data in a `Cell` way; it's the brand new data type that only shows on TON Blockchain; for more info, go to [ton.org/learn here](https://docs.ton.org/learn/overviews/cells).

These two fundamental functions(`load_data` and `save_data`) are the basic requirements for all FunC smart contract codes. Remember to declare them at the beginning of the contract.

### **The "main()" in FunC code**
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Untitled_1_de7a4464db/Untitled_1_de7a4464db.png) 

The `recv_internal(...)` function is always the main highlight of our FunC code.

Keep in mind, it's analogous to the `contract()` declaration in [@solidity_lang](https://twitter.com/@solidity_lang). This function typically handles some core messages: 1) msg_value 2) in_msg_full 3) in_msg_body, and 4) my_balance.

However, I won't delve too deeply into this part because it's both fundamental and complex for newcomers to grasp. I'll likely write a separate article about this later.

## **The functions for Jetton Minter**
To expand on the functionality, we can note that the Minter Contract includes several key functions:

1. op::mint
2. op::burn_notification
3. op::provide_wallet_address
4. op::change_admin
5. op::claim_admin
6. op::call_to
7. op::change_metadata_uri
8. op::upgrade
9. op::top_up

The main function I want to highlight is `op::mint`, as it is crucial for everyone's assets and their confidence in [@Tether_to](https://twitter.com/@Tether_to).

This function is of great importance. It's associated with the opcode `0x642b6d07`, which acts similarly to the function selector mentioned in the Ethereum network. The same concept applies here in the TON Blockchain.

    if (op == op::mint) { ;; 0x642b7d07
        throw_unless(error::not_owner, equal_slices_bits(sender_address, admin_address));
        
        slice to_address = in_msg_body~load_msg_addr();
        check_same_workchain(to_address);

        int ton_amount = in_msg_body~load_coins();
        cell master_msg = in_msg_body~load_ref();
        in_msg_body.end_parse();

        ;; see internal_transfer TL-B layout in jetton.tlb
        slice master_msg_slice = master_msg.begin_parse();
        throw_unless(error::invalid_op, master_msg_slice~load_op() == op::internal_transfer);
        master_msg_slice~skip_query_id();
        int jetton_amount = master_msg_slice~load_coins();
        master_msg_slice~load_msg_addr(); ;; from_address
        master_msg_slice~load_msg_addr(); ;; response_address
        int forward_ton_amount = master_msg_slice~load_coins(); ;; forward_ton_amount
        check_either_forward_payload(master_msg_slice); ;; either_forward_payload

        ;; a little more than needed, it’s ok since it’s sent by the admin and excesses will return back
        check_amount_is_enough_to_transfer(ton_amount, forward_ton_amount, fwd_fee);

        send_to_jetton_wallet(to_address, jetton_wallet_code, ton_amount, master_msg, TRUE);
        save_data(total_supply + jetton_amount, admin_address, next_admin_address, jetton_wallet_code, metadata_uri);
        return ();
    }

The minting process is definitely the core! Since this is the most challenging part, it includes several common techniques in FunC, but they might be a bit difficult to digest for those viewing FunC code for the first time.

The first two lines of code primarily parse the Cell data we mentioned earlier, specifically the `in_msg_full`, into the temporary `Slice` data type. Although Slice is also a new data type, it's the method we use when we want to modify the data. 

The Slice data type here is more like a blank canvas, allowing us to draw what we want and initially paste what we find onto the Cell data.

    slice in_msg_full_slice = in_msg_full.begin_parse();
    int msg_flags = in_msg_full_slice~load_msg_flags();

The msg_flags is the first parameter we have in the message input (aka. the `in_msg_full` there). So that is why we need to fetch this data first and then execute with the function later: if `(is_bounced(msg_flags)) {....}`.

    slice sender_address = in_msg_full_slice~load_msg_addr();

Then we run with the `in_msg_full_slice~load_msg_addr();` that is the way to fetch the current sender to this USDT Jetton Minter address; this is the way that we can know who is sending the message to this contract.

    int fwd_fee_from_in_msg = in_msg_full_slice~retrieve_fwd_fee();
    int fwd_fee = get_original_fwd_fee(MY_WORKCHAIN, fwd_fee_from_in_msg); ;; we use message fwd_fee for estimation of forward_payload costs

Next, we also need to fetch a special piece of data called "fwd_fee" from the code. This parameter helps us understand the "forward passing fee" of the message, which is crucial since the **TON Blockchain operates on a message-based system.**

    (int op, int query_id) = in_msg_body~load_op_and_query_id();
    (int total_supply, slice admin_address, slice next_admin_address, cell jetton_wallet_code, cell metadata_uri) = load_data();

Next, we need to fetch the `op_code` and `query_id`, which are common and essential parameters for every transaction in TON.

[Click here for more details.](https://docs.ton.org/develop/data-formats/transaction-layout)

Up to this point, we have established a series of steps to help our contract understand the nature of the current message input; since we've just fetched the `op_code` information and identified who is sending this message to the contract, the `query_id` helps us navigate which specific transaction is for the short-term period.

`throw_unless(error::not_owner, equal_slices_bits(sender_address, admin_address));`

Later, as we proceed to the `Mint` process, the first line of code checks whether **the sender is the admin**; this is crucial because the minting process is authorized only for the admin to initiate or execute.

-----------
Second, we decode the message input body through "a series of steps", and we now read the **to_address** because we understand what the message should look like.

**This means that if you do not open-source your code, people may not know how to format the message correctly, and thus, your smart contract won't accept it because it does not match the required format.**

```
slice to_address = in_msg_body~load_msg_addr();
check_same_workchain(to_address);
```
Later, once we fetch additional data like **ton_amount** - the amount of Toncoin we want to forward, and the **master_msg** that we intend to send to the jetton wallet next (we will discuss master_msg in more detail later):

```
int ton_amount = in_msg_body~load_coins();
cell master_msg = in_msg_body~load_ref();
in_msg_body.end_parse();
```
Next, we load the entirety of the "master_msg" after we've claimed the temporary data; now, we are running a series of methods to decode the message itself.

```;; see internal_transfer TL-B layout in jetton.tlb
slice master_msg_slice = master_msg.begin_parse();
throw_unless(error::invalid_op, master_msg_slice~load_op() == op::internal_transfer);
master_msg_slice~skip_query_id();
int jetton_amount = master_msg_slice~load_coins();
master_msg_slice~load_msg_addr(); ;; from_address
master_msg_slice~load_msg_addr(); ;; response_address
int forward_ton_amount = master_msg_slice~load_coins(); ;; forward_ton_amount
check_either_forward_payload(master_msg_slice); ;; either_forward_payload
```
You can see that most of the time we spend is on "decoding the data from master_msg."
Once we clarify all the data we have at hand (akin to finally having all your ingredients ready and starting to cook), we then proceed with the final three lines of code in the modular functions.

```
;; a little more than needed, it’s ok since it’s sent by the admin and excesses will return back
check_amount_is_enough_to_transfer(ton_amount, forward_ton_amount, fwd_fee);

send_to_jetton_wallet(to_address, jetton_wallet_code, ton_amount, master_msg, TRUE);

save_data(total_supply + jetton_amount, admin_address, next_admin_address, jetton_wallet_code, metadata_uri);
return ();
```
The `check_amount_is_enough_to_transfer` function is straightforward; it ensures that the transaction has enough funds to cover the gas fees.

The `send_to_jetton_wallet` function is the core module that actually "sends the minting message to the jetton wallet address" receiving the new USDT tokens.

More importantly, the final **save_data** line records the amount of Jetton we just minted and adds it to the Jetton Minter contract's storage. **This helps the minter contract recognize that the total supply has increased, as indicated by total_supply + jetton_amount.**

`save_data(total_supply + jetton_amount, admin_address, next_admin_address, jetton_wallet_code, metadata_uri);`

### **The new receiver(Jetton Wallet)**
The next function in the process involves the minter contract sending a message to the Jetton Wallet, which is the recipient for the new minting.

There are some intricate and unique techniques in the code, but I will only explain the key parts to keep the article concise.

The first notable aspect is the "raw_reserve." In TON, we need to consider the [storage fee](https://docs.ton.org/develop/smart-contracts/fees#storage-fee), which means we always maintain more toncoin than the contract might need, leaving some extra in reserve.

The second important concept involves calculating the **state_init** to determine the Jetton Wallet address that belongs to the receiver (e.g., each address has a unique Jetton Wallet address exclusively for USDT. 

Different Jetton assets will lead to different Jetton Wallet addresses).

```
cell state_init = calculate_jetton_wallet_state_init(to_address, my_address(), jetton_wallet_code);
slice to_wallet_address = calculate_jetton_wallet_address(state_init);
```
Next, we also need to create the message body that is prepared to "activate the initialization of the Jetton Wallet," similar to deploying it. Therefore, we must address the state initialization of the smart contract, which is why we are building the new message body here:

```
 ;; build MessageRelaxed, see TL-B layout in stdlib.fc#L733
var msg = begin_cell()
        .store_msg_flags_and_address_none(BOUNCEABLE)
        .store_slice(to_wallet_address) ;; dest
        .store_coins(ton_amount);

if (need_state_init) {
        msg = msg.store_statinit_ref_and_body_ref(state_init, master_msg);
} else {
        msg = msg.store_only_body_ref(master_msg);
}
```
Also, most importantly, we need to initiate the transaction that allows the Jetton Minter to send the minting transaction to the Jetton Wallet.

This is facilitated by the **send_raw_message** function, which ensures that the Jetton Wallet is correctly set up with the necessary state and funds when it is first activated.

`send_raw_message(msg.end_cell(), SEND_MODE_PAY_FEES_SEPARATELY | SEND_MODE_BOUNCE_ON_ACTION_FAIL);`

This line completes the process of sending the transaction to the Jetton Wallet in the full contract code.


-----------

Now, the full function for **sending message** is like here:
() send_to_jetton_wallet(slice to_address, cell jetton_wallet_code, int ton_amount, cell master_msg, int need_state_init) impure inline {
    raw_reserve(ONE_TON, RESERVE_REGULAR); ;; reserve for storage fees

   ```
 cell state_init = calculate_jetton_wallet_state_init(to_address, my_address(), jetton_wallet_code);
    slice to_wallet_address = calculate_jetton_wallet_address(state_init);

    ;; build MessageRelaxed, see TL-B layout in stdlib.fc#L733
    var msg = begin_cell()
        .store_msg_flags_and_address_none(BOUNCEABLE)
        .store_slice(to_wallet_address) ;; dest
        .store_coins(ton_amount);

    if (need_state_init) {
        msg = msg.store_statinit_ref_and_body_ref(state_init, master_msg);
    } else {
        msg = msg.store_only_body_ref(master_msg);
    }

    send_raw_message(msg.end_cell(), SEND_MODE_PAY_FEES_SEPARATELY | SEND_MODE_BOUNCE_ON_ACTION_FAIL);
}
```

You can check the full data in the [repo here](https://github.com/howardpen9/usdt_example_ton/blob/401c9d86e6196a6469635e4cae22fda5d1fb553f/contracts/jetton-minter.fc#L40).

### **Jetton Wallet**

Now, let's go to the Jetton Wallet contract(`jetton-wallet.fc`). The most important and interesting feature is that the USDT Jetton Wallet is set with extract parameters in the contract storage, which is the "status" data.

```
(int, int, slice, slice) load_data() inline {
    slice ds = get_data().begin_parse();
    var data = (
        ds~load_uint(STATUS_SIZE), ;; A
        ds~load_coins(), ;; balance
        ds~load_msg_addr(), ;; owner_address
        ds~load_msg_addr() ;; jetton_master_address
    );
    ds.end_parse();
    return data;
}
```
As you can see in the code base, it says:

> Note, status==0 means unlocked - the user can freely transfer and receive jettons (only admin can burn).

> (status & 1) bit means the user can not send jettons

> (status & 2) bit means the user can not receive jettons.

> Master (minter) smart contract able to make outgoing actions (transfer, burn jettons) with any status.


This setup is crucial because the Jetton Wallet requires administrative authority to potentially FREEZE your jetton wallet (e.g., your balance in USDT token). The status is composed of a 4-bit combination.

### How can the admin change your Jetton Wallet?
The Jetton wallet has a unique op_code called "op::set_status," which is not enabled for execution by the owner of this Jetton wallet but by the Jetton master.

```

    if (op == op::set_status) { ;; 0xeed236d3
        ;; skip the query_id 
        in_msg_body~skip_query_id();

        ;; read the new status for this Jetton Wallet 
        int new_status = in_msg_body~load_uint(STATUS_SIZE);
        in_msg_body.end_parse();

        (_, int balance, slice owner_address, slice jetton_master_address) = load_data();
        throw_unless(error::not_valid_wallet, equal_slices_bits(sender_address, jetton_master_address));

        save_data(new_status, balance, owner_address, jetton_master_address);
        return ();
    }
```

## **Final Words**
This is my first attempt at writing a technical article on x.com. Unfortunately, it's been more challenging than I anticipated, especially with pasting code. Moreover, it seems that the reading experience here isn't as good as in other places. So, if you could take a moment to click LIKE or share this article, it would be greatly appreciated.

Another point is that the USDT contracts are a unique and special presence among many other Layer 1 blockchains. It's more neutral and distinct, and importantly, it's exciting to see it now in the [@Telegram](https://twitter.com/@Telegram) network ecosystem. Although we've known about this development for months, I couldn't review the code until it launched on the mainnet (check the code here on explorer: https://tonviewer.com/EQCxE6mUtQJKFnGfaROTKOt1lZbDiiX1kCixRv7Nw2Id_sDs?section=code).

The main purpose of this article is to encourage more people to read and write FunC code and join the vast community in the TON network. Building USDT on any DApps is one of the coolest things you can do right now, especially since it reaches hundreds of millions of users from day one.

As of now, the total supply of USDT on TON is over $130 million, and I believe this number will continue to grow daily. It's hard to measure a network like this on any other planet before.

---

I know this article and the test cases in the repository aren't perfect, but I hope you can learn something from them and feel that you have gained some knowledge.

**(P.S.: I am the Dev Rel Asia Lead at Ton Foundation. If you're interested in building on TON, feel free to reach out! My DMs are open!)**

- Dev Chat List: [t.me/addlist/1r5Vcb8eljk5Yzcy](http://t.me/addlist/1r5Vcb8eljk5Yzcy)
- Developer Portal: [ton.org/dev](http://ton.org/dev)
- Documentation: [docs.ton.org](http://docs.ton.org/)
- Forum: [tonresear.ch](http://tonresear.ch/)
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Untitled_2_87bf4fc1fb/Untitled_2_87bf4fc1fb.png) 

Deep Dive Into USDt on TON

We all wonder about the future—what it will look like, what will change, and how it will impact our lives. Wonder no more. The future is here, and it's powered by blockchain. With over one hundred planned integrations with various local partners, TON Foundation and Tether are on a mission to make USDt on TON accessible to everyone, everywhere. 

In this discussion, we introduce you to our ambitious plans to put USDt-TON in every pocket. These plans promise to revolutionize how we interact with crypto. Let’s dive into the details and what they mean for you and the rest of TON’s growing global community.

## The Power Behind Our Initiative

As a result of this latest initiative, our efforts towards TON mass adoption are stronger than ever. We are working to communicate and facilitate seamless USDt integrations on TON with local partners and communities worldwide.

TON Foundation is ensuring each integration aligns with the ecosystem's goal of providing global access to USDt on TON. With local partners, we are launching integrations that let anyone acquire USDt on TON and enter the TON Ecosystem in minutes. Additionally, we are collaborating with partners to enable USDt payments for goods and services.

So far, we’ve completed integrations with local payment gateways and processors in Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, and more are on the way. 

Over the upcoming weeks and months, we will team up with on/off ramps and global and local exchanges to provide more options to access and trade Toncoin and USDt on TON.  

## How To Get Involved

Your engagement and feedback are invaluable as we continue to roll out these integrations. Here’s how you can be a part of this journey:

- **Stay Informed**: Follow our updates on the integration roadmap. Be the first to know about new partnerships and how they can benefit you.
- **Get Involved**: Start using USDt on TON with our partners to show them the strength of the TON Community. Your experience can help shape the future of Web3.
- **Spread the Word**: Share the news with your network. The more people know about the benefits of USDt on TON, the stronger our community becomes.

The integration of USDt on TON with over 100 local partners marks a significant milestone in our journey towards global adoption. With a dedicated ecosystem, strategic partnerships, and a community-centric approach, we’re setting TON to transform the Web3 landscape. Together, we can put USDt in every pocket, creating a future where blockchain technology is accessible to all.

**Stay tuned for more updates, and get ready to embrace the future with TON and Tether!**

Putting USDt on TON to Every Pocket With Over 100 Integrations

So folks, that was Season 3 of The Open League. Quite the ride, huh? There have been some big developments, and TON has gone from success to success. It’s all been happening quickly, and we know you’re probably a little tired from keeping up with everything—Notcoin, new announcements, and the entire ever-growing ecosystem. So, after we’re done celebrating the Season 3 results, we’ll give you a two-week break to gather your strength before starting up again with something extra special.

During this break, make sure to get ready for Season 4; there’s going to be a lot happening! We’ll update you on any rule changes—some will be pretty wild! Keep in mind that for the next two weeks, there will be no LP boosts until the start of the next season; teams can provide their own, and TON Society will happily advertise them. Season 4 will start at 11:00 UTC on June 12 and will last two weeks.

Make sure you subscribe to [The Open League Telegram channel](https://t.me/league) to stay up to date with everything.

## Key Highlights

Here’s some of the most glorious data from the season–take it all in! 

#### General Metrics

*The growth compared to the start of The Open League is shown in parentheses.*

- Daily active wallets (DAW): 568,000 (**+1,403%**)
- Weekly Active Wallets: 2.2M (**+1,308%**)
- Monthly Active Wallets: 3.5M (**+775%**)
- DeFi Total Value Locked: $320.2M (**+1,298%**)
- Overall Total Value Locked: $637.6M (**+402%**)
- Avg. Number of Daily Transactions: 4.2M (**+372%**)

## Final Rankings for The Open League Season 3

This season, just like in Season 2, we tracked the Token Major, Token Minor, and App leagues. Below are the final leaderboard snapshots as of the official end of the season.

The rankings are based on various metrics for each category, mainly the number of holders, TVL, DEX activity, and distribution.

#### App Battle

The incredible victors in the App Battle this season are similar to last season but with a few new faces! Congratulations to **Catizen, Yescoin, SquidTG, Getgems, Fanton, TON Punks, and Tonano**, who have won a combined reward of $500,000 in Season 3.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/apps_79eeab5ebb/apps_79eeab5ebb.png) 

#### Token Major League

This season in the Major League, **ARBUZ, WEB3, FNZ, BOLT, KINGY, STON, and JVT** took home the prizes!

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/major_d05558b281/major_d05558b281.png) 

#### Token Minor League

The top teams from the Minor League this season are: **HYDRA, WALL, COFE, JETTON, DFC.** 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/minor_434856daf3/minor_434856daf3.png) 

## Conclusion
Thank you to everyone who participated in and supported Season 3 of The Open League. Your dedication and enthusiasm have made this season a great success! Enjoy the well-deserved break, stay tuned for updates, and get ready for another exciting season. See you all on June 12 at 11:00 UTC for the start of Season 4!

The Open League Season 3 Results

We are excited to share the key highlights and developments from TON Ecosystem for March and April 2024. Our ecosystem achieved major milestones, including announcements at the HK Web3 Festival and TOKEN2049 in Dubai, the successful completion of The Open League Season 1, and reaching a remarkable $200 million TVL. TON also became the fastest Layer 1 blockchain to achieve $100 million in native USDt issuance. With ongoing community engagement, innovative projects, and a strong focus on development, we look forward to achieving even greater things in the coming months.

## Key Highlights:

- Participated in the HK Web3 Festival with a series of announcements; you can watch the highlights [here](https://www.youtube.com/@the_open_network/featured)
- Announced the [launch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBEOJRvZ-wI) of USDt-TON and new partnerships at TOKEN2049 in Dubai, featuring speeches from Pavel Durov, Andrew Rogozov, and Paolo Ardoino. TON also became the [fastest](https://tonviewer.com/EQCxE6mUtQJKFnGfaROTKOt1lZbDiiX1kCixRv7Nw2Id_sDs?section=jetton) Layer 1 blockchain to reach $100 million in native USDT issuance
- Successfully completed [The Open League Season 1](https://blog.ton.org/these-are-the-best-projects-of-tol-season-1), awarding over $3 million in TON to protocols that contributed to TON adoption
- Reached a remarkable [$200 million TVL](https://defillama.com/chain/TON) milestone
- [TON Research](https://tonresear.ch/) was launched, the go-to forum for research within the TON Ecosystem
- The ecosystem welcomed new backers: [Mirana Ventures](https://blog.ton.org/mirana-backs-toncoin-with-8-million), [Pantera](https://www.veradiverdict.com/p/investing-in-ton-network), and [Yolo Investments](https://t.me/toncoin/1217) 
- STON.fi launched a [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/ston_fi)
- The newest TON Accelerator [cohort](https://t.me/toncoin/1204) was unveiled
- TON Society partnered with [HumanCode](https://blog.ton.org/human-code-brings-ai-powered-biometrics-to-ton-ecosystem) to bring DID to TON
- Partnered with HashKey to list TON (TON/USD) on HashKey Exchange, effective May 9, 2024
- TON was [listed](https://medium.com/@DWF-research/toncoin-ton-celo-celo-hashflow-hft-jasmycoin-jasmy-metis-metis-are-listed-on-dwf-57f417b98deb) by DWF Liquid Markets
- TON [Memelandia](https://ton.org/memelandia) was launched
- TON network fees were [reduced](https://t.me/toncoin/1274) by 2.5x
- Featured in Token Terminal [research](https://tokenterminal.com/resources/community/TON-research-anagram-david-shuttleworth)
- Highlighted in [Artemis Analyst](https://www.artemis.xyz/research/protocol-highlight-the-open-network-ton) of the Month
- Announced $NOT token listings on [ByBit](https://announcements.bybit.com/en/article/new-listing-not-usdt-on-spot-blt3ad176487dce5f72/) (May 16), [OKX Jumpstart](https://x.com/okx/status/1788450280968790522?s=46&t=BgbwoUOm40tMJeTNmXF-GQ) (May 13), and [Binance Launchpool](https://www.binance.com/en/support/announcement/introducing-notcoin-not-on-binance-launchpool-farm-not-by-staking-bnb-and-fdusd-b78921ecf7c94e50973850fc47f497b9?hl=en) (May 13)

## Lightning Analysis:

On April 19, Telegram announced monetization of stickers and emoji NFT. Artists will receive 95% of the revenue. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/unnamed_6_2e80adf34b/unnamed_6_2e80adf34b.png) 

In response, we reached out to Fedor Skuratov, founder of [Combot](https://combot.org/), a solution for turning Telegram groups into a full-fledged community. As part of the stack, Combot also has one of the largest collections of [Telegram sticker packs](https://combot.org/stickers).

Such independent catalogs currently serve as the best discoverability tool for sticker packs on Telegram, which are notoriously hard to discover (unless you are in a group chat where another party uses the stickers).

**Given the Telegram announcement, we interviewed Fedor to get his thoughts about the future of sticker packs monetization:**

---

**Fedor, please introduce yourself to the community**

*A bit about me: I'm Fedor, often called Theo. For the past 15 years, I've been deeply involved with communities. In Russian-speaking regions, I'm recognized as a leading expert in community management. My colleagues and I also run an informal Association of Community Managers, which has been active for about 7 years, uniting 3500 top professionals. We're currently transitioning it into a formal NPO.* 

*Since 2016, my partner Sergey Chernikov and I have been developing @combot service. Sergey now moves between Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Belgrade. Over the years, we've maintained our status as the top commercial chat moderation service, catering to significant clients ranging from Binance to individual protocols (including Doge chats). Currently, we serve 170,000 active communities. Our numbers might seem modest compared to free solutions, but it's understandable given our commercial orientation.*

*In our journey, we ventured into an advertising exchange model (which we wrapped up in 2018) and developed a [chat top](https://combot.org/top/telegram/groups)  and [stickers catalog](https://combot.org/telegram/stickers) without any commercial intent. Impressively, our sticker catalog now has about 310,000 unique visitors monthly, with 1.6 million views. Additionally, the chat top attracts 150,000 unique visitors and 300,000 views.*

*Now, due to personal and development reasons, we're overhauling Combot entirely. Our vision is to make it more community-centric, incorporating features like CRM and other essentials vital for advanced community management.*

**Since Combot is the biggest source of sticker packs discoverability, do you have any statistics around estimated current number of sticker packs in Telegram? What about any other statistics around users who come and download stick packs via Combot?**

*We are currently storing about 1.5 million sticker packs. Another directory (no traffic there, but while we were redesigning our top, we stopped collection) has 1.8 million.*

*These are all sticker packs seen in public chats. I think, taking into account those that have never been included in that context, I can estimate the total number at about 2-2.5 million.*

*Regarding our statistics, we had, as I said, about 150,000 users per month, mostly Russia and CIS, and 450,000 clicks on sticker packs in Telegram. I don't know what will happen now, we finally put the new catalog into production today (we cut down new features as much as possible, because we were working with SEO first of all, and the announcement of sticker monetization from Telegram was expected, so I didn't update the catalog with anything yet).*

**How do you think the sticker pack monetization at Telegram's level will impact potential issues around IP (for example, how can users distinguish between an official sticker pack from the Pudgy Penguins team versus a 3rd party artist)?**

*About the prospects of monetization. In online services, monetization usually affects no more than 10% of content creators, and there is a classic Pareto rule: 80% of monetization will be taken by the 20% of creators, of which 80% of profits will be taken by the 20% of the 20%.  In the end, it will be mostly professional pack creators who will make money, not meme creators.* 

*How will users react, and will they buy packs "just for use"? I don't know. I'm not sure. As an NFT with the potential for a subsequent sale – yes. But as a digital commodity? We'll have to see.*

**Are there ways for 3rd party teams to also monetize and benefit from this monetization? For example, could Combot become an aggregator of sorts or a way for people to sell off their sticker packs in a lump-sum amount versus listing it on Fragment and then earning commissions on an ongoing basis?**

*Yes, we can. And yes, that's how we want to develop the catalog.*

**Are there any sticker packs you personally really like?**

*I personally enjoy how Telegram users make sticker packs like the one below. They're like a moodboard.*

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/unnamed_7_310326bf06/unnamed_7_310326bf06.png) 

Our analysis and thesis is that the sticker packs rev-share will be commission based. So, for example, if an artist makes a pack and then lists it on Fragment (if Telegram chooses to monetize sticker packs via Fragment), whoever buys the sticker pack for say 1 TON via [Wallet](https://wallet.tg/), 0.95 TON (95%) will go to the creator. 

However, the risk to the creator is that the sticker pack does not actually get popular (enough) and/or take off due to the artists' lack of fame. In theory, if the artist expects to make revenue for ~2 months post-launch (i.e., during the first 2 months of heavy promotion of their sticker or brand via Telegram Ads or social viral mechanics), and then subsequently it gets overshadowed by newer launches and nobody buys it anymore, it might actually be in the interests of the artist to sell it to a professional group that buys out the sticker pack in lump sum (with some forecasted cash flow which is discounted back) and take the up-front payment. 

The professional group that holds thousands of such stickers can then use their marketing/KOL/X army to massively pump the meme/sticker and engage in social viral mechanics in order to derive revenue above and beyond what they paid to the artist in a lump sum.

It would also be very interesting if Fragment itself could develop an auction capability for artists to list their sticker packs and for regular users to be able to purchase the rights to the stickers and, therefore, the future revenue stream. Again, this could result in a robust marketplace dynamic where investors who have an eye for art can spot up-and-coming artists as well as their sticker packs and buy out their future revenue stream in return for an up-front lump sum investment. 

It also remains to be seen how Telegram will work with issues of copyright and copycats especially for memes/brands that are already well-recognized (such as Azuki, Pudgy Penguins, etc.).

One thing is for sure: Telegram sticker packs are a blue ocean waiting to be explored.


## USDt-TON

Here is a [snapshot](https://ton.org/borderless) of where USDt on TON is available:

- [OKX](https://www.okx.com/campaigns/usdt-ton-promotion)
- [Mercuryo](https://mercuryo.io/explore/article/mercuryo-supports-tether-usdt-on-the-open-network-ton)
- [ByBit](https://learn.bybit.com/crypto/usdt-on-ton/)
- [Neocrypto](https://neocrypto.net/)
- [Kucoin](https://www.kucoin.com/announcement/en-ton-tether-usdt-is-now-supported-on-kucoin-20240420)
- [Onramper](https://twitter.com/GetOnramper/status/1786355142331089075)
- [MEXC](https://www.coincarp.com/exchange/announcement/mexc-17827791515396/)
- [Transak](https://transak.com/) 
- [Bitfinex](https://blog.bitfinex.com/media-releases/tether-usdt-on-ton-deposits-withdrawals-available-on-bitfinex/)
- [Moonpay](https://www.moonpay.com/newsroom/ton-usdt)
- [Wallet](https://t.me/wallet) 
- [Unlimit Crypto](https://twitter.com/unlimit_crypto/status/1781295190520603031)
- [Ramp](https://ramp.network/blog/press-release-ramp-teams-up-with-ton-foundation-to-enable-usdt-on-ton-purchases-and-withdrawals) 
- [Changelly](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/changelly-launches-probably-serious-quiz-introducing-0-fee-swaps-of-usdt-on-ton-and-toncoin-1033276460)
- [Onramp.money](https://onramp.money/experience/)
- [AvanChange](https://avanchange.com/en/)
- [Utorg](https://utorg.pro/buy-usdtton-with-ils/)
- [Alchemy Pay](https://alchemypay.org/)
- [Banxa](https://twitter.com/BanxaOfficial/status/1781309424147275930)
- [Fonbnk](https://fonbnk.com/)
- [ChangeNOW](https://changenow.sh/revitalizing-transactions-usdt-ton-set-to-be-included-on-changenow-platform/index.html)
- [Guardarian](https://guardarian.com/currencies)
- [Coinify](https://www.coinify.com/)

## Telegram Wallet Updates

- Monthly Active Users of Telegram Wallet now exceeds 6.6M
- Monthly Active Users of TON Space now exceeds 6M

## TON Ecosystem By The Numbers

**Key Metrics**

- Total accounts: 16.9M (+62% MoM)
- Total active on-chain wallets: 3.5M (+25% MoM)
- TVL: $169M 
- Fees: $4.2M

**DEXs on TON**:

- Ston.Fi
    - MAU (with on-chain interactions): 266K (+70% MoM)
    - DAU (with on-chain interactions): 24K (+76% MoM)
- DeDust.io
    - MAU (with on-chain interactions): 130K

**GameFi on TON:**
- [Catizen](https://t.me/catizenbot)
    - Total in-game users: 4M
    - DAU: 776K
    - On-chain transactions: 3.7M
- [Gatto](https://t.me/gatto_gamebot)
    - Total in-game users: 1.1M
    - MAU: 350K
    - DAU: 25K
- [The Pixels](http://@the_pixels_bot)
    - Total in-game users: 2.5M
    - DAU: 450K
- [XPlus](https://t.me/xplusio_bot)
    - Total in-game users (including iOS app): 1.3M
    - MAU: 600K
    - DAU: 300K
- [Maincard](https://t.me/maincardton_bot)
    - Registered users: 270K
    - MAU: 30K

## TON Society In the Wild
Over the two months, we hosted a ton of in-person events across the globe. 

**Highlights:**
- TON Society CIS
    - Moscow
    - St. Petersburg
- TON Society Europe
    - Prague
    - Lisbon
- TON Society Hong Kong
- TON Society India
    - Bangalore
    - Delhi
- TON Society Korea
- TON Society London
- TON Society Turkey
- TON Society UAE
- TON Syndicate
    - Belarus
    - Finland
    - Georgia
    - India
    - Nigeria
    - Serbia
    - Sri Lanka
    - Taiwan

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/partners_4242fe309d/partners_4242fe309d.jpg) 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/partners_2_b210d0a2f9/partners_2_b210d0a2f9.jpg) 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/partners_3_1d08649bfc/partners_3_1d08649bfc.jpeg) 

For our upcoming events, please see the new [TON Society calendar](https://society.ton.org/activities/events).

## TON Foundation New Hires

- **Pavel Lesyuk** - QA Engineer (EcoDev) 
- **Eugene Anisei** (part-time to full-time) - TON Society Europe Lead (Growth) 
- **Viktor Pjadkin** - Content Manager (MarCom) 
- **Aliaksandr Diakou** - Developer (EcoDev) 
- **Miron Puzanov** - Ecosystem Manager (EcoDev) 
- **Daniela Prokofieva** - Campaign Manager (MarCom) 
- **Harvey Kim** - Korea Lead (Growth)

## Developer Updates

- Onboarding
    - Extensive 4-hour Blockchain Basics with TON course released in [English](https://stepik.org/course/201294), [Mandarin](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Dr421b78f/) (AI translation) and [Russian](https://stepik.org/course/202221) (AI translation)
    - Tech-focused 8-hour TON Blockchain course translated into [Mandarin](https://stepik.org/course/201638/promo) language (AI translation)
    - [tonresear.ch](https://tonresear.ch) community for TON-specific discussions launched and hosted The Open League project candidates
- TON Infra
    - [Multisig 2.0](https://multisig.ton.org/#) smart contract launched
    - [Highload Wallet v3](https://t.me/tondev_news/93) launched for fast jettons withdrawals

- Tact smart contract language
    - Tact 1.3.0 released: lots of new features to simplify TON developers onboarding
    - Tact editor plugins for all popular programmer’s editors and the online [Nujan](https://ide.nujan.io/) IDE have improved to support the new features
    - TVM / Tact static analyzers reached their MVP milestones
- Hackathons
    - [The Open League Hackathon](https://dorahacks.io/hackathon/the-open-league-hackathon)
    - Prize Fund: $2.3 million
        - Registration: Currently, 450 projects have registered
        - Submission Deadline: June 15
        - Hackathon End Date: July 15
        - Location: Online + TON Society Hubs
    - [TON HackerHouse](https://tonhackerhouse.com/)
        - Prize Fund: $1 million
        - Date: April 4
        - Winners: 10
        - Location: Hong Kong
- Validators
    - Network fees decreased by 2.5 times.
    - Added the first [precompiled](https://t.me/tondev_news/99) smart contract, which will further reduce fees for USDt in particular
- TON Connect 
    - New package versions:
    - @tonconnect/sdk 3.0.2
    - @tonconnect/ui 2.0.2
    - @tonconnect/ui-react 2.0.2
- Documentation
    - Guidelines for Devs:
        - [Things to focus on while working with TON Blockchain](https://docs.ton.org/develop/smart-contracts/security/things-to-focus)
        - [Secure Smart Contract Programming](https://docs.ton.org/develop/smart-contracts/security/secure-programming)
    - New Core Documents
        - [Precompiled Contracts](https://docs.ton.org/develop/smart-contracts/core-contracts/precompiled)
        - [Library Cells](https://docs.ton.org/develop/data-formats/library-cells)
        - [Shards](https://docs.ton.org/develop/blockchain/shards)
        - [Infinity Sharding Paradigm](https://docs.ton.org/develop/blockchain/sharding-lifecycle)
        - [TVM Upgrade 2024.04](https://docs.ton.org/learn/tvm-instructions/fee-calculation-instructions)
        - [TVM Instructions](https://docs.ton.org/learn/tvm-instructions/instructions)
    - You can now access the following dev resources in Mandarin: 
        - [TON Documentation](https://docs.ton.org/mandarin/)

## Telegram Apps

- **DevTools**:
    - Merged with one of the biggest GitHub communities about Telegram Mini Apps and created a branding with logo: https://github.com/Telegram-Mini-Apps
    - Created Telegram UI library for a fast app boilerplating: https://github.com/Telegram-Mini-Apps/TelegramUI
    - Launched CLI tool to scaffold your new mini app on the Telegram Mini Apps platform: https://docs.telegram-mini-apps.com/packages/tma-js-create-mini-app#tma-js-create-mini-app
    - 5 new apps connected to in-app ads
    - New ecosystem presentations:
        - https://www.tapps.center/TON-Ecosystem-Best%20Practices.pdf
        - https://www.tapps.center/Telegram_Ecosystem.pdf

- **The Open League**
    - Launched [@Open_league_bot](https://t.me/Open_league_bot) with 200K unique users to participate in LP and Prediction Contest
- **Telegram Web3 Grants program:**
    - 3 projects were accepted and started their work on achieving milestones, 10 projects submitted their milestones
    - Internal Accelerator for Telegram Apps Builders: https://blog.ton.org/ton-accelerator-participants-announcement
- **tApps Center:**
    - 350 Telegram Apps listed
    - 1.2M App launches, 420K MAU
    - 5.8 Sessions per user (+10%)
    - Launched redesign and user engagement featuring increased discovery. 5.14 Apps per user (+33% MoM)
    - Ecosystem version of Tapps Center available via Wallet Explore section


**Disclaimer**

- *TON Partners Update, where applicable, strictly reflects authors’ own views, ideas and opinions. It is not a production of The Open Network Foundation, nor is it affiliated with any broker/dealer or registered investment advisor.*
- *Conduct your own due diligence, or consult a licensed financial advisor or broker before making any and all investment decisions. Any investments, trades, speculations, or decisions made on the basis of any information found on this report, expressed or implied herein, are committed at your own risk, financial or otherwise.*

TON Partners Report, March & April 2024

Welcome back to TON Innovators, our series celebrating the innovative minds and groundbreaking projects within the TON Ecosystem. Today, we’re talking to [Storm Trade](https://wallet.tg/), a trading and exchange platform seamlessly integrated with Telegram, [Wallet](https://wallet.tg/), and built on TON Blockchain. Storm Trade is setting new standards by aiming for DeFi mass adoption, exemplifying the synergy between advanced blockchain technology and accessible social platforms.

Now, let’s dive into the story of Storm Trade, its development journey, and the exciting future that lies ahead. We’ll explore the innovative features, community engagement strategies, and the challenges faced along the way

*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of TON Foundation. This is not investment advice.*

----
**Storm Trade, welcome to TON Innovators! Can you start by sharing the early days of Storm Trade? What inspired you to create a DEX on Telegram within the TON Ecosystem?**

Hi! Sure, I'd be happy to explain how Storm Trade came to be. Our goal was to simplify DeFi and make it accessible to everyone. In the winter of 2023, we took part in a hackathon and won second place, just behind DeDust. That’s when we first discovered the TON Ecosystem and saw its huge potential. We used our winnings to develop our project further, and we realized we were on the right track.

**How has integrating with Telegram impacted the user and community experience on Storm Trade? What unique perks does this offer compared to traditional trading platforms?**

Telegram is a huge and active platform, with a rapidly growing user base. In some countries, it's the top choice for both personal and professional communication. By integrating with Telegram, our exchange becomes easily accessible and user-friendly. There's no need for KYC or other checks. Just open Telegram, create and connect a wallet, and start trading—all in a few clicks. We aim to make trading as easy as chatting with friends, and our users love us for it.

**Can you share a story of a particularly memorable episode that happened on Storm Trade?**

Building an exchange is complex, so there are always interesting stories to share. For example, when we added our quest to Notcoin, our traffic became so high that it stopped our bot for a few minutes. We've improved our infrastructure since then, but that moment was unforgettable. It showed us that mass adoption is close for the TON Ecosystem, and we need to be ready.

**Security and privacy are critical in DeFi. How does Storm Trade keep users' assets and transactions secure and private?**

Running an exchange is serious business, so user safety is our top priority. We’ve implemented several key measures to manage high-leverage trading risks and ensure security and privacy.

First, we conduct thorough audits of our smart contracts to find and fix any vulnerabilities. This adds a layer of protection for our users' funds.

Second, we let users trade with self-custodial wallets, so they retain full control over their assets. This removes the need for KYC procedures, enhancing privacy by keeping personal information off our platform.

Third, our platform has a strong economic risk management model for liquidity providers. This includes multiple risk parameters to ensure stability and security, protecting providers from excessive risk.

We also use a decentralized liquidation engine to handle position liquidations transparently and fairly, protecting both traders and liquidity providers.

Importantly, users only risk the funds they’ve allocated as margin for a position. Even in significant market movements, exposure is limited to the specific funds committed to trades.

**Your website says you can “trade everything!” What unique things can users trade on Storm Trade, and what motivated you to offer such a wide range of options?**

At Storm Trade, our "Trade Everything" commitment goes beyond cryptocurrencies to include a variety of assets, including real-world assets, all on one platform. We recently added around 20 major cryptocurrency tokens, giving users a wide range of trading options. For example, our new Notcoin futures have quickly become popular.

But our vision is broader. We're working on adding assets beyond cryptocurrencies. Imagine trading Forex and commodities directly from Telegram—like oil futures or shorting gold at historic highs. At Storm Trade, we aim to make trading diverse assets easy and exciting, empowering users to trade seamlessly.

**Tell us about your team, who are you guys? What’s a day in the life of the Storm Trade team like? Any unique team traditions or rituals?**

Our team isn't very big. It includes 14 professionals from all corners of the world: from smart contract developers to customer support. These are people who have gone through difficult times and grown during their time at Storm. Our typical day starts with planning, but the best part is when we meet in person. Talking together, we see the power of what we’re building. This drives us to reach new heights and never settle.

We also have a meme thread in our work hub. We share memes from our community and laugh as a team. Sometimes, laughing at ourselves is the best way to keep going.

**Let’s talk about your backers and partnerships. How have these helped your development and growth?**

Yes, partnerships are crucial to our growth at Storm Trade. We work with ecosystem projects, investment funds, and media resources. We regularly host partner tournaments with great rewards, encouraging users to trade, climb the leaderboard, and compete for prizes.

We also work with top investment funds that support our platform with valuable resources.

We’re also excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with Pyth Network and Stork for low-latency price feeds. These partnerships enhance our platform’s capabilities and provide users with reliable market data.

We’re grateful for our partners' ongoing support and look forward to strengthening these relationships in the future.

**Can you give us some insight into your user numbers? How successful has the project been so far? What key factors have driven this growth, and how do you plan to keep it going?**

Great question. Our user base is quite large, with over 900,000 wallets connected to our Mini App. But we still have an exciting user onboarding process ahead.

Our platform supports community-building features like team tournaments, where traders can collaborate and compete, enhancing the social aspect of trading. We also distribute NFTs as rewards for participating in trading activities, adding a gamified layer that makes the experience more engaging and rewarding. This blend of social interaction and financial activity within a single app makes trading more accessible and fosters a vibrant, interactive community.

**Looking ahead, what major developments and new features can we expect from Storm Trade? How do these fit into your long-term vision for the platform?**

We have a lot of exciting things in store.

We're moving into SocialFi, adding interactive viral mechanics. Think of clickers but more engaging.

We're also developing 1-click trading, copy-trading, prediction markets, and new trading pairs. Our motto is “trade anything,” and we're committed to proving it.

Additionally, we're working on a secret ambassador program.

All these efforts aim to make Storm a powerful, balanced product—an entire ecosystem.

**Finally, what advice would you give to other developers and innovators looking to build on TON Blockchain? What unique opportunities does TON offer, and how can new projects make the most of them?**

For developers entering the DeFi space, my advice is to immerse yourself in the ecosystem and stay current with the latest developments. Participate in hackathons and study open-source code for valuable insights and experience.

However, it’s important to remember that success in DeFi requires more than technical skills. Build user-friendly interfaces and ensure strong security measures to gain trust.

Also, don’t forget to focus on product development, marketing, and community engagement. Listen to your users, respond to feedback, and build a strong community around your platform.

Prioritize both the technical and community aspects of your project—this is the key to long-term success.

TON Innovators: Storm Trade

On May 16, TON Blockchain set a new benchmark for layer 1 performance, after having previously set a TPS record to become [the world's fastest blockchain](https://blog.ton.org/100000-transactions-per-second-ton-sets-the-world-record-on-its-first-performance-test). On this day, The Open Network welcomed over 1 million new users in just 24 hours, joining an elite group of Web3 projects with similar single-day growth, such as Binance, Coinbase, and AxieInfinity.

This milestone coincided with the minting and listing of Notcoin, a popular Web3 community tool, showcasing TON's exceptional scalability and readiness for widespread adoption. The seamless transaction processing and stable performance during this massive influx of new users confirmed TON’s capability, debunking any doubts about its performance under pressure.

## Scalability & User Engagement

The Notcoin listing was the biggest real-life test of TON’s scalability and resilience to date. On May 16, 1.04 million unique onchain holders interacted with the blockchain, including 841,170 users participating in the Notcoin minting and 200,000 regular daily active users. **This makes TON the first blockchain to onboard 1 million users in a single day**.

The 841,170 Notcoin mints show significant user interest in new projects. Additionally, the day saw increased activity on TON DEXs, on-chain conversions from WNOT to NOT, and active swapping of NOT NFT vouchers for Notcoin jettons. This activity underscores the network’s robust technical capabilities and strong user engagement within the TON Ecosystem.

Notcoin recorded over 1 million new Notcoin onchain holders in just 30 hours. And although there is no data we could use to compare this to other Web3 coins and tokens, we’re confident that this puts Notcoin among the fastest Web3 projects to achieve 1 million holders in such a short period of time. At the publishing of this article, there are over 2 million Notcoin onchain holders.

In the first 30 hours, starting at 12:00 on May 16, 117,254 unique traders swapped WNOT to NOT in 216,530 transactions. There were also 67,258 voucher swaps on listed 16 addresses during this time period.

## TON’s Unshakeable Network Performance

TON’s performance during this event was flawless, demonstrating its reliability and efficiency even during periods of significant network demand. The network remained fully operational under peak load conditions, maintaining high transaction speeds despite the high transaction volume and providing a smooth user experience. TON’s market capitalization and trading volume surged on both CEXs and DEXs. Furthermore, during the listing, TON achieved all-time highs with 0.5 million daily active users and 3.2 million monthly active users, showcasing remarkable growth and engagement within the ecosystem.

## Conclusion

Onboarding over 1 million users in one day marks a new chapter for TON Blockchain and underscores its robustness and scalability. We understand that a single day doesn’t make a year, but we’re confident that this ‘live ammo’ test has proven TON’s capability to handle significant traffic without compromising on its performance. It shows that TON managed to capture the momentum while the rest of the Web3 market slowly moves sideways, uncertain of the future. 

TON’s architecture, designed for high efficiency, low fees, and resilience, ensures that the network can scale to meet the ever-increasing demands of Web3 and provide the infrastructure required to onboarding 500 million users to Web3 by 2028. With its proven ability to manage peak loads, TON further positions itself as the gateway to Web3, prepared for mass adoption of decentralized technologies and a thriving Web3 ecosystem with thousands of projects and millions of users. 

The ‘1 Million Day’ is not about numbers or technology but about a significant step towards wider blockchain adoption and technological integration of Web3 into our daily lives–putting crypto in every pocket. It’s about the enthusiasm and positivity within the TON Community and a celebration of innovation that thrives on TON. 

**#TON1Million**

TON Onboards 1 Million Users in a Single Day

TON Society is joining [ETH Belgrade](https://taikai.network/en/ethbelgrade/hackathons/eth-belgrade-hackathon-2024/overview), the biggest crypto event in the Balkans, with a special TON hackathon track that can be attended in-person or online. This is TON's first time participating in a major general crypto event, highlighting its growing mainstream attention and ability to attract developers following the successes of Notcoin, USDt-TON, and The Open League. Having a dedicated track at ETH Belgrade will give Web3 builders from other ecosystems a unique chance to reach Telegram’s massive 900M+ monthly users and take advantage of the messenger’s uniquely user-friendly interface.
<button href="https://taikai.network/ethbelgrade/hackathons/eth-belgrade-hackathon-2024" passutmsource="true">
  Join the ETH Belgrade Hackathon
</button >
<br/> 
As an official sponsor of ETH Belgrade, TON is offering a $10,000 prize pool for participants creating [Telegram Mini Apps](https://docs.ton.org/develop/dapps/telegram-apps/) at the Belgrade event. Successful projects from this event can then be submitted to the global [Open League Hackathon](https://dorahacks.io/hackathon/the-open-league-hackathon/buidl), which has a $2M prize pool. If you're a developer looking to build on TON, the TON track at ETH Belgrade offers a great head start. Sign up for both the ETH Belgrade Hackathon and the Open League Hackathon to access exclusive support and prize money.

The ETH Belgrade TON track will be held in-person from May 31 to June 2 in Belgrade, with **online participation also available**. The event is hosted by [AIN](https://ain.rs/), a leading software development company in the Balkans. AIN previously built [NFT-Tix](https://www.avax.network/blog/nft-tix-migrates-to-avalanche-and-announces-global-festival-partnerships), one of the most successful NFT ticketing solutions on Ethereum. Now, AIN is transitioning to TON to create a mass adoption ticketing solution for the TON-Telegram Web3 ecosystem.
<button href="https://dorahacks.io/hackathon/the-open-league-hackathon/buidl" passutmsource="true">
  Join The Open League Hackathon
</button >
<br/> 
## TON x ETH Belgrade 

TON is still in its early development stages, but its popularity is growing. TON Society’s partnership with ETH Belgrade is exposing TON to the wider blockchain developer community, attracting more builders to the Telegram Web3 ecosystem and encouraging the creation of innovative use cases.

If you are a developer looking to start building on TON, this is a great opportunity. ETH Belgrade offers a three-day hacking experience, allowing builders to join in-person in Belgrade or online. The TON track features a $10,000 prize pool and accepts Telegram Mini Apps in game, social, e-commerce, or DeFi categories.

Representatives from TON Foundation, TON Society, and AIN will be at the event to help you bring your idea to life on TON. If you have a digital project and want it to reach Telegram’s 900M+ monthly active users with special building support, this is your chance.

For a comprehensive list of resources for building Mini Apps on TON, check out the "Prizes" tab on the [ETH Belgrade signup page](https://taikai.network/en/ethbelgrade/hackathons/eth-belgrade-hackathon-2024/overview) and scroll down to the TON section.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/AIN_6c8110e800/AIN_6c8110e800.jpg) 

## TON in Serbia

Serbia ranks among the [top five countries globally](https://startupgenome.com/reports/gser2020) for blockchain developers, making it a prime Web3 location with its strong tech market and innovative digital asset laws. Following the success of three TON Society meetups with 300+ in attendance, TON Society is now joining ETH Belgrade to onboard more of the local tech scene into TON. These community outreach events and new collaborations with established Web3 players like ETH Belgrade are crucial for securing TON’s mass adoption.

AIN, experienced in blockchain education in Serbia, is spearheading this effort by hosting the TON track at ETH Belgrade in collaboration with TON Society. They are also developing a TON onboarding curriculum aimed at improving documentation and providing the best resources for developers in Serbia and around the world to build with FunC, Tact, and Telegram Mini Apps.

If you are a builder in Serbia, join the dedicated [TON Builders Belgrade chat](https://t.me/+OseWMZrD9RMyNTM0) to stay updated on local developments and discover all the opportunities to build on TON.

TON Joins ETH Belgrade for First Hackathon Track at Major Crypto Event

Tonkeeper is a leading TON Ecosystem product, offering a robust, non-custodial wallet solution and easy integration with dApps. With more than 2.3 million active users each month, Tonkeeper is helping to drive the development of DeFi on TON. Here’s what’s new and exciting in the latest update!

*Please note that this piece was written by the Tonkeeper team for publication on the TON Foundation blog. TON Foundation carries no responsibility for the content and its accuracy.*

## The new W5 wallet standard

The introduction of the W5 wallet standard in Tonkeeper Pro brings a host of benefits that enhance both the user and merchant experience. W5 supports gasless transactions, delegation and account recovery, subscription payments with tokens and Toncoin, and cheap multi-transfers. 

Users will have access to 25% lower blockchain fees, a new flexible plugin interface for developers, and internal message signing that allows delegation of gas fee payments.

**How to switch to W5 in Tonkeeper Pro:**

1. [Download](https://tonkeeper.com/desktop) and install the desktop version of Tonkeeper Pro.
2. Enable the W5 feature in the Dev Menu.
3. Switch your active address to W5 under wallet settings.

## Tonkeeper Pro

[Tonkeeper Pro](https://tonkeeper.com/pro) now offers detailed wallet analysis tools. This subscription service is particularly beneficial for professional users who want to integrate Tonkeeper into their daily business operations. Use the promo code “pro-50” to get a 50% discount on your first purchase.

Tonkeeper Pro has launched a new multi-send feature, allowing users to perform up to 255 transactions in one go. This is especially useful for making bulk payments like salaries, affiliate contributions, or token distributions to multiple users simultaneously.

**How to use multi-send:**

1. Click ‘multi-send’
2. Input a list of addresses or DNS names, specify the TON or fiat amounts, and add optional comments.
3. Save your transaction lists for future use.
4. All transactions will be executed simultaneously.

## Tonkeeper Battery

The new Tonkeeper Battery feature removes the need to purchase native coins for gas, enabling immediate use of stablecoins and NFTs without KYC or using an exchange. Users can top up their Tonkeeper Battery using a bank card or stablecoins, while the system automatically manages blockchain fees.

**Battery features:**

- Gasless payments: Use tokens directly without needing native coins for fees
- Easy top-up: Charge your battery via in-app purchases or by sending TON/stablecoins to a [designated address](https://tonviewer.com/battery.ton)
- Automatic fee management: The battery pays your transaction fees automatically

[Join the public beta](https://t.me/batterypublicbeta) of [Tonkeeper Battery](https://t.me/tonkeeper_news/86) to start using these features and contribute to its development by providing feedback.

## Conclusion

Tonkeeper’s latest update introduces the W5 standard in Tonkeeper Pro, multi-send capabilities, and the Tonkeeper Battery beta, making one of the leading wallet solutions in the ecosystem even more accessible, user-friendly, and useful. Download the latest version of [Tonkeeper](https://tonkeeper.com/) and start exploring TON today!

Tonkeeper Releases Huge Update

Yeah, yeah, we know you’re not thinking about anything but the Notcoin listing these days, but before the NOT-Day arrives, let’s review the results of The Open League’s Season 2, which just officially ended. 

If you asked crypto influencers on Twitter how they feel, they would probably tell you that it’s so over, but looking at Season 2 data, we dare to disagree. And while there might be a lot of negative sentiment and doomy predictions, the TON Ecosystem keeps on marching forward, completely unbothered. 

**At the end of Season 1, we implemented two new changes that impacted the progression of The Open League’s Season 2:** 
- Reduced the season duration from one month to just two weeks to speed up rewards distribution and allow more projects to compete
- Reduced leaderboards from five to three to simplify the competition and make promotions and relegations more straightforward. 

**For Season 3, starting now, we’re implementing just one change: Liquidity Pool Boosts will be capped at 15,000 TON to account for Toncoin market movements.**

## **Key Highlights:** 
Below are some data captured at the end of Season 2—and just look at that beauty. In parentheses, you can see the growth compared to the start of TOL.

- Daily active wallets (DAW): 311,900 (+725%)
- Weekly Active Wallets: 999,600 (+540%)
- Monthly Active Wallets: 1,700,000 (+325%)
- DeFi Total Value Locked: $206M (+800%)
- Liquidity Providers: 37,462 (+765%)
- Daily Trading Volume: $29.2M (+1,038%)
- Daily Traders: 28,698 (+498%)
- Jetton Holders: 1,624,407 (+1,316%)

## **Final Project Ranking of The Open League Season 2**
In Season 2, we tracked leaderboards across three main categories: App Battle, Token Major League & Token Minor League. Below are the final snapshots of leaderboards as of the official end of Season 2, May 15th at 11:00 AM UTC. 

The rankings are based on various metrics for each category, but mainly the number of holders, TVL, DEX activity, and distribution. 

### **App Battle**
Congratulations to the top seven teams, **Catizen**, **Getgems**, **Tonano**, **TON Punks**, **The Pixels**, **SquidTG**, and **Fanton**, who will receive a share of $500,000 in rewards for their Season 2 performance! 
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/app_battle_de027cdfbe/app_battle_de027cdfbe.png) 

### **Token Major League**
In the Major League, $500,000 is split between the top 7 teams: **KINGY**, **RAFF**, **ANON**, **WEB3**, **REDO**, **STON**, and **JVT**. @BTC25 has been found guilty of violating the TOL rules and eliminated from the competition. 
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/major_league_52f877fb3d/major_league_52f877fb3d.png) 


### **Token Minor League**
The top teams from the Minor League, **MEH**, **SCALE**, **BOLT**, **RECA**, and **ARBUZ**, will be promoted to the Major League. wNot is removed from The Open League, as the coin will cease to exist due to the upcoming Notcoin listing. 
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/minor_league_e12c85d760/minor_league_e12c85d760.png) 

## **Conclusion**
As always, we’re extremely grateful to all projects that participated in last month’s season and are excited to see what’s coming in Season 3, which kicks off today, May 15th. 

- **Major League relegations:** JETTON, GRAM, PUNK, DFC
- **Eliminated teams:** wNOT (ceases existence), @BTC25 (rules violation)


If you want to track the Season 3 leaderboards, [visit The Open League website](https://ton.org/en/open-league?filterBy=forProjects). 

<button href="https://ton-org.notion.site/How-to-submit-your-application-on-TONResearch-c9827f6f60fc4f64b6e8701a96643044" passutmsource="true">
Apply to The Open League
</button >
<br/> 

TOL Season 2 Results Just Landed: Two Teams Eliminated!

Welcome to another edition of “TON Innovators,” where we discuss the trailblazers and game changers in TON Ecosystem. Today, we’re excited to feature [Connecton VPN](https://connecton.surf/), a leader in online privacy and security with a very special history. As the first VPN service powered by TON Blockchain, the [Connecton VPN Mini App](https://t.me/ConnecTONbot/app) represents a significant leap forward in how we think about secure, private internet access.

Connecton VPN is one of our favorite TON Ecosystem products, showcasing seamless integration of blockchain into everyday digital activities. It is a standout case study for the power of TON technology. The product embodies the TON and Telegram principles of privacy, security, and ease of use, offering a practical blockchain and crypto application. This is the epitome of ‘Web3 under the hood’, making blockchain *actually useful*.

Now, let’s explore the very unique team behind Connecton VPN, their challenges, triumphs, and the exciting future ahead for their product.

*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of TON Foundation. This is not investment advice.*

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/connecton_d5b4c3e92a/connecton_d5b4c3e92a.jpg) 

**Connecton! Welcome to TON Innovators! To start with, please tell us your story. What inspired the creation of Connecton VPN, and why did you choose to build it on the TON Blockchain?**

This project started from a personal need. I was in Cuba back then, during the protests of July 2021, when the government blocked many internet sites, and lowered the bandwidth to prevent people from livestreaming those events. Being a fan of Telegram and the ideas of freedom and privacy, I bought a server using cryptocurrency, made a simple integration with Wireguard (a VPN protocol), created a Telegram bot, and onboarded thousands of users for free, just to help people connect to the internet and bypass censorship.

A few months later, realizing the cost of maintaining the service, I introduced a pricing model. Many users subscribed, and I attracted new customers. This made a good amount of money, allowing me to scale by adding more servers and taking the project more seriously. It went viral, and some media outlets covered this VPN service, known by a different name at the time.

Faced with the limitations of fiat payments, I began exploring cryptocurrency payments. By September 2021, TON was gaining popularity, but few in Cuba were discussing it publicly. As a tech influencer, I promoted TON on my Telegram and YouTube channels, and on my podcast. Back then, the payment infrastructure was underdeveloped, and Wallet lacked a payments API. To address this, I created a payments gateway called TelePay. Unfortunately, due to limited merchant adoption and fierce competition from CryptoBot, xRocket, and Wallet, TelePay had to shut down a year later. However, the engine codebase is still available if anyone is interested (*wink wink*).

The turning point for the product came when influential investors connected to TON contacted me about acquiring the project, then known as Lugo Network. The best option was to sell, and they offered me the role of CTO, the opportunity to hire a team, and make this the leading VPN on TON. I accepted, moved to Serbia, and started anew.

After two years, with 80k+ users, 4 VPN protocols, 17 locations, and a growing team, we are ready to take the next steps toward decentralization and a new approach. Recently, our board of directors underwent significant changes; my partners left, and I took ownership. This required new decisions and a long-term growth strategy. The team has been incredibly supportive during this time. I am grateful for the past two years of collaboration with my former partners, but now we are looking to the future.

TON Blockchain is the perfect choice for building, thanks to its community, technical superiority, speed, and scalability. If any builders are still contemplating it, my advice is to start now—yesterday was already too late.

**Connecton VPN is a real innovator as the first VPN on TON. What lessons have you learned from being a first mover in this space?**

It was a challenge. The documentation was lacking back then, which forced us to be more creative and humble, finding new ways to deliver features to our users. Over these two years, TON Blockchain has massively improved, enhancing both the development and user experiences. Exciting new projects have emerged within the ecosystem, driven by great people.

We learned that being first is important but not decisive. Many competitors emerged later, proving that quality ensures a product’s longevity. When we started, Ton.app didn’t have a VPN section, but now they do as more teams embrace the idea of a private, safe, and resilient internet.

**Can you explain how Connecton VPN uses TON to enhance user privacy and security?**

Connecton VPN relies on TON for its payment infrastructure, and our website is accessible on the TON internet via a DNS (connec.ton). Paying with crypto leaves no trace or records, ensuring complete anonymity. We only know basic data provided by Telegram (first name, last name, username, chat ID, and avatar photo), which can be changed anytime without requiring legal or real names.

The combination of Telegram and TON is ideal for those who want to maintain their privacy. We are currently developing a new way to use TON Blockchain to decentralize our service, making it completely on-chain, transparent, open source, and powered by a Jetton, along with new technologies we are building.

In the future, we will rely on TON Blockchain for almost everything. As TON continues to grow, we will contribute to its development, enhancing both the value of Toncoin and its technological capabilities to promote greater freedom.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/connecton_2_e56f72232c/connecton_2_e56f72232c.jpg) 

**What are the key features that set Connecton VPN apart from other VPN services available today?**

Completely anonymous, high-speed, minimalistic, and easy to use—Connecton VPN is accessible within Telegram through a bot and a Mini App, primarily paid for with Toncoin. Built by a team unafraid to show its face in public, we don’t log, analyze, or share users' traffic with third parties. Our service embodies what a real VPN should be: focused on the people first.

For those seeking true privacy, anonymity, and freedom, we aim to be your gateway to the internet, protecting you whether you're on public Wi-Fi or at home.

While big VPNs aim for more control and profit, often compromising their integrity, we strive for greater decentralization, transparency, and on-chain integration, giving control to the people while knowing less about them. Our goal is to serve, which sets us apart.

If you visit our support chat, you’ll see we treat people like friends, making us approachable. This personalized approach truly makes a difference.

**What are some misconceptions people have about VPNs and blockchain that Connecton is addressing?**

Many users believe VPNs can work miracles, and the tech community strives to provide the best experience. However, some governments take serious measures to block VPN connections, and many streaming services work hard to detect VPN usage. Despite this ongoing cat-and-mouse game, centralized authorities cannot control the free flow of information and human exchange.

There’s also often confusion about what a VPN does. Essentially, a VPN just routes your traffic through someone else’s server. Your internet traffic goes to a secondary location before reaching the open internet, then returns to you. All that traffic is encrypted and protected, so no one can see the websites you visit or your activities. It’s like going to a costume party with a mask on—you can enjoy yourself while remaining anonymous.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/connecton_3_98d563cbc5/connecton_3_98d563cbc5.png)

**How does Connecton VPN handle user data, and what measures do you have in place to ensure privacy?**

We collect the minimum amount of data possible and plan to reduce it further when we go completely on-chain. Our team follows best practices in cybersecurity to protect our databases and services, ensuring your information is secure. Even if a breach occurs, there’s nothing to see—we essentially don’t know who our users are.

For traffic, we use the latest cutting-edge technologies and safe, tested protocols like Wireguard, OpenVPN, Trojan (not a virus, that’s the name), and ShadowSocks. We will also add Vless/Vmess soon.

We keep no logs and have zero knowledge of user traffic. Privacy is built into our service. And when you pay with Toncoin, it’s even more private.

**What has been the community response to Connecton VPN, and how have you engaged with your users?**

The community's enthusiasm is what drives us every day. Seeing messages of appreciation in support and knowing people are happy with a reliable service they can trust is our biggest motivation.

Financially, a growing number of people are paying for the service, ensuring its long-term sustainability.

Thanks to the Notcoin team, we recently gained thousands of new users in just a few weeks, further expanding our community. I want to thank all our ambassadors, supporters, friends, and customers for their support. More Twitter spaces are coming, along with a new set of products like games, tools, and other exciting features you will enjoy.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/connecton_4_b80eed4ea6/connecton_4_b80eed4ea6.jpg) 

**How does Connecton VPN plan to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving VPN market?**

The future is decentralized. We don’t aim to compete with those who grow by controlling and accumulating data. Instead, we plan to go completely on-chain and open source, powered by smart contracts, tokens, and decentralized VPN protocols.

The potential for growth in a decentralized infrastructure is virtually infinite. You can’t block something that multiplies itself. Governments may block our servers, but we can refresh them and they won’t be able to block all the servers of all participants in this new, future network.

We also plan to build hardware, allowing you to host your node server at home and receive payments from people using the VPN.

**Are there any upcoming features or expansions that Connecton VPN users can look forward to?**

The immediate plan is to work on this:

- $CON, our token, a Jetton on TON Blockchain.
- Increasing the number of locations.
- 2 new VPN protocols: Vless / Vmess.
- Mobile, desktop and VPN apps, while keeping Telegram as the main way to access and interact with the project
- Our own VPN protocol.
- A decentralized P2P VPN.
- Games, tools, and a section to explore other ecosystem apps.

And this is just the beginning.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/connecton_girl_d2bee2a354/connecton_girl_d2bee2a354.png) 

**Finally, what advice would you give to other developers looking to build on TON?**

Start now. Talk to your users, listen to their feedback, use $TON for payments, and integrate as much as possible with the blockchain. Don’t hesitate to approach other teams. We have good relationships with Wallet, Notcoin, and other major players. They are accessible and eager to spread crypto adoption.

Join the TON Community channels, participate in local events, or organize one yourself, and get to know other builders. Integrate, get some Toncoin, and use it in your daily life. It’s best when you use your own service.

Most importantly, give back to your community and contribute to the development of TON. This is built by all of us. Every contribution matters.

---

TON Innovators: Connecton

With The Open League in full swing, we continuously look for new ways to expand the initiative and reward you for your activity on The Open Network. That’s why today, we’re excited to announce Open League Summer, a series of 3-day bootcamps coming to 13 locations worldwide, from Germany and Serbia through Ukraine and Georgia all the way down to Taiwan and South Korea. The goal? To receive 1,000 applications to The Open League Hackathon by July 15th.

The Open League Summer is our largest IRL experience, hosted under The Open League umbrella, focused on talented developers within the TON Ecosystem. Together with TON Society, we prepared a massive $2 million prize pool for you to be shared among the hackathon winners and $5,000 for each bootcamp. On top of that, you can look forward to meeting the TON Foundation and TON Society teams, networking with fellow TON supporters, and building relationships that help you grow. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Screenshot_2024_05_14_at_11_41_05_PITCH_BUILD_GROW_WIN_857bdcee7a/Screenshot_2024_05_14_at_11_41_05_PITCH_BUILD_GROW_WIN_857bdcee7a.png) 

With The Open League, we’re focused on bringing crypto to every pocket and onboarding 500 million users to Web3 over the next 5 years. This cannot be done without talented developers and innovators who bring new use cases to TON, and this is our way of encouraging and recognizing all the hard work that goes into creating something meaningful and beneficial. We want you to build great products, and we will help you bring your ideas to light and capture the attention of your target audience. 

### **PITCH**
The Goal of the Bootcamps is to get 1000 of you builders PITCH-READY to apply for The Open League Hackathon. 

### **BUILD**
The best pitches will be accepted to The Open League Hackathon, where the goal is to BUILD your Minimum viable product (MVP).

### **GROW & WIN**
Winners of the Hackathon will share $2 million in prizes and get fast-tracked right into TON’s ecosystem-wide, massive rewards program. With ~$200 million in Toncoin rewards for you and your users.

## **Summer Bootcamp Schedule**
Bootcamps begin May 24th and will meet you at 13 locations over the following two weeks. 

The following in-person events cannot be attended virtually. Please click the button below and select your preferred location. Then just register, and that’s it. We will see you there! 

- **May 24th-26th:** Prague, Moscow, and Hong Kong
- **May 31st-June 2nd:** Warsaw, St. Petersburg, Taipei, and Soul
- **June 7th-9th:** Berlin, Kyiv, Tbilisi, Belgrade, Gurugam, and Minsk

<button href="https://society.ton.org/activities/open-league" passutmsource="true">
Register Now
</button >
<br/>

## **What to Expect**
Apart from getting a shot at winning a share of $2 million in rewards for the best hackathon winners and $5,000 for each bootcamp, you’ll gain hands-on knowledge, network with TON’s leading teams and experts, and get priceless feedback and support. 

- **Expert Guidance:** Leading teams and experts from the TON Ecosystem will share their knowledge and experience required to make a great product
- **Skill Enhancement:** You’ll get a chance to sharpen your skills and talk to the best of the best from your field of expertise. 
- **Hands-On Experience:** Deep dive into coding challenges, blockchain fundamentals, and innovative problem-solving techniques. 
- **Networking & Team Building:** Meet with fellow TON enthusiasts to brainstorm ideas and build your dream team
- **Feedback & Support:** Our experts will provide you with tailored feedback on your product and growth and help you refine your ideas for the hackathon
- **FAST TRACK into The Open League:** Projects that win the hackathon will be fast-tracked into TON’s massive rewards competition, which will offer over $200 million in rewards for you and your users.

**After the exhausting coding sesh, we will host after-parties at each location to refresh your mind and forge deeper connections.**

Whether you’re a coding veteran or a complete beginner looking to build something meaningful, this is your time to shine and get rewarded for your effort. There has never been a more complete program to take you from Idea to millions of users in the space of just a few short months. By building on TON, you’ll gain access to a unique support network and unique exposure to over 900 million Telegram users. **THIS IS YOUR TIME TO BUILD.** 

<button href="https://t.me/TONSociety" passutmsource="true">
Join TON Society on Telegram to stay in touch!
</button >
<br/>


PITCH. BUILD. GROW. WIN: Open League Summer Is Here 


Welcome to another edition of TON Culture Kings, where we examine the weird and wonderful world of memecoins on TON Blockchain. Today, we’re excited to feature [Povel Durev](https://durev.xyz/) ($DUREV), a prominent player in the TON memescape. Taking a break from his ice bath routine, Durev himself joins us to share the story behind $DUREV, discussing both the fun and the challenges of leading a memecoin community.

*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of TON Foundation. This is not investment advice.*

## TON Culture Kings: DUREV

**Welcome to TON Culture Kings, Durev! It’s awesome to have you here, especially straight from a workout! Could you start by telling us about the moment of inspiration behind $DUREV? What made you think, “Yep, let’s make a memecoin about Durov”?**

We have always admired Pavel Durov as an entrepreneur since the days of VKontakte, viewing him as one of the greatest of our time. We also actively traded memecoins on various blockchains, especially those in the Poorly Drawn style, like Boden and Tremp.

So, when we thought of creating a memecoin featuring Durov in this style, we knew it had to be on TON Blockchain. That’s when we came up with the idea for this memecoin. It all came together when we created images of Povel Durev—these instantly turned into top-tier memes.

The reaction was clear; everyone who saw them laughed and wanted to know where they could buy them. This enthusiastic response confirmed it was a project worth pursuing. We continue to enjoy every moment, whether we’re drawing new memes or discussing Povel Durev.

**Pavel Durov has faced off with the SEC, the FSB, and a bunch of other 3-letter agencies I probably don’t know about. If $DUREV had to pick a digital rival, who would it be and why?**

Generally, we avoid conflicts and don’t see other memecoin projects as competitors. Instead, we consider them partners. This is reflected in our approach of offering help, building friendships, and collaborating with various projects. Therefore, I don’t believe we have any digital rivals.

However, if forced to choose as our main adversary a three-letter agency or four-letter words, we would pick "Scam”! This is because we are the first memecoin launched by a publicly known team. We are committed to the highest levels of transparency in all our actions and regularly seek input from our community.

Our goal is to lead and raise the standards for memecoins. We want to avoid the pitfalls that occurred on Solana, where many projects ended up being scams and quick money-making schemes. We're here to build something lasting on TON and fight against short-sighted projects that, in my opinion, damage our industry.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/durev_2_6fa0bfbaf5/durev_2_6fa0bfbaf5.jpg) 

**Keeping your community pumped and engaged is key for any memecoin. What cool tricks are you using to keep your community excited and active with $DUREV? Will we be seeing any shirtless photo contests in the future?**

I’ll start with the shirtless photo contests; it's a brilliant suggestion that we hadn’t considered before, so thank you for that, and we will definitely think about it. On a serious note about our community engagement, our primary strength lies in our absolute reliance on and accountability to our community—they effectively guide our decisions.

Firstly, we prioritize transparency. Everything we do is communicated to our community first, even before we inform external partners and influencers. Secondly, we frequently consult our community, ensuring they feel involved and integral to every aspect of the project. For example, after experiencing a setback during our initial launch, we sought advice from our community on how to proceed. Regular polls and active engagement are fundamental to our operations.

We also reward community members for their active participation and ideas. Our moderation team was recruited from within the community, showing that we value and reward their contributions.

Additionally, we host various contests to keep the community engaged. We recently held a meme contest and a short video contest, both of which were highly successful. The entries were outstanding, and we showcased these on our social media, rewarding the creators. We are about to launch a significant airdrop bonus campaign for our token holders and NFT owners. This involves completing tasks through our bot while holding our tokens or NFTs, with a substantial prize pool shared among participants.

Finally, simply by holding Durev tokens or our NFTs, community members gain access to exclusive opportunities. For example, we recently helped our friends at Shitcoin launch their token, and our Diamond Hands members received a portion of the Shitcoin supply for free. We plan more such benefits in the future.

Above all, keeping a community engaged and earning their loyalty means genuinely loving and respecting each member, creating enjoyable content, and addressing their needs. People recognize and respond to this genuine care with their support.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/durev_3_714cdb9b53/durev_3_714cdb9b53.jpg) 

**If Pavel Durov and Joe Biden were to have a meme-off, who would win and why?**

I think in real life, Pavel Durov would never physically fight with an elderly gentleman like Joe Biden. However, in a meme battle, I believe Durov would definitely come out on top, despite Joe Biden being much more meme-worthy in real life and Pavel being quite serious.

In fact, one of our goals was to add some fun to Pavel’s image. He usually communicates in a very serious and thoughtful manner with a fairly intellectual audience. We wanted to create an alter ego for Pavel, one who could entertain and engage with the millions who prefer consuming information through memes rather than through educational posts.

Pavel advises against using social media, advocates running a thousand kilometers every day, and promotes a lifestyle free from drinking, smoking, or breaking personal promises. We completely agree that this is a great way to live but if we are aiming for TON mass adoption, we also need to communicate in a way that says, “Dude, you’re already cool. Just join us and enjoy the process,” appealing to people regardless of who they are, where they are, or how they live.

**Has the $DUREV team gone full superhero reveal, or are they still rocking the secret identity vibe? In other words, are you guys doxxed?**

Yes, our team is fully doxxed. The project was initiated by Ruslan Sokolovsky, a well-known figure in and out of the crypto world. Within the crypto community, he is recognized as the founder of the media outlet Prometheus and runs the channel “Sokolovsky in Chain.”

Outside the crypto sphere, he is almost universally known as the man who was imprisoned in Russia for playing Pokémon Go in a church—a case that involved charges of insulting religious believers’ feelings. Ruslan, much like Pavel Durov, is a staunch advocate for freedom of speech. He believes in the right to freely express opinions and to speak out wherever and whenever one chooses. His experiences have made him a symbol of these beliefs. In terms of values, we therefore feel a strong alignment with Pavel Durov and the ethos of Telegram and The Open Network.

**Switching it up, how do you manage to keep things fun while tackling the everyday challenges of running a memecoin?**

That’s a great question, as many people assume that running a memecoin is mostly about fun and games, perhaps involving just a few hours a day crafting memes. However, the reality is quite different—it’s a massive and complex operation for our team of 10+ people.

When the coin's value drops, the community can start to panic and make all sorts of baseless claims, which also adds to the challenge. Running a memecoin is not just about creating memes; it requires serious, hard work.

Our job involves continuously creating entertaining content, which is enjoyable but demanding. We also negotiate with partners, make agreements with various influencers, develop products that enhance the value of our token, and solve technical issues.

Fortunately, our team maintains a positive attitude, and we try to have fun with everything we do. This approach helps us blend the playful with the practical in our day-to-day operations.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/durev_4_cf3249a550/durev_4_cf3249a550.jpg) 

**The TON Ecosystem is getting more popular every day! How does $DUREV fit into this world, and what role do you see it playing in the TON’s future?**

Indeed, TON Ecosystem is gaining popularity every day, and we are eager to contribute to this growth. It’s encouraging to note that about 50% of the participants in the $DUREV presale made our token their first purchase on the network. This trend shows that memecoins generally help blockchains become more popular.

The ecosystem recognizes the value of memecoins and supports them by rewarding traders with airdrops and similar incentives. Our role is to help popularize Pavel Durov as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time. Although he is well-known within the Russian-speaking community, many in the West, including daily users of Telegram, may not realize he is the founder or may not even know that TON exists.

Since TON has entered the top ten cryptocurrencies globally, it has attracted more attention. Memecoins often catch the eye of those new to the ecosystem. Being consistently in the top three, either by trending status or volume among all TON tokens, we hope to play a significant role in attracting new audiences and educating them about Pavel Durov and TON Ecosystem as a whole.

**Memecoins often get some eyebrow raises because of their volatility. How is $DUREV proving the doubters wrong?**

As the Durev team, our main goals are to ensure fun for the community, increase liquidity, and grow our holder base with engaging and cool memes. We focus on educating the community about the inherent volatility of the market, emphasizing that short-term fluctuations do not significantly impact our long-term trend.

The most important action we take to reduce volatility is increasing our liquidity. Currently, we have $1+ million dollars in liquidity. For those who provide liquidity, we offer additional token boosts on platforms like STON.fi and DeDust. There are also extra boosts in STON.fi and DeDust tokens for those providing liquidity in our pairs.

Despite experiencing dips and explosive growth, our volatility isn’t too high. These fluctuations are all within the general trend. Our team concentrates not on daily movements but on making Durev a prominent player in the market. We encourage more and more people to buy, hold, and use our token within our ecosystem.

**What are some of the unforgettable moments or events that have happened in the $DUREV community since its start?**

Our journey began with a memorable incident that many have heard about, but I’ll share it again for those who haven’t. During our launch, a misplaced comma by one of our developers led to a major error: our pre-sale contributors received ten times more tokens than they were supposed to. As a result, 7% of the presale participants ended up controlling 70% of the presale pool. This discrepancy caused some to start dumping their tokens, while others held onto theirs, triggering a major crisis within our team and community as we scrambled to find a solution.

With the help from our partners, we managed to recover our liquidity and relaunched the project a few days later. Initially, the relaunch seemed risky, but it ultimately united our community and showcased our team’s ability to resolve problems. We conducted a survey afterward, and more than half of the community members expressed greater confidence in our team following our handling of the issue. This unfortunate event even became a local meme about the comma, which we now often use in our community communications and memes.

Following this incident, our community became more cohesive and began to grow even faster in terms of membership. Since then, we haven’t faced such severe issues.

On a lighter note, when we launched our NFT collection during a market downturn, we were concerned about slow sales. However, the entire collection sold out in just three minutes, a fact we take great pride in. The floor price of our NFTs increased several-fold, and we are now planning a new collection for an even larger number of holders.

**Looking into the future, can you tease any upcoming features, events, or big plans for $DUREV?**

We have ambitious plans for expanding our community and the meme. Currently, we are working on getting our first listing on a Tier 3 CEX. We’re also looking forward to more exchanges supporting our token. Our ultimate goal is to secure listings on major Tier 2 and Tier 1 exchanges, and we are confident we’ll get there. 

Additionally, we are launching an airdrop campaign; up until now, we have never conducted any airdrops or giveaways! This approach has helped us build a vibrant, organic community without any selling pressure from opportunists. Now, with increased confidence, we’re rolling out an exciting bonus campaign where participants can earn Durev tokens by engaging in various social actions and inviting friends. However, to receive the maximum rewards, one must be a holder of our token. This strategy ensures we focus on long-term results rather than short-term impacts. We're also planning to launch a new NFT collection by the way.

Following the successful launch of Durev, other projects have approached us seeking assistance with their own launches, recognizing our expertise. We realized the best way to support both our community and the broader ecosystem is to launch a memecoin launchpad. On this platform, people can gain allocations and airdrops by holding and staking Durev tokens. This venture is perhaps the most exciting project we’re working on. It’s poised to bring many new, exciting projects into the ecosystem, attract numerous new users, and reward the members of the Durev community.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/durev_5_31df8eda2f/durev_5_31df8eda2f.jpg) 

**For those dazzled by the idea of starting their own memecoin, what tips would you give?**

That’s an excellent question and linked to the previous one. If you're considering launching a memecoin, I have several tips. First and foremost, always start with a funny meme. To seen day, every time we read “Povel Durev” and look at our pictures, we genuinely laugh. We’ve observed many memecoins launched around well-known personalities in TON Ecosystem, or based on mere words or events. Those aren’t funny; those aren’t true memes. A successful meme should be the quintessence of some cultural narrative–that’s the most crucial point. Everything starts from there.

Secondly, always begin with a community. If you don’t understand how to build a community, if you lack connections with influencers or media channels, or if you can’t make such people part of your team, then it’s better not to start a memecoin at all. The value of a memecoin comes from the community you build around it. Without a strong community, your memecoin is likely to fail to take off or won’t sustain over time.

Lastly, creating memecoins is a challenging and long-term game. If you are serious about entering this space, you should educate yourself about finance, understand how AMMs work, how market makers operate, and engage with people from the TON Ecosystem. Consider joining us or other memecoin projects to gain experience. Learn all the ins and outs, assemble a strong team, and then you will be well-positioned to succeed!

**Lastly, I can neither confirm or deny that I’m in Durov’s DMs, but if $DUREV could send one meme to Pavel Durov, what would it be and why?**

We have our own sticker pack, and I think almost every meme from it would resonate with Pavel Durov. However, I would send him this meme inspired by an interview with Tucker Carlson.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/durev_3ecca52a01/durev_3ecca52a01.jpg) 

TON Culture Kings: DUREV

We are happy to announce the list of grant recipients approved by the TON Foundation in March-April 2024. 

The list of talented teams below proves our dedication to support strong **social Web3 use cases, games, DeFi**, and other valuable tools and products that enhance the TON ecosystem. With most projects building a Telegram Mini App with social viral features and easy onboarding, we are getting closer to the goal of bringing **half billion users on-chain by 2028**.

The article showcases that not only games and SocialFi but also DeFi products can offer a simple and engaging experience, combined with sharing features and multi-layer referral programs.

All teams made impressive progress on product development and, importantly, on **building an early community and attracting first users**.

The next logical and very exciting step for them will be to join [**The Open League**](https://ton.org/en/open-league?filterBy=forProject) - a season-based competition for TON teams with large prizes for the best performers.

Let’s see what impressive ideas have been supported through the TON Grants Program lately and which projects will participate in the fair fight of The Open League very soon.

### **GameFi**

Games are a key focus area of the TON Grants Program. Recently, these two teams received financial support for game development.

- **Jump Trade**: Building 3 Telegram Mini Apps (Classic Puzzle Game, Cards 21, Basketball Shots) with engaging gameplay, real-time multiplayer, and NFT passes. These mini games aim to onboard masses into web3.
  - More info: [Website](https://www.jump.trade/)

- **EdChess**: Offering a new chess experience with education, training, competitions, and skill monetization. The game has already attracted over 35k unique users.
  - More info: [Website](https://t.me/edchess_bot), [Telegram channel](https://t.me/edchessss)

### **Onboarding Platforms and Community & Brand Management Tools**

These projects are focused on onboarding users and brands into web3 through Telegram, utilizing Telegram's viral features and unlimited networking potential.

- **XPLUS**: Winner of the TON Hacker House 2024. Launching an all-in-one entertainment Mini App with token and memecoin trading games, XPLUSMONs, and Shake2Earn Farming. With 1.3 million registered users, 180k DAU, and 2k NFTs sold in hours, XPLUS is already in the App Battle of The Open League.
  - More info: [Telegram channel](https://t.me/xplusio_bot), [X profile](https://twitter.com/xplusio)

- **TBook**: Building a quest platform for Web3 and Web2 projects to engage communities. Launching first campaigns soon.
  - More info: [Website](https://t.me/tbook_incentive_bot), [X profile](https://twitter.com/realtbook)

- **vSelf**: Providing no-code tokenization and gamification tools for brands. Preparing for a pilot campaign with Assissterr, creating quiz and SBT-distribution mechanics.
  - More info: [X profile](https://twitter.com/vself_meta)

### **SocialFi**

Enhancing social interactions and empowering users with financial opportunities and ownership is key to Web3.

- **Moons.so**: Building a crypto social network with join-to-earn, engage-to-earn, and quest-to-earn features. Users can join communities, discuss news, tip creators, and play games. Integrated with major TON games like Catizen and The Pixels, Moons.so has attracted 21k users.
  - More info: [Telegram channel](https://t.me/moons_so_bot), [X profile](https://twitter.com/moons_socialfi)

- **TELE**: Creating a Social-Fi infrastructure for deploying tokens and engaging communities. Influencers can deploy tokens in a Telegram Mini App, earning up to 90% of minting fees, while communities receive airdrops and referral rewards. With 40+ tokens launched and 4k minters at ATH, TELE will launch a DEX soon.
  - More info: [Telegram channel](https://t.me/TELE_Protocol), [X profile](https://twitter.com/TELE_Protocol)

### **DeFi**

The launch of The Open League has expanded the DeFi landscape on TON, offering new financial products. The aim of these projects is to boost the DeFi ecosystem on TON and leverage Telegram while doing so. 

- **Thunder Finance**: One-stop yield farming on TON. Follow their updates on the first farming pools and points system.
  - More info: [Website](https://thunder-fi.xyz/), [X profile](https://twitter.com/Thunder_Finance)

- **United Finance**: Soon launching the wuTON token, a yield-bearing token backed by TON, aiming for higher yields compared to liquid staking tokens.
  - More info: [Website](https://unitedfinance.io), [Telegram channel](https://t.me/united_finance)

- **Nexton**: Building Jito for TON. Users can stake TON, receive a Nexton NFT, and benefit from staking and arbitrage yields. With 500 users, the team will grow through marketing and The Open League participation.
  - More info: [Telegram channel](https://t.me/Nexton_tele_bot), [X profile](https://twitter.com/nextonnode)

### **Infrastructure**

With USDT coming to TON and increased interest from other blockchains, robust bridging solutions, reliable infrastructure, and security are essential.

- **Symbiosis**: A decentralized cross-chain protocol connecting TON to 27 chains, allowing users to bridge assets from EVM to TON seamlessly. With 1.2M transactions and $1.4B of value swapped and bridged, Symbiosis will enhance the TON ecosystem.
  - More info: [Website](https://symbiosis.finance/), [X profile](https://twitter.com/symbiosis_fi)

- **Project KoALA**: Building a bridging solution enabling seamless interaction with multiple networks without holding each target blockchain's base token.
  - More info: [Website](https://koala.finance/), [X profile](https://twitter.com/Project_KoALA_)

### **Marketplaces**

These projects leverage viral and engaging tools inside Telegram, solving the classic chicken-egg problem of two-sided marketplaces.

- **MuggleLink**: Building Fiverr on Telegram. With 20k+ users and 111 channel owners paid for ads, MuggleLink is already in beta.
  - More info: [Website](https://t.me/MuggleLinkBot), [X profile](https://twitter.com/paymuggle)

- **BION**: A web3 shopping app with cashback in TON, USDt, and BTC. Featuring 100+ brands, the app will be live soon.
  - More info: [Website](https://www.bionapp.com), [X profile](https://twitter.com/bion_app)

We welcome other talented teams to build viral, valuable, and sustainable products on TON and join The Open League to achieve fast and effective growth.

[Click here to learn more about TON grants](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/blob/main/grants/GRANT_PROGRAM_GUIDELINES.md)


[Learn more about The Open League and join](https://ton.org/en/open-league?filterBy=forProjects)

Grants Report for March & April: 14 Teams Set to Receive Grants and Join The Open League

At the TON Foundation, we constantly research projects at various stages of growth and development. Our goal is to find the next big thing and bring it to the TON Ecosystem. Hence, today, we’re launching a new series of interviews focused entirely on pre-launch projects or projects in the earliest stages of development. 

In the Future Giants series, we will introduce you to the teams you most likely have never heard of: teams building something big yet still flying under the radar. 

In the first feature of Future Giants, we’ll introduce you to, simply put, Netflix on Telegram. Sit back, let’s W3BFLIX and chill. 

*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not an investment advice*
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Blog_W3bflix_0390527546/Blog_W3bflix_0390527546.png) 
## **Future Giants: W3bflix**
**Like with every other project we interview, let’s briefly explore your core product. What is W3BFLIX?** 

W3BFLIX is an entertainment token launchpad and will be integrated as a content streaming service for movies, TV series, animations, live concerts, and more. W3BFLIX is being built on TON and is accessible via Telegram as a mini app.
 
W3BFLIX is Web3's solution to Netflix. We empower communities to have a stronger voice in creative decision-making. Interact, crowdfund, and promote the entertainment content you're a fan of, and enjoy real-life and impactful rewards for your engagement and participation.

**You’re aiming high, and succeeding in the entertainment and film industry is known to be heavily influenced by your connections. Do you have any? What is your team's experience?**

Patrice Poujol has been involved in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. He started as an investment banker and film finance professional. He then produced and sometimes directed drama pieces and documentaries from 2003 to 2015. Some of these works were screened in Europe, the USA, and Asia and received awards. One of his films, TASTE, was officially selected at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Two of his video works were screened on the Hong Kong ICC tower to an audience of over 1 million people during one month at the end of 2015. He was involved in producing “On Wings of Eagles” featuring Joseph Fiennes. He obtained his first PhD in Web3 and entertainment in 2018, which he published as a book with Springer in 2019. It is fair to say that Patrice has managed to build a strong track record for his Web3 and movie company Lumiere, which we will go back to. 

With his partners from Finfabrik, he tokenized the first film from Hong Kong, “Papicha” (Meddour 2019), which was selected for Cannes, nominated by Algeria to the 2020 Oscars, and won two Cesar awards in the same year. Additionally, the W3BFLIX team has one of the producers of Nicole Kidman on “The Expats” as an advisor and a former partner at Fintage House, one of the top collection agents in the movie industry worldwide. Another member of our team is strongly connected to the previous project manager for the Jacksons and Linkin Park. We aim to take advantage of our connections to music entertainment and offer exciting live concert experiences to our subscribers who can’t make it to the actual event.
 
Last but not least, Rolling Stone / RS Productions and Animoca Brands are trusted, resourceful partners on our cap table.

**Why did you choose to build on TON? What aspects of TON motivated you to develop your project here?**

Based on our research, TON allows for an intuitive user interface, enabling us to provide a smooth experience for our subscribers. We understand design is a crucial part of building an excellent product, and we need user-friendly and easy-to-use Web3 apps to significantly onboard from Web2.
 
TON can also process millions of transactions per second and accommodate an unlimited number of active users, which will be extremely important as we scale. Fractional payments are key to our business model as we plan to make our products available to the widest audience worldwide regardless of whether or not they are banked.
 
Telegram alone has 900 million monthly active users, and is growing rapidly in developing regions, where we aim to target first. In terms of Web3, TON has managed to onboard 45m wallets in the past 3 months.
 
Telegram has been attracting around 13,500 developers to its ecosystem just until a few months ago, which promises an explosive growth going forward.
 
Last but not least, the quality of the streaming on Telegram is excellent; content resolution quality is paramount.  


**A streaming service built directly on Telegram sounds like something from sci-fi. How far are you in development?**

Telegram already has a live streaming facility that we can use for live events and concerts. It has been used to download films illegally in the past (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/times-special/torrents-to-telegram-piracy-makes-a-comeback-in-ott-era/articleshow/93645484.cms); but when formalized, this approach can be adapted to watching content online on multiple devices. This may be integrated to launching and promoting content with trailers and UGC created content.
 
Going forward, decentralized cloud GPU access solutions such as Aethir can help our solution be less reliant on costly centralized cloud services such as AWS.
 
We have already developed a mini app for the Raffle initiative that we are launching on May 1 for the 77th Cannes Film Festival. This mini app is the first step in working with the TON ecosystem and designing our W3BFLIX platform; it will be integrated into the final platform to select winners for future events and movie-related gamified activities.
 
In terms of product design, UX/UI, think general streaming platform such as Netflix, Hulu, or iQIYI that meets a social network app such as Wechat or Whatsapp.  

**There are Disney, HBO, Showtime, Paramount, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and so many other streaming services that one can’t even name them all. It seems like the market is heavily saturated. What makes you different?**

What makes us different is the experience we’ll offer to our users. Not only will they be able to watch their favorite movies, TV shows, and more, but they can financially support and crowdfund movies or projects they find interesting. These users will get to enjoy real-life, impactful rewards such as gaining free access to red-carpet exclusive events, exploring the set & behind the scenes on-site, meeting celebrities, having their names in the credits, and even playing as extras in films. They can choose to passively earn from their investment and stake into DeFI or be an active part of the audience and promote and create UGC content as a superfan and be rewarded for their efforts.
 
One example of a giveaway that we just finished is the Cannes Film Festival experience, where the winner will enjoy two red carpet events, an official screening, and a professional photoshoot. We plan to do it in Venice as well.
 
Additionally, subscribers will be rewarded for their participation, engagement, support, and promotion of new entertainment content. Points will be earned by subscribers who watch content, accumulate viewing time, write reviews with content that's linked or posted to social media), and make videos about the content they watched. These points can be exchanged for tokens and bonus milestones.
 
Compared to gaming, which is sometimes met with friction from the traditional community, we start with a clean sheet in movies, animations, and concerts. We have no preconceived ideas about Web3 and resistance towards blockchain for a mass entertainment industry that can reach 100m community members.  
 
In addition, when you realize that any integrated streaming service that has 48m to 230m monthly active users (MAU) is valued at US$4bn USD to US$260bn, you can really see the potential for W3BFLIX with a Telegram and TON integration of 900m MAU and interactive model that rewards the community for their passion. Lumiere and W3BFLIX are only valued at US$10m at the moment.

**What’s the reason behind your decision to build a streaming service on a blockchain?**
 
In the early stages of our development, W3BFLIX integrated streaming service will still use traditional distribution methods that Netflix or Youtube use: We don't offer P2P downloading or decentralized file storage yet.
 
Essentially, by building on blockchain, we will have the opportunity to offer our services to anyone who has access to the internet and a Web3 wallet. Traditional streaming services require bank cards for payment, but millions of people from around the world don’t have access to traditional financial services such as bank accounts.
 
As DeFi offers these people access to financial services and products, they’ll be able to pay for subscriptions, even from Telegram. Additionally, blockchain enables us to gamify the platform and provide a points system to incentivize usage, which can be converted to crypto and withdrawable to the secondary market.
 
Another aspect is the traceability of the promotion budget (P&A) and resources and their impact on sales and distribution for the entertainment industry, which is traditionally very opaque. This springs out of the rise of a Web3 community spirit, which is an improvement from Web2 and allows us to turn the way the industry is financed on its head. Instead of throwing millions at a movie and hoping it will make its money back further down the road, live testing IPs with audiences while projects are still in development may indicate whether a film idea may be a flop or a hit.

**How many movies do you currently have? Are you planning to add some blockbusters or your own production?**

In addition to “Papicha,” where investors got their principal back +3%, we’ve also worked on the biopic “Kenzo Takada: Vivre ses rêves,” a tribute to the founder of Kenzo. The film project was launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and is in production. The NFT collection associated with it had 900 participants in real life and 3,000 active participants online during the launch event, and all the NFTs were sold within the day of launch. [The project has won the best metaverse experience award.](https://www.mediaclub.fr/actualites/le-projet-lumiere-la-maison-de-kenzo-remporte-le-prix-du-meilleur-metaverse-au-25eme-tv-festival-de-luchon)
 
We have ten upcoming impact and commercial projects in EMEA and APAC, including the Shogakukan (Pokemon) backed animation “SupeRich” and Roma official selection film “Houria” (Canal+, Wild Bunch) with RollingStone Italy marketing support and Wes Anderson’s lead actress Lyna Khoudri (“The French Dispatch”).
 
We are in active talks with our industry contacts and sourcing some great content as well as live concert events as we cater to both international and Hollywood projects alike. Remember that we have Rolling Stone production arm (RS Production) that is part of our cap table, and they have been providing us with both marketing and content opportunities.
 
One of the Hollywood projects we have been involved in has been with Versus Entertainment and Scott Free's (Ridley Scott) Ethereum biopic titled “The Infinite Machine,” which we expect to be screened in 2025.
 
We are also collaborating with another crypto-native project with one of our partners on a film that delves into the mystery behind Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, and the motivations behind its inception. Stay tuned for more updates!
 
Examples of some of the films that we have financially backed with Lumiere are [Papicha](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stcnz9pVKd0&t=7s) and [Houria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BhqINguqak)

**Now, let’s discuss probably the most critical aspects of the existing streaming services: pricing and library. What will the price be for using W3bflix, and how many titles do you plan to offer when you launch?**

We’ll offer a tiered subscription service with the basic subscription starting at $2 per month ($1 per month for life, tradable, for the first 100,000 community members). We eventually aim to offer a premium subscription tier at around $5, but this exact price hasn’t been confirmed yet. Ultimately, we want to make our premium services cheaper than even Netflix’s basic subscription and provide affordable pricing to anyone around the world.
 
Just to clarify, what is the subscription? It's basically buying a certain amount of $FLIX so that the community member who has bought them is whitelisted on the upcoming films as it is the only way to access the activities connected to the films: IRL and online. Watching the film is part of the deal, but a big part of the appeal is that people can participate in funding the films they want to watch and the associated activities, as well as being rewarded for promoting them. 

**Many streaming services have geo content restrictions, offering different titles in different regions. Will this be the case with W3BFLIX as well?**

Our goal is to make our products and services accessible to as broad of an audience as possible and we aim to achieve our goal with the help of blockchain and decentralization. We want to democratize access to entertainment to everyone, everywhere and we believe doing something as simple as watching entertainment should be a basic amenity.
 
That being said, we also recognize the importance of respecting and following the jurisdictions of any country or region. While we will fight our hardest to provide our services to as many people as possible, we will not engage in any practices that are outside the law.
 
This is where professional agreements with distributors and working hand in hand with them are crucial, particularly when negotiating ticketing deals. By the way, this is already going a long way, given that no content info has been made available from most other film web3 companies to date. But we do, and what sets us apart is our track record; we did RWA before it was a thing. ;)   


**And now the most important question – When do you launch?** 

We’ve projected it will take six months for us to develop and launch once our funding is secured, and at the moment, funding is our main goal. We’re getting strong interest from both traditional entertainment companies and VCs that we’re in discussion with. Our deck is finally completed, and our litepaper is about to be released. If you’re interested in joining us on our journey to revolutionize entertainment and onboard the next billion users to Web3, TON, and Telegram, reach out to our CEO Patrice Poujol, or drop us a line at contact[at]w3bflix.io.



Future Giants: W3BFLIX

Welcome to TON Innovators, our blog series celebrating the innovative minds and revolutionary projects within the TON Ecosystem. Today, we feature Catizen, a project that merges virtual pet interaction with blockchain, AI, and the Metaverse to offer a unique GameFi experience.

[Catizen](https://catizen.ai/) is transforming how TON and Telegram users engage with the digital world by using advanced AI to animate virtual cats with lifelike behaviors and personalities. These AI-powered pets learn from their interactions and develop unique traits influenced by their owners and surroundings. The project has successfully built a vibrant community of cat lovers who can engage with each other in real time across a vast digital universe. They are a prime example of innovation and excellence in blockchain gaming.

*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not an investment advice.*
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Screenshot_2024_05_06_at_17_36_27_Catizen_Index_04d5f018dd/Screenshot_2024_05_06_at_17_36_27_Catizen_Index_04d5f018dd.png) 
**Catizen! Welcome to TON Innovators! To start, can you explain the core concept behind Catizen and how it integrates PocketFi, gaming bots, video shorts, and e-commerce?**  

Catizen leverages TON Blockchain to introduce practical mobile payments to Telegram users, marking a significant innovation in both Web3 and Web2 environments. Previously, most Web3 applications needed desktop access, similar to the early stages of Web2. PocketFi could change this by revolutionizing Web3 innovations, similar to how smart contracts improved user interactions and centralized exchanges simplified transactions. PocketFi on TON and Telegram could potentially transform user habits and application scenarios in Web3.

Therefore, drawing on our extensive experience in game development, our team spent significant time analyzing the unique benefits of the TON Ecosystem. After examining many market cases, we decided to create Catizen, a project that merges aspects of Gaming Launchpool with Pinduoduo (internationally known as TEMU). Pinduoduo’s approach of subsidizing users and cutting prices has successfully overcome major product challenges and amassed a large user base.

Similarly, the widespread use of airdrop strategies in Web3 mirrors Pinduoduo’s method of attracting new users by offering more benefits. Before its deep integration with WeChat, which had large traffic in the Chinese community but no clear strategy to convert this traffic into active users, Pinduoduo faced similar challenges. The partnership between Pinduoduo and WeChat not only addressed WeChat’s challenges but also effectively educated users about online applications. In Web3, this approach is recognized as significant by leading institutions. Although many Web3 projects have tried similar strategies, most have not succeeded. However, TON's strategic partnership with Telegram offers us a unique opportunity.
Catizen aims to become a Web3 modular consumer platform similar to Pinduoduo. We plan to integrate gaming, short video content, and e-commerce, inspired by Pinduoduo’s success within the WeChat ecosystem. Our strategy involves using a gamified Web3 model to educate and engage Telegram’s large user base, transforming innovative products into widely used commercial applications. We will use token airdrops and short video promotions to drive exponential growth. Gradually, we will introduce a gaming platform, launchpool, task center, short video content, and e-commerce features, with the ultimate goal of creating a trillion-level Web3 social entertainment platform.

Catizen is more than just a game; it is a platform designed to evolve continuously with its player community. Integrating with launchpool will be a key breakthrough, greatly enhancing benefits for the extensive Catizen community. Over the next year, we will introduce new Mini Apps centered around Catizen as the launchpool platform. As the project progresses, we will integrate aspects of Pinduoduo more deeply into launchpool, incorporating various business streams such as task centers, short dramas, and e-commerce. Catizen ultimately aims to overcome the common problems of many Web3 GameFi projects, such as strong cyclicality and Ponzi schemes. 

**Did you face any challenges when integrating all these technologies into a single GameFi product? What was the development process like?**

During the development process, particularly in the beta testing phase, we faced several operational challenges. Fortunately, the TON Foundation offered significant support, helping us quickly resolve these issues. This assistance enabled us to refine Catizen, ensuring it integrates seamlessly with TON Blockchain and Telegram.

**Your new Launchpool has garnered significant attention. How is this related to plans for project development?**

Catizen's development plan is organized into five phases, each with distinct focuses and strategies. We are currently entering the second phase:
- 1st Phase: Catizen expanded its user base and enhanced user education primarily through airdrops to encourage registration and wallet activation. The main goal was to teach Telegram users how to use cryptocurrency wallets and participate in transactions, thus converting them into TON users.
- 2nd Phase: We are introducing the Catizen Launchpool, where users can stake in-game assets to mine points. These points can be exchanged for our governance token, $CATI. The phase also introduces social cooperative modes to boost mining efficiency. During this stage, Catizen will evolve from a single game into a modular gaming platform with Launchpool functionality, helping users understand DeFi principles.

Catizen achieved notable success in its first phase, expanding its user base. 10% of users from the Gaming Bot became TON wallet users, and over 50% became Web3 consumers (PocketFi Users). Catizen is now moving to the second phase—the LaunchPool, where players can stake in-game assets to earn points called $wCATI.
On April 27 at 13:00 UTC, Catizen updated the Launchpool feature, allowing users to mine $wCATI by staking either fish coins or cats. In this distribution, 60% of the airdropped $wCATI is allocated to players who stake cats, and 40% to those who stake fish coins, with a total of 840 million $wCATI available this period.

To ensure fairness and prevent abuse from players creating multiple accounts, we’ve set participation thresholds for the Launchpool mining:
- Fish Coin Pool (40%): Players must stake a minimum of 1,000 fish coins to participate, which can be obtained through activities like completing beginner tasks or inviting friends.
- Cat Pool (60%): Participation requires cats of at least level 110, with higher levels earning greater rewards.

**How has TON Blockchain specifically benefited Catizen? What made you decide to build on TON?**

Firstly, TON Ecosystem has strong potential, as previously mentioned. PocketFi could bring groundbreaking innovations to Web3. The integration of Telegram’s built-in wallet and bot programs, along with the vigorous development of TON Ecosystem, strengthens the likelihood of this revolution.
Secondly, when our team joined the TON Blockchain, the foundation was very responsive, providing expert guidance and financial support for both technical integration and market promotion. Additionally, many leading projects within the ecosystem warmly welcomed our collaboration proposal, which is extremely beneficial for newcomers.

Lastly, the vast early community within TON Ecosystem firmly believes in its future, similar to us. Unlike other ecosystems, we found that the majority of the early TON community actively evangelizes on our behalf. They were eager to discuss and support the development of our project, offer suggestions, and help spread the word, which is quite rare in other blockchain ecosystems.

**Tell us about your community! What role have they played in the development and evolution of Catizen?**

At the time of publication, the Catizen Telegram Announcement Channel has reached over 900,000 subscribers. Initially, our project attracted significant attention from TON’s native early community, and we successfully engaged a group of users interested in airdrops through in-game guidance. Over the past month, we have collaborated with numerous projects within the TON ecosystem, recognizing this as a vital way to build a quality community.

Additionally, during TOKEN2049 and the early April Hong Kong Web3 Carnival for TON DAY, Catizen was repeatedly highlighted as a success story in TON’s official presentations. This multi-level exposure has been crucial for acquiring new users. Our team works diligently to meet community demands, constantly refining and improving our product to ensure a seamless transition from promotion to exposure, user acquisition, retention, and community growth.

In the future, the community will be central to the development of Catizen. Airdrops will allow them to become holders of $CATI tokens, sharing in the benefits of the platform. This ownership will serve as proof of their stake in Catizen’s future rewards. Shared benefits with the community will include features such as the Launchpool, e-commerce, and more.

**Can you discuss any upcoming features or expansions that Catizen players can look forward to in the near future?**

We have discussed the initial and current focus of the development phases: expanding the user base and promoting the Launchpool feature. The next phase, the third phase, aims to transform Catizen into a Telegram gaming platform. We have already signed agreements with 18 popular WeChat mini-games and plan to integrate them with Web3 features on the Catizen gaming platform. Additionally, holders of Catizen’s governance token will be able to mine tokens for subsequent games through the Catizen mining pool.

**Do you see Catizen in the future having an impact on the broader blockchain and GameFi sector outside of TON?**

Catizen has already achieved multi-chain deployment and has partnered with Mantle Network. Our aim is for Catizen to act as a bridge not only between Telegram and TON Blockchain but also between the Ethereum ecosystem and TON. We intend to attract Ethereum users to Catizen, helping them recognize the distinct advantages of TON compared to other blockchains. We deeply understand the unique benefits of TON Ecosystem, which is central to our future development. Moving forward, we will launch major marketing campaigns on TON Catizen and plan to merge the Mantle Network rankings with TON Ecosystem’s Catizen Leaderboard, preserving the advantages of early TON players as much as possible.

**Finally, what advice would you give to other developers looking to build gaming projects on TON Blockchain?**

We believe that actively communicating with TON Foundation members and participating in their events are very beneficial. Through these activities, we have accessed exceptionally valuable resources like TON Hackerhouse, TON Gateway, and others.


TON Innovators: Catizen

What’s cooking, you absolute Chads? The Open League Season 1 is officially over, and it’s time to look back at the best projects of the past month. The last month was hectic, filled with announcements flooding (pun intended) from Dubai’s Token 2049 – from USDt and XAUt on TON to Telegram’s plans to reward sticker creators and more. While the market went through significant ups and downs and influencers kept fighting over whether we were in a bear market or a bull market, one thing remained unchanged: the growth happening in The Open League.

In Season 1, we welcomed several major changes that rewrote the rules of The Open League and allowed more projects to participate for rewards. We introduced new leaderboards, launched Memelandia and DeFi Grants, and boosted the rewards for top projects. In addition, we airdropped rewards to the most active traders and distributed multiple rewards. 

In addition, the two leading TON DEXs, Ston.fi and DeDust, have now deployed new boosts. The total farming rewards to be distributed to the participants of the Major League are $224,483 on Ston.fi and $66,304 on DeDust.

But now, let’s get to the main point of this article. 

## **Key Highlights:**
Below are some key highlights captured at the end of Season 1, and just look at that beauty. The key metrics are compared to before the start of The Open League. 

- Open League S1 has contributed to ATHs across every metric in April. With a massive $9M distributed to all 894K TON users who participated in Season 1.
- Daily active wallets (DAW): 198,270 (+425%)
- Weekly Active Wallets: 537,160 (+244%)
- Monthly Active Wallets: 1,45M (+263%)
- DeFi Total Value Locked: $175.1M (+665%)
- Liquidity Providers: 22,088 (+410%)
- Daily Trading Volume: $23.97M (+834%)
- Daily Traders: 25,502 (+431%)
- Jetton Holders: 1.28M (+1023%)

## **Final Project Ranking of The Open League Season 1**
In Season 1, we tracked leaderboards across five main categories: Token Leaderboard, Meme Coin & Community Tokens, DeFi, Apps, and Liquid Staking. Below are the final snapshots of leaderboards as of the first day after Season 1, May 1. 

The rankings are based on various metrics for each category, but mainly the number of holders, TVL, DEX activity, and distribution. 

### **DeFi**
The 6 projects participating in the DeFi Leaderboard were awarded a $875,000 prize pool for Season 1. 
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/defi_89f64adc8a/defi_89f64adc8a.jpg) 

### **Token Leaderboard: Major League**
The Major League reserved for the best projects in the Token category from the previous season will share a prize pool of $875,000 for Season 1. 
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/major1_595b634f43/major1_595b634f43.png) 

### **Token Leaderboard: Minor League**
The top three projects from the Minor League, where upcoming projects compete for their place in next season’s Major League, will share a prize pool of $150,000 for Season 1.
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/minor1_96f0711165/minor1_96f0711165.png) 

### **App Battle**
In the App Battle, we’re rewarding the top ten projects with $875,000 for Season 1, distributed according to their performance. 
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/app_ced2bdc558/app_ced2bdc558.jpg) 

### **Meme Coin & Community Token Leaderboard**
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Meme1_93ed51e682/Meme1_93ed51e682.png) 

### **Liquid Staking Leaderboard**
The liquidity providers in this category will share $500,000 in prize money for Season 1.
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/liquidity_ce7d166bef/liquidity_ce7d166bef.jpg) 

## **Conclusion**
As always, we’re extremely grateful to all projects that participated in last month’s season and are excited to see what’s coming in Season 2, which kicked off on May 1st. 

Season 2 will bring a few changes that will affect the progression of The Open League. These changes are mainly focused on making the league more dynamic, faster, and simpler to understand. 

- **Season 2 will last only 2 weeks** instead of the previous 1 month. This will speed up reward distribution and allow more projects to participate in the upcoming seasons. 
- **We’re reducing the number of leaderboards from five to three: App Battle, Token Major League & Token Minor League.** Meme Coin category will be merged under token league, DeFi and Liquid Staking categories are removed. 
- **Major League promotions:** JVT, ANON, WEB3, REDO, @BTC25
- **New Minor League teams:** DYOR, OPEN, BURN, DICK, CRYPTON, and WALL
- **New App Battle teams:** Shardify, XPLUS, Cheques Corp, Catizen, and The Pixels


If you want to track the Season 2 leaderboards, [visit The Open League website](https://ton.org/en/open-league?filterBy=forProjects). 

<button href="https://ton-org.notion.site/How-to-submit-your-application-on-TONResearch-c9827f6f60fc4f64b6e8701a96643044" passutmsource="true">
Apply to The Open League
</button >
<br/> 


These Are The Best Projects of TOL Season 1!

Here at [TON Foundation](https://ton.org/), we consider ourselves pretty serious folks. We’re all about utility, mass adoption, and institutionalization. But let’s be honest, even we—yes, the super serious team at TON Foundation—have, in the past maybe, dabbled in crypto degeneracy. I actually heard through the grapevine recently that someone in our HR department was, in another life, a $PEPE whale who sold before the pump. Anyway, what we’re trying to say is that we’re cool too, we get the appeal of memecoins and that’s exactly why we’ve launched a new series: TON Culture Kings.

In these interviews, we’ll be exploring the world of memecoins on TON Blockchain. They’ve recently become part of [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-season-1-for-projects) and are drawing more and more attention to our ecosystem. Memecoins are, in many ways, the cultural heart of TON. They’re community-driven projects that immortalize and carry forward the deepest parts of our lore and help define who we are as a collective. If you want to see the latest memecoin leaderboard, please visit our [Memelandia page](https://ton.org/memelandia). 

So today, we’re going to dive deep into one of these projects, find out what they’re really about, and try to understand the animal spirits that motivate our community to rally behind them.

*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not an investment advice*
## **TON Culture Kings: REDO**
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/photo_2024_04_24_14_43_36_57038b522e/photo_2024_04_24_14_43_36_57038b522e.jpg) 
**Redo! Welcome to TON Culture Kings! Can you kick things off by sharing your origin story? Was it a stroke of midnight genius or a joke among friends that spiraled out of control?**

At the outset, thank you for having us. It’s a privilege and honor for the entire REDO community (“the Resistance,” as we like to call it) to be the first memecoin interviewed on TON Culture Kings.

[REDO](https://www.redoton.com)’s creation, launch, and a few hours thereafter, are a chaotic, unintended stroke of luck. In the interest of full disclosure, REDO was not launched by the core community team that is currently overseeing it. It was launched by an anonymous developer on January 9.  

At launch, after burning the initial liquidity pool tokens and renouncing the contract, the original developer unfortunately (or fortunately?) abandoned the development of REDO and its nascent community. However, while scrolling through TON’s brand new memecoin ecosystem, a small group of friends and traders (now the bedrock of the core community team) came across REDO on the day it launched. 

We watched as the dev sold his supply, and wondered what the inspiration behind the name was. As we dove deeper into the narrative, we recognized that its close connection to the origins and principles of Telegram and TON, as well as the potential for TON's adoption, were significant factors we could not ignore. That’s pretty much where we stepped in and decided to “resist” the original developer’s attempt to abandon REDO, and “takeover” REDO as a community memecoin.

**For those who don’t know, who’s the dog in the hood?**

The dog in the hood (aka Resistance Dog) was originally hand-drawn and named in 2018 by none other than Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram and TON! He conceptualized REDO as a symbol of resistance against the Russian Government’s censorship attempts against Telegram in 2018 and REDO (plus his proclivity to want to steal your hoodies) has been the (un)official mascot of Telegram’s vision to “resist” censorship ever since. 

Durov believed that repressive regimes can be overthrown by memes, and we agree. REDO aspires to pay homage to Durov’s creation and further his vision of spreading the idea of resistance against censorship (through memes and our community).

**So, a touchy subject–who are the masterminds behind Redo? Are you guys doxxed?**

REDO is community driven, owned, and run. The core community team consists of doxxed and undoxxed members. As for our doxxed core community members, they have attended and represented REDO (and will continue to do so) at Web3 events, most recently having attended TON Society meetups and TOKEN2049. However, it is abundantly clear that the Resistance has grown into something much bigger than any of the core community team members individually. 

**Let’s talk about your launch. Many memecoins crash and burn (sometimes spectacularly) early on. How did you manage to not only survive but also thrive, eventually making it into The Open League?**

You’re absolutely right, memecoins do have the ability to combust at will, and we feel like that was the original developer’s intent with REDO. However, the infrastructure that existed (and exists) to support REDO’s narrative (the Resistance Dog sticker pack on Telegram, social media posts by Durov and Telegram) coupled with a community of like-minded individuals forming behind the narrative and acting as a collective, saved REDO and cemented its position as a memecoin that is drastically different from another fly-by-night, run-of-the-mill memecoin.

Prior to The Open League announcement, the Resistance’s manifesto had already spread rapidly and garnered the attention of several KOL’s, media outlets and other industry giants. REDO’s acceptance into The Open League, and its recognition by the TON Foundation mark the Resistance’s greatest achievement and catalyst to date.

**What would you say have been the biggest challenges in balancing the fun, meme-driven side of Redo with the more technical and financial demands of a community-run crypto token project?**

REDO has, since inception, spent a grand total of $0 on marketing, and people often say that this has been our biggest challenge. While we don’t deny it has been a challenge, we also feel like we have successfully converted it into our greatest strength. At the end of the day, Web3 operates on a quid-pro-quo basis, much like any traditional market, and marketing through KOLs, media outlets, etc., to further the reach of a memecoin is not cheap, to say the least. 

However, without certain advantages like team tokens or marketing funds, the Resistance understood the need to not have a centralized marketing and donation wallet (unless in the event of specific requirement by TON Foundation itself) and we took matters into our own hands. Motivated volunteers (and we mean hundreds of them) stepped up and worked together to market REDO vigorously, making it impossible for people to “resist” any longer.  We have, and continue to have the support of various KOL’s, media outlets and industry giants, none surpassed by that of TON Foundation itself. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/photo_2024_04_24_14_43_39_e20e7de5f2/photo_2024_04_24_14_43_39_e20e7de5f2.jpg) 

**Every superhero has their quirks. What would you say is Redo’s superpower in the memecoin universe?**

REDO’s greatest superpower is its community, the Resistance. The Resistance’s reaction to multiple attempts at censorship (such as being abandoned at launch, our social media accounts being hacked and deleted a few weeks ago) has been nothing short of spectacular. The Resistance has flourished into the largest, most vibrant community on TON, one that understands the role it plays within the TON Ecosystem.

**What’s been the most memorable adventure for the Redo team so far? Maybe you can tell us about a particularly hilarious or impactful community moment?**

The most memorable adventure for the Resistance and the core community team so far is an incident that took place at the first TON Society event our representative attended on behalf of REDO in January. As he walked into the event, wearing REDO’s signature black logo hoodie, he was greeted by Martin Masser, CBDO of STON.fi, with a “REEEEEEEEDOOOOOO” chant. The fact that we were recognized by the biggest DEX on TON, and in that manner, was definitely a defining moment for the Resistance and us and is also probably the first time we understood how far the Resistance had spread its manifesto.

**Beyond just bringing smiles, how does Redo contribute to the ecosystem? Are there any practical use cases?**

In our opinion, REDO’s contribution to TON’s memecoin ecosystem has been unequivocally substantial. Putting aside the fact that we have consistently been one of the top contributors to the trading volume within the TON Ecosystem, REDO has set the stage and roadmap for all the memecoins that have followed.

While projects building practical use cases and utility are the bedrock of a successful blockchain ecosystem, history has proven time and again that mass adoption takes place through memes. And the Resistance intends to lead it. 

**Tell us about your more recent growth. How has the project been doing since things like The Open League started, the network TVL increased, and Durov’s speech at TOKEN2049?**

In the last month, REDO has grown exponentially, and on April 24, we celebrated a monumental achievement: REDO now has over 15,000 holders! 

TON’s promotion of memecoins through innovative ideas like The Open League’s Memecoin Leaderboard and Memelandia, has been an extremely important catalyst in the growth of REDO. **At the moment of publishing, REDO is #2 in the [Memelandia Leaderboard](https://ton.org/memelandia) and #4 in [TOL's Minor League](https://ton.org/en/open-league?filterBy=forProjects).** 

We strongly believe that, if history is to be considered a viable precedent, there is a direct correlation between a memecoin and its ability to lead to mass adoption of a blockchain – think Pepe on Ethereum or Bonk/Wif on Solana. 

We also believe that history will repeat itself here and REDO will continue to assist in the mass adoption of TON. Durov, with his speech at Token2049 and the launch of native USDt-TON, just made our job a lot easier, and no words can describe how impressed and grateful we are for his and TON Foundation’s vision to enable such mass adoption. 

**Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon for Redo? Can you give us any sneak peeks at upcoming events or features?**

REDO has a big couple of months ahead, and REDO has accepted an invitation to attend MEMECON, a convention for premier memecoins, in Portugal in May. We also have several exciting strategic partnerships lined up, but our motto as the core community team has been, and continues to be, to under promise and over deliver, so we’re going to keep those details under wraps for now.

**And finally, for those inspired by your journey and story, what advice would you give to aspiring memecoin creators?**

The greatest asset of any memecoin is the community behind it. While it may sound cliché, it is extremely underrated to have a community collectively backing every move. In our personal experience, considerations like day-to-day price, while they are important, are nothing but an indicator of community strength and trust. 
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/banner_4a8baa3195/banner_4a8baa3195.jpeg) 

Did you enjoy the interview? **Follow REDO on [Telegram](https://t.me/redotoken) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/redotoken).**

TON Culture Kings: REDO

The biggest stablecoin in the world is going live on the first blockchain integrated with Telegram, introducing [USDt on The Open Network (TON)](https://ton.org/borderless). 

Launching a native USDt token on TON gives 900M monthly active Telegram users an entirely new Web3 experience of global peer-to-peer payments. At TON Foundation, we believe this is the biggest step in the Web3 space towards making digital currencies actually useful for the global population. Together with Tether, we’re enabling one of the most common use cases for digital currencies on the planet – peer-to-peer payments, and we’re making it as easy as sending a message. There are no intermediaries, no borders, and no limits.

*“We're excited to bring USDt to The Open Network because we support its vision of an open and decentralized internet and a borderless financial system,” **said Paolo Ardoino, CEO at Tether.** “The launch of USDt on TON will allow seamless value transfer globally in a simple experience that can match even the traditional financial system. This furthers our mission of powering open financial infrastructure across the blockchain space.”*

This move supports TON’s mission to put crypto in every pocket and integrate ‘under the hood’ Web3 services into the daily lives of Telegram users. Only through meeting users where they are, with valuable applications that improve everyday life, will the digital space onboard billions of users. This integration is likely one of the first-ever actually useful use cases with potential for global adoption. TON integrated into Telegram and, in partnership with Tether, will onboard hundreds of millions of cryptocurrency users to Web3. 

*Please note that USDt on TON is not available to users based in mainland US, US territories, or US citizens and Prohibited Countries as defined under Tether’s Terms of Service.*

## What is USDt?

USDt, also known as Tether, is the most used and best-known stablecoin, with over $85 billion in daily volume and a total market cap of $106 billion. USDt token is [pegged 1-to-1 with USD and backed 100% by Tether’s reserves](https://tether.to/en/). This 1:1 pegging gives USDt a stable value, setting it apart from other, more volatile digital currencies. Such stability is essential for daily transactions, trading, remittances, and protecting your holdings against the price fluctuations of other digital currencies. This means that stablecoins can be used for exchanges, DeFi, and peer-to-peer transactions.

**USDt is commonly used for:**

- **Hedging**: As a stable asset, USDt allows users to mitigate cryptocurrency price volatility risk.
- **Everyday transactions**: Its stability makes it suitable for daily activities like online shopping and payments.
- **Cross-border payments**: USDt on TON offers low fees and instant transactions, making international transactions more straightforward and cost-effective. 

Until now, USDt has never been matched with a distribution platform and user experience that could actually provide a simple, easy-to-use global payments experience that would reach the masses.

## Start of a new era in digital finance

Launching USDt on TON marks a significant advancement in digital finance. TON’s unmatched efficiency, scalability, and security, matched with Telegram’s viral mechanics and massive 900 million strong user base, creates the perfect environment for USDt, increasing its utility and accessibility.

**Advantages of USDt on TON:**

- **Seamless Telegram integration**: [USDt on TON](https://ton.org/borderless) will be seamlessly integrated into Telegram, offering a uniquely user-friendly experience that positions TON as the most convenient blockchain for USDt transactions. This integration will simplify DeFi for Telegram users, making it more accessible and understandable.
- **Lower transaction fees**: TON is already one of the most affordable Layer 1 networks, but with USDt, we’re taking things one step further. The core TON development team has optimized Tether’s smart contract to make it three times cheaper than any other jetton. A transaction between two USDt users is fixed at just 0.0145 TON (~$0.10), a reduction of 66% in cost compared to other jettons. 
- **Faster and scalable**: TON’s high throughput and rapid confirmation times enable USDt transactions to be processed more quickly than ever before.

Furthermore, the TON-based Wallet in Telegram allows people to transfer USDt instantly and with no fees to their Telegram contacts worldwide. **Exchanges and built-in on-ramps, including bank transfers, cards, and P2P, will be present at the launch, while off-ramps will soon enable global entry and exit from crypto on TON and Telegram, becoming a critical web3 gateway for Telegram users**. This borderless USDt experience in Telegram is a bold step toward realizing Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of “a purely peer-to-peer electronic cash without an intermediary,” packaged in a simple experience. 

## How USDt on TON benefits the ecosystem

For the TON Community, integrating USDt into the Wallet in Telegram and across the wider TON Ecosystem significantly improves the USDt transaction experience, setting it apart from other blockchain solutions. For the first time, users can take advantage of a native TON stablecoin within the ecosystem, benefiting from transfers within Telegram to any global contact for free via the Wallet in Telegram. With other on-chain wallets, users only pay network fees, and there are no hidden costs or markups. On-chain gas fees can also be paid in [USDt-TON](https://ton.org/borderless) soon after launch.

For newcomers to cryptocurrencies, USDt on TON offers an accessible entry point. It combines the advantages of digital currencies with the stability of traditional fiat currencies, greatly simplifying the crypto experience and giving beginners a secure foundation to discover the advantages of DeFi on Telegram.

## 11 Million Toncoin in USDt Launch Incentives

It wouldn’t be a true crypto launch without massive incentives. This being the launch of the worlds largest stablecoin, inside one of the world's largest instant messengers, on one of the world’s fastest blockchains - it needed to be pretty special.

11 Million Toncoin in user incentives for early adopters of USDt on TON:

- 5 million Toncoin to Wallet-in-Telegram’s USDt Earn - just buy or deposit USDt and Earn a yield return on the amount you deposit to the program.
- 5 million Toncoin in boosts for Liquidity Pools across TON’s 2 largest DEXs - Ston.fi and DeDust. Supply both Toncoin and USDt in equal amounts and earn a yield return.
- 1.2 million Toncoin in free withdrawals across TON’s major Centralized Exchange partners. Buy USDt or any TON-based asset and withdraw it to TON for free.

All incentives are only available for a limited time; once they are gone, they’re gone. 

**Ready to experience true peer-to-peer payments on Telegram? Click [here](https://blog.ton.org/how-to-start-using-usdt-on-ton) to find out how USDt on TON works and how to buy your first USDt.**

*Please note that USDt on TON is not available to users based in mainland US, US territories, or US citizens and Prohibited Countries as defined under Tether’s Terms of Service.*

USDt Comes To TON: Embrace The True Peer-to-Peer Experience

There are several user-friendly options for purchasing and immediately using [USDt on TON](https://ton.org/borderless). The easiest and most convenient way to buy USDt is to buy directly on Telegram using the Wallet. This method simplifies the purchasing process and immediately deposits your USDt into your Wallet, unlocking the full potential of free, global transfers to your contacts.

**Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to buy USDt with Wallet in Telegram:**

- **Go to Wallet**: Open Telegram and go to Wallet. If it’s your first time, you'll need to follow the on-screen instructions to set up your wallet.
- **Head over to ‘Add crypto’**: Choose your preferred payment method: a bank card or the P2P market.
- **Select USDt-TON and choose your amount**: Pick USDt-TON as your currency of choice and enter the amount you want to buy. You can specify this in USDt or its equivalent in your local currency.
- **Confirm and complete**: Finalize your purchase by confirming the details. Your USDt-TON will be instantly added to your Wallet.

**Why using Wallet in Telegram is the top choice:**

- **Instant integration**: Purchasing USDt via Wallet immediately deposits your USDt to your Wallet in Telegram, making it ready for immediate use.
- **Zero-fee global transfers**: Transfer your USDt on TON to any Telegram contact worldwide without incurring transaction fees. 
- **Ease and safety**: The procedure is simple and secure, eliminating the need to deal with complicated cryptocurrency exchanges.


*Please note that USDt on TON is not available to users based in mainland US and US territories and citizens of the United States and Prohibited Countries as defined under Tether’s Terms of Service.*

How To Start Using USDt on TON

The TradiFi world is not paying enough attention to the incredible innovations happening in DeFi at the moment; TON, however, is. We are extremely proud to announce [The Open League DeFi Grants Program](https://ton.org/open-league?filterBy=defi), a new initiative aimed at backing the outstanding efforts of Web3 builders in DeFi and dApps. TON is leading the way in embracing the most significant DeFi trends in the industry, and we invite Web3 DeFi builders to build their solutions with us.

By building a [Telegram Mini App (TMA)](https://docs.ton.org/develop/dapps/telegram-apps) for your project, you can access over 900M monthly active Telegram users and go directly to your target audience instead of waiting for them to come to you. 

With TMA, you can create a simple onboarding flow with a smooth user experience and invite your users to experience DeFi directly on their favorite messenger.  

## **TON is the new home of DeFi**
TON Foundation launched [The Open League](https://ton.org/en/open-league) to help onboard Telegram users to Web3 and support ecosystem projects in sustaining and growing their audiences. Now, these opportunities are expanding to DeFi. With up to $300,000 in user incentives and up to $200,000 in grants per team, we are setting the stage for DeFi projects to not only launch but also excel and expand on TON. The most successful teams can receive up to $520,000 in grants! 

[TON](https://ton.org/) is your playground, covering decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, and everything in between. Whether you’re developing lending and perp DEX, liquidity layers, or exploring restaking, your project has a home here. 

**Currently, we offer four tiers of support based on the project’s current TVL on other chains, team experience, and other metrics.**

**Tier 1**
- TVL > $300M
- Up to $200K in grant support
- $300K in pre-committed rewards for protocol users
- $20K in free Telegram Ads credits

**Tier 2**
- TVL > $100M
- Up to $150K in grant support
- $150K in pre-committed rewards for protocol users
- $15K in free Telegram Ads credits

**Tier 3**
- TVL > $50M
- Up to $75K in grant support
- $50K in pre-committed rewards for protocol users
- $10K in free Telegram Ads credits

**Tier 4**
- For experienced DeFi teams with a new product idea
- Up to $30K in grant
- $20K in pre-committed rewards for protocol users
- $5K in free Telegram Ads credits

### **DeFi should be as easy as texting**
Be early, bring your project to TON, and join the Telegram Web3 SuperApp, taking advantage of the platform’s 900 million users. The Open League DeFi Grant Program gives you the capital and community needed for success. Build on TON, leverage our ecosystem, and help us put crypto in every pocket.

With TON, you can launch your new project with the support it deserves and benefit from an ecosystem that’s still only in its infancy. There’s so much coming to TON and you don’t want to miss being a part of it! 

<button href="https://ton.org/open-league?filterBy=defi" passutmsource="true">
Learn more about our DeFi Grants Program
</button >
<br/> 

Launching The Open League DeFi Grants Program: Up To $520,000 Per Team

Meme coins have a bad rep among institutional players and rarely receive any support or even acknowledgment. At [TON Foundation](https://ton.org/), we want to fight this stigma and recognize meme coins with a fair launch and dedicated team for what they are—one of the most effective ways of building a sustainable, loyal, and active community. 

We recognize the importance of community tokens and meme coins, and we firmly believe that creativity, engagement, and fun are the key ingredients for community growth.

## **Introducing Memelandia**
We're excited to introduce [Memelandia](https://ton.org/memelandia), a cultural hub for meme coins and community tokens. At its core, it celebrates the fun and joyful spirit that drives the Web3 revolution. Here, selected communities will engage in a friendly yet competitive showcase in [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-season-1-for-projects), battling for rewards and the honor of being the top meme coin and community token on TON. 

This initiative reflects the TON Foundation's innovative approach to projects that lack use cases recognized by institutional players. This prevents such projects from accessing the new capital and support they deserve. 

An excellent example of a project with 'no use' is [Notcoin](https://notco.in/). A project that started as probably nothing quickly became the main adoption channel for TON, introducing Web3 to almost 30M players and activating audiences that usually don't gravitate toward blockchain. Notcoin is the most popular Web3 game ever and continues to grow even bigger. 

### **Memelandia x The Open League**
Memelandia is part of The Open League initiative, which aims to support meme coins and community tokens and help them get noticed. 

On the [Memelandia webpage](https://ton.org/memelandia), you can find an official leaderboard for TOL's Meme Coin & Community Token category, updated in real-time to provide you with the latest insights on TON's trending memes and community projects. 

Projects are ranked according to key metrics, including TVL, number of holders and DEX traders, and airdrop distribution. 

### **Launch Your Meme Coin on TON**
Launching a meme coin on TON is as simple as it gets, and you don’t even need to code. You can design and mint your project using one of the no-code solutions, open-source templates or start from scratch, using options according to your knowledge and skill.

Once you’re done, you need to decide whether to conduct a fair launch or go the pre-sale route. Later on, you can experiment with airdrops or even give your token some utility and build a Telegram Mini App - it’s all in your hands. 

now is the time to start growing your community using viral Telegram mechanics and TON tools such as [TON Raffles](https://tonraffles.app/) or [TonUP](https://tonup.io/). 


TON Memelandia Is Here! Recognizing the Importance of Community-Driven Tokens

After our successful Bootcamp with [HashKey](https://group.hashkey.com/en/) brought exceptional results, we’ve decided to extend our collaboration and take our friendship to a new level. Today, we’re excited to announce a strategic partnership with HashKey, a key step for Web3 development. This formal partnership with HashKey, the company behind HashKey Exchange, will boost the TON Ecosystem by backing new projects and improving digital asset services, such as fiat-to-crypto on/off-ramps.

## Building a Bigger and Better TON Ecosystem

This partnership centers on supporting the growing TON Ecosystem. TON Foundation and HashKey Group are working together to build a support system for new projects, offering them advice, mentorship, and financial support. With HashKey Group’s knowledge and resources, this collaboration opens up new possibilities for both developers and entrepreneurs, primarily from the APAC region.

> “Through this strategic partnership with HashKey Group, we are excited to provide further support to independent and already influential communities around TON in this region," **said Steve Yun, President of the TON Foundation**. “Led by local teams already achieving virality, we look forward to ushering in a new generation of mini-app builders on TON.

Another key part of this joint venture is improving virtual asset services by making it easier for Wallet users to switch between traditional money and cryptocurrency. This effort seeks to smooth out the process, integrating digital assets more seamlessly into everyday life for people in the Asia-Pacific region with dedicated on- and off-ramps.

Starting in the Hong Kong market, TON and HashKey are focused on complying with local laws and regulations. Their success in Hong Kong is expected to lay the groundwork for expanding their partnership to other regions, with the goal of delivering accessible and decentralized financial services around the world.

## A New Renaissance

The partnership between TON Foundation and HashKey Group marks a significant step in integrating Web3 technologies into everyday life. TON recognizes Hong Kong’s emerging status as a Web3 center and is eager to provide the local community with the means to innovate on TON Blockchain. ​​This collaboration aims to fuel the [Hong Kong Web3 renaissance](https://blog.ton.org/ton-fires-up-a-web3-mini-app-renaissance-in-asia) by fostering innovation, easing access to digital assets, and backing new projects in the TON Ecosystem, setting the stage for significant changes in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors.

TON Foundation and HashKey Group Announce a Strategic Partnership

TON Blockchain, like Ethereum or Solana, allows developers to deploy their own cryptocurrencies on the network. These tokens are an addition, or another layer (not technically), on top of the native tokens of each network. On The Open Network, the native token is Toncoin (TON); on Ethereum, it's Ether (ETH), and so on.  

Each network has its unique advantages and disadvantages, and developers might decide to deploy on one or the other network for various reasons. On TON, we call these 3rd-party tokens' Jettons.' With Jettons, TON offers the perfect setup for creating, trading, and using digital assets in a decentralized and permissionless environment. 

This guide outlines the advantages, standards, and processes for creating Jettons on TON, showcasing how we help creators launch tokens easily and encourage absolute digital ownership across the ecosystem.

## **Why launch your token on TON?** 
There is a [range of advantages](https://ton.org/en/analysis) to launching your Jetton on TON. Some of them are ‘by design’ as elemental parts of The Open Network’s architecture, while other advantages are indirect, such as access to the Telegram ecosystem, extensive support documentation, or financial support in form of grants and accelerators. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Screenshot_2024_04_10_at_00_19_28_Blockchain_analysis_89920473ba/Screenshot_2024_04_10_at_00_19_28_Blockchain_analysis_89920473ba.png) 

- **Mass adoption potential:** TON, through its integration with Telegram, provides direct access to over 900 million monthly Telegram users. By building Web3 [Telegram Mini Apps](https://ton.org/mini-apps), you can tap into a vast audience that no other blockchain platform can offer. 

- **Unmatched speed:** TON’s speed is a game-changer, with the blockchain [setting a world record for processing 100,000 transactions per second](https://blog.ton.org/100000-transactions-per-second-ton-sets-the-world-record-on-its-first-performance-test). This efficiency ensures that your Jetton transactions will be fast, reliable, and capable of handling large volumes.

- **Scalability:** [TON’s unique sharding infrastructure](https://blog.ton.org/the-architecture-behind-the-open-network) splits the blockchain into smaller segments, known as “shards,” to boost scalability and transaction speed. This design helps it handle increasing numbers of users and transactions efficiently without reducing performance or negatively impacting transaction fees.

- **Low transaction fees:** The network’s [low gas fees](https://docs.ton.org/develop/smart-contracts/fees) are a significant advantage, making frequent transactions economically feasible for both creators and users.

- **Extensive support documentation:** [TON’s comprehensive documentation](https://docs.ton.org/) provides great resources for developers. From start to finish, you'll find detailed guides and support materials to help you navigate the creation and management of your Jetton.

- **Incentive programs:** TON provides unique long-term incentive programs, such as [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-pilot-season-is-now-live), which plans to distribute over $200 million in rewards to users and TON teams over the next three months. Additionally, [Early](https://blog.ton.org/be-early-web3-growth-hacking-on-ton), a growth hacking platform, is specifically designed for early-stage projects. These initiatives offer ongoing support to creators and help projects attract their initial audiences.

- **Robust security:** TON offers top-tier security, with its infrastructure thoroughly [audited by reputable organizations like Certik](https://skynet.certik.com/projects/the-open-network) and Quantstamp.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Screenshot_2024_04_10_at_00_32_00_The_Open_Network_Certi_K_Skynet_Project_Insight_88c460ca8b/Screenshot_2024_04_10_at_00_32_00_The_Open_Network_Certi_K_Skynet_Project_Insight_88c460ca8b.png) 

- **Exchange support:** Support for Jettons on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) significantly enhances their liquidity and accessibility.

## **The Jetton Standard on TON**
The TON Jetton standard provides clear guidelines for the creation and management of digital tokens on the network, ensuring uniformity and simplifying the use of various token types. This standard facilitates straightforward tasks such as transferring tokens and retrieving information, enhancing the user experience across the ecosystem.

## **How to Mint Jettons**

There are two main paths to minting Jettons on TON. Each of them suitable for a different audience, with benefits and disadvantages. If you're a beginner or lack some experience in smart contract development, we encourage you to explore zero-code solutions. 

- **Zero-code solutions:** Platforms like [minter.ton.org](http://minter.ton.org) and [TON Raffles](https://tonraffles.app/jetton/mint) provide user-friendly interfaces for deploying Jetton contracts without coding. These services simplify the process, making it accessible even to those with minimal technical background.


- **Smart contract deployment from scratch:** For those seeking a more hands-on approach, TON offers extensive [documentation to guide developers through creating and deploying a Jetton smart contract](https://docs.ton.org/develop/dapps/tutorials/jetton-minter/#step-by-step-guide-for-developers) from the ground up. This method allows for greater customization and control over Jetton’s functionalities.

## **Conclusion**
Promoting Jetton minting on TON Blockchain significantly benefits the network by fostering authentic digital ownership and ecosystem diversity. Encouraging teams and developers to mint their Jettons allows more people to engage with TON, broadening the range of quality projects and increasing opportunities for all. 

We support token launches by providing options that range from easy, no-code solutions to fully customizable smart contracts, catering to all levels of technical expertise. 

As the TON Ecosystem expands, so do the opportunities for creative and financial exploration with Jettons. **[For more details, please consult our comprehensive guide.](https://docs.ton.org/develop/dapps/asset-processing/jettons#accepting-jettons-from-user-deposit-addresses)**


An Introduction to Jetton Minting on TON

The Open League (TOL) [Season #1 is in full swing](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-season-1-for-projects): the newcoiners are FUDing, and the Chads are HODLing. Nature is slowly healing after the Bitcoin dip. 

But just when you thought it couldn’t get more exciting, we’re about to up the ante.

Besides the already unprecedented rewards being given away, we’re introducing a fresh, new challenge for the TON Community—a prediction contest about forecasting the future stars of TOL. It’s time to dust off that crystal ball and start pondering the top five teams of The Open League. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/chad_89130a4d9a/chad_89130a4d9a.jpg) 

## **Predict & Win!**
As part of this new competition, you will have to pick and rank the top five teams who you believe are going to go big this season of The Open League. It’s so simple even your Web1 grandma could do it. All you need to do is connect your wallet with at least 5 Toncoin and drop your predictions. 

#### **How to participate:**

1. **Wallet ready:** Connect your wallet, making sure it contains at least 5 Toncoin
2. **Choose wisely:** Select the top 5 teams and rank them according to their final standings
3. **Questing time:** Complete a unique quest in [The Open League bot](https://t.me/Open_league_bot) for each team you’ve picked
4. **Seal the deal:** No, you don’t have to summon the devil at the crossroads. Confirm your prediction by sending a blank transaction to the magic address
 
For Season 1, we’re keeping it old school with manual acceptance. But get ready because Season 2 will be leveling up with on-chain predictions using a dedicated smart contract activated before the next season starts.

### **Rewards, rewards, rewards!**
The reward pool is nothing short of spectacular, and the stakes are high. 

**Here’s what you could win:**
- 🥇 **5 out of 5 Predictions:** 50% of the total fund (25,000 TON)
- 🥈 **4 out of 5 Predictions:** 30% of the total fund (15,000 TON)
- 🥉 **3 out of 5 Predictions:** 20% of the total fund (10,000 TON)

And just to put things into perspective, if 1 million users join the competition, the rewards per user could be as high as:

- 🥇 **5 out of 5:** 25,000 TON / 4 users =  A whopping 6,250 TON per user
- 🥈 **4 out of 5:** 15 000 TON / 40 users = A cool 375 TON per user
- 🥉 **3 out of 5:** 10,000 TON / 600 users = A neat 16.67 TON per user

### **This is your moment, TONanon.**
The Open League Season 1 isn’t just about the projects battling it out in the ecosystem; it’s also about you, the community, getting a front-row seat to the action and having a chance to win big. 

So, what are you waiting for? Be a Chad; make a prediction. It costs you nothing, and there’s so much to win! 


TOL Predictions Contest: Real Chads Make Predictions

We’re excited to conclude the pilot season of The Open League and introduce you, absolute on-chain Chads, to the best projects we had the honor to host in our testing round. 

The Pilot had its ups and downs and we faced some challenges, but together with your never-ending support, we overcame every obstacle and successfully finished the season. 

When Jack, our Director of MarComm announced The Open League proposal, we weren’t expecting much. It was an experimental and unproven initiative that aimed to build on top of TON’s integration with Telegram and its ecosystem being the most accessible across the entire Web3 market. 

We’re proud to announce that our expectations were absolutely wrong and you Chads completely dominated all the metrics. We couldn’t have wished for a better community. 

## Key Highlights: 

Below is some data comparing before and after The Open League Pilot season and just look at that beauty…

- Daily active wallets (DAW): up 347%
- Weekly Active Wallets: up 252%
- Monthly Active Wallets: up 137%
- DeFi Total Value Locked up 244%
- Liquidity Providers: up 550%
- Daily Trading Volume: up 624%
- Daily Traders: up 710%
- Jetton Holders: up 195%

If there was a token, it would’ve been going to the moon now. Anyway…

## Final Project Ranking of The Open League Pilot Season

In our Pilot we tracked leaderboards across four main categories: Apps, DeFi, Liquid Staking, and Tokens. Below are final snapshots of leaderboards actual as of the last day of the Pilot season, March 31. 

The ranking is based on a score measured across several key metrics, primarily Unique Active Wallets (UAW) and Number of Transactions. You can also see the Toncoin rewards awarded to each project in the leaderboard. 

### Apps Leaderboard ~ 150,000 Toncoin Prize Pool

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/apps_f7df99de10/apps_f7df99de10.png) 

### DeFi Leaderboard ~ 160,000 Toncoin Prize Pool

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/defi_db6bb68858/defi_db6bb68858.png) 

### Liquid Staking Leaderboard ~ 100,000 Toncoin Prize Pool

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/liquid_staking_42e7333d5c/liquid_staking_42e7333d5c.png) 

### Token Leaderboard ~ 150,000 Toncoin Prize Pool

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/token_1e90130353/token_1e90130353.jpg) 

## Conclusion

We want to thank every single project and participant of the Pilot season. We thank you for your support, for your activity, and for your patience while we’ve faced unexpected challenges. 

It was an amazing experience and learning lesson and we’re confident that Season #1 of The Open League which is now live, will meet your expectations and crush the results, pushing TON to previously unseen heights. 

In Season #1, we will bring you a completely reworked rewards system, new leaderboard categories, including Meme Coin Leaderboard, and a whole bunch of other benefits and perks.

**[Click here to learn more about Season #1](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-season-1-for-projects)**

Meet the Winners of TOL's Pilot Season!

Today, our online lives are almost as meaningful as our real-world interactions. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that tech companies need to help users verify and secure their digital identities. This new collaboration between TON Society and HumanCode represents a considerable step forward, allowing users to express their personhood on-chain and safeguard their digital lives within the TON Ecosystem. Through a $5 million incentive program, HumanCode is changing how TON enthusiasts prove who they are online.

## Cyberpunk comes to TON

On April 8, 2024, at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival, TON Society and HumanCode announced a groundbreaking collaboration. TON Society, representing the TON Ecosystem, and HumanCode, a leader in AI innovation, are launching a $5 million incentive program that introduces palm scanning to verify digital identities.

HumanCode’s technology lets users voluntarily verify they’re human with a simple palm scan, suitable for all smartphones. It’s universal, working with every browser, camera, and skin tone. This initiative aims to provide secure digital identities to 500 million Telegram users in five years. TON Society is launching a 1 million Toncoin incentive program (~US$5 million) to encourage the TON Community to adopt this new digital verification standard. 

## TON’s future will be in sync with AI

Much like blockchain, AI is finally hitting its stride when it comes to delivering real-world use cases to real people. This new collaboration between TON Society and HumanCode is part of our commitment to a future where digital identities are both secure and private. HumanCode’s approach, which uses just a palm scan from a smartphone, is secure, scalable, and more user-friendly than alternatives, requiring no special equipment. This technology is crucial for operations like airdrops or transaction analysis, where verifying a person’s identity is necessary for privacy. 

HumanCode and TON are setting a new standard for convenience and security in digital identity verification. We both see a future where every individual has control over their digital identity, and we invite every TON enthusiast to join us on this journey.



HumanCode brings AI-powered biometrics to TON Ecosystem

Welcome back to “TON Innovators,” our blog series that explores the innovations and breakthroughs happening within the TON Community. TON goes beyond being just a blockchain; it’s a group of enthusiasts and experts committed to advancing Web3 technology as a whole.

This series celebrates the minds behind TON’s projects, focusing on their stories, challenges faced, and what drives them. Each episode of “TON Innovators” takes you behind the scenes to showcase the impacts and visions of those at the forefront of TON, combining technical insights with personal stories.

Our latest feature is on [GoMining](https://gmt.io/), a platform revolutionizing Bitcoin mining by using Liquid Bitcoin Hashrate with NFTs to improve accessibility, efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Discover where GoMining has come from and the idea behind their latest TON-native NFT series in our exclusive interview with GoMining CEO, Mark Zalan. Enjoy!

## **GoMining**
*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not an investment advice.*
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Screenshot_2024_04_03_at_14_50_25_Go_Mining_Whales_NFT_e8e689ebe9/Screenshot_2024_04_03_at_14_50_25_Go_Mining_Whales_NFT_e8e689ebe9.png) 
**GoMining! Welcome to TON! Can you give us a quick overview of what you do and your main product?**

We’ve digitized and simplified access to the excellent economics of Bitcoin mining for our customers. Traditionally, Bitcoin mining has been an energy-intensive process requiring expensive equipment and technical expertise, primarily available to well-funded corporations.  We removed those barriers by offering modular ownership of mining power starting with as little as $25 for 1 TH/s-powered NFT. In practical terms, we tokenized Bitcoin hashpower using NFTs.  By purchasing NFTs that represent real hashpower, and provide commensurate Bitcoin mining rewards, anyone can participate in Bitcoin mining without the significant upfront costs and technical complexities.


**Moving on, could you break down how Bitcoin mining works at GoMining? How do NFTs fit into this, and what are the benefits of integrating them?**

We have nine Bitcoin mining data centers operating around the world with over 3,000,000 TH/s of hashpower. This hashpower is tokenized via NFTs. By purchasing NFTs, our users acquire ownership of the hashpower the NFT represents and the Bitcoin mining rewards generated by that hashpower on a daily basis. In this way, NFTs represent ownership of real-world assets.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Screenshot_2024_04_03_at_14_50_37_Go_Mining_Whales_NFT_61642978e9/Screenshot_2024_04_03_at_14_50_37_Go_Mining_Whales_NFT_61642978e9.png) 
**Next, why did you choose TON to launch your GoMining Whales NFT collection? What makes TON a good fit for this project? How can a Bitcoin mining project use TON Blockchain?**

TON is one of the fastest growing blockchain ecosystems in the world, and we have been keeping track and administering your progress for a while now. A collaboration is a great way to leverage each other’s progress and expertise to provide additional value for both user communities. Beyond the GoMining Whales NFT Collection, we also have other integrations under discussion now, so stay tuned for more announcements.


**Let’s delve into how owning a GoMining Whale NFT equals owning a piece of real computing power in your data centers. How do you manage and keep track of this?**

Liquid Bitcoin Hashrate is the protocol we created to facilitate tokenizing tangible hashpower, managed and maintained by service providers, using NFTs, which make purchasing, upgrading, and transferring ownership of associated computing power as simple and straightforward as managing any other digital asset. The differentiation, of course, is that owners of GoMining NFTs receive Bitcoin mining rewards every morning, in addition to enjoying the artwork associated with the NFTs. 


**Does the team come with a background in blockchain and crypto, or is this a new venture for you all?**

We’ve been running a Bitcoin mining business since 2017, and GoMining as a new project has been under development starting in 2020, with a market launch in 2021.  Seven years is a fairly long time in crypto, so you could say we’ve been around the block a few times by now, have seen our share of industry cycles, bull and bear markets, and feel quite comfortable and confident in our ability to navigate the challenges and opportunities in our space.


**How does GoMining make sure its mining operations are secure and transparent?**

This is a continuous challenge and a constant focus area for us. For obvious reasons we don’t like to go into too much detail, but in broad terms, we obviously focus on ensuring we are at the leading edge of everything related to the technologies and best practices around cyber security.  Deploying, testing, and monitoring encryptions, multi-factor authentication, numerous penetration attempts, regular audit and pen testing, constant user training, etc. etc.  


**On the topic of the environment, how does GoMining address the energy concerns associated with traditional mining methods?**

That's a great and relevant question. There are a number of ways to think about this topic, we’ll focus on two. First, we work with electricity providers in all of our locations to become part of electricity base load consumption. Because electricity providers cannot spin up and down electricity generation on demand, a constant concern for every electricity provider is ensuring there is always a constant load that is able to provide stable demand, a base load, on the system. By becoming part of the base load we help improve the efficiency of the overall system, working with the service provider to maintain power draw, or reduce consumption when needed for the best efficiency of the overall system. Secondly, we are constantly improving the efficiency of all components of our systems. Over the past 10 years, the efficiency of Bitcoin mining equipment has seen hundreds of orders of magnitude of improvement. This constant drive for efficiency reduces the industry’s footprint constantly, as well as provides technology innovation to the wider technology industry. 

**What are the benefits of buying an NFT through GoMining compared to more common ways of getting in crypto like buying Bitcoin or TON directly?**

Traditionally, the economics of mining Bitcoin has offered significantly more advantages than a buy-and-hold strategy on Bitcoin. Prior to our GoMining product, participating in Bitcoin mining has been restricted to very well-funded corporate entities that could afford hundreds of millions of dollars of investment into data centers, mining equipment, high-price technical experts to manage all of those, etc. Our goal with creating GoMining was to remove those barriers and make mining economics accessible to everyone.

**Finally, as we conclude, are there any upcoming plans or launches from GoMining that our readers should be excited about?**

Our team is hard at work thinking through the next iteration of our products, as well as facilitating the explosive, double digit month-to-month growth we are seeing in the number of users, number of NFTs, and the amount of hashpower that is in demand throughout our ecosystem.  Our detailed plans and key dates are outlined in our project’s roadmap on [https://gmt.io](https://gmt.io). Please take a look and we look forward to welcoming everyone to our user community through our mobile apps, and social media.

**Did you enjoy the interview? [Follow GoMining on X](https://twitter.com/Gomining_token) or [join their Telegram.](https://t.me/gmt_token)**

TON Innovators: GoMining

This article outlines the changes to Season #1 of [The Open League](https://ton.org/en/open-league) that will make it even more rewarding than ever before. Here we mainly focus on what it all means for The Open League projects, and in another article, we’ll focus on Season #1 for users. 

The Open League (TOL) is about turning normal, everyday Telegram users into on-chain Chads, users ready to use every feature of TON’s new and exciting web3 ecosystem inside Telegram. To do that, TOL sets a clear pathway to go from just a little baby newcoiner to factor 50 degenerate. It’s okay not to know what it’s all about. Crypto is complex. A frightening user experience, liquidations, hacks, and rug pulls scare off even the greatest risk-takers. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The Open League is a guided path for anyone with a Telegram account to earn tokens while getting started in crypto. With something for every different appetite for risk. Earn tokens with zero-risk token mining activities and quests or from high-risk liquidity pools and trading contests. 

Step into The League, my fren; a world of rewards awaits. 

## **The Open League Season #1 Is Here!**
Well, the pilot was fun; it delivered on all fronts:

- Daily active wallets (DAW): up 347%
- WAWs: up 252%
- MAWs: up 137%
- DEFI TVL: up 244%
- Liquidity Providers: up 550%
- Daily Trading Volume: up 624%
- Daily traders: up 710%
- Jetton Holders: up 195%

Safe to say it's working well for all involved! The Open League delivers active wallets, active users, more liquidity, and trading activity to all participating projects. 

**We’re kicking off Season #1 on April 1 at 12:00 CET. For three months, we’ll have three seasons, each lasting for one month. The fun won’t stop there. This long-term competition will likely run for the next two years.**

April 1st? Really? Trust us, this is no joke! The first live season of TOL is here, and if you’re building a project on TON, take this as your guide for the next year. Here, we’ll tell you all you need to do to participate, qualify, and earn the rewards and the glory. 

## **Upcoming changes to TOL Season #1**
### **Changes to leaderboards and the ranking system**
From this season, every project will be competing in one of the five Key Performance Indicator (KPI) leaderboards according to their respective project category. 

1. Token Leaderboard
2. Meme Coin & Community Token Leaderboard
3. DeFi Leaderboard
4. App Leaderboard
5. Liquid Staking Leaderboard

We believe this approach is fairer as it allows projects to compete with similar projects and focus on metrics relevant to their category. For prize distribution, we will reward the top projects in each category. 

The prizes within the KPI-based competition will be distributed at the end of each season (every month). Prize pools and metrics will then reset at the beginning of every season so projects can make a fresh attempt at reaching the top. 

### **Changes to Liquidity Pool Boosts**
Liquidity Pool Boosts are an additional incentive for liquidity providers on decentralized exchanges and are awarded to contestants of the Major League (Token Leaderboard) only. 

In season 1, we introduce a Minor League as a monitoring ground for up to 50 tokens currently not qualifying for the Major League. However, Minor league projects will not get LP boosts unless promoted to the Majors.

Boosts are provided for one season (one month) for a maximum of 50,000 TON per project and 
Boosts must be matched by an equivalent of the project’s tokens in the ratio of 2:3, i.e. $2 worth of your tokens for $3 worth of Toncoin. 
Projects can decide if they want to utilize the full amount of 50,000 in TON or if they’ll go for a lower boost, according to their available budget. 

**Other LP Boosts requirements:**
- The project cannot receive an LP Boost and enter the Major League unless **it is prepared to provide its side of tokens for the liquidity pool**. 
- The project must **introduce a simple token mining mechanic for new users to earn the project’s token for free, safely, and simply**. We've prepared a [Playbook](https://ton-org.notion.site/Playbook-The-Open-League-Pilot-Season-282a357f2be148f29cabd3ea9f90bbb4) with some ideas to help you understand how to build an excellent incentive system that attracts millions of users to your project. 
- The project must **choose between DeDust.io or Ston.fi** for the allocation of the LP rewards.
- Each project must choose a pair with either TON or staked TON (stTON, tsTON, wsTON, hTON, or STAKED) to be eligible.
- The LP rewards provided by TON Foundation cannot be split into multiple pools; **projects can choose only one pool per season**.
- Projects are allowed to set lock-ups in the farming pools, but **the lock-up period cannot  exceed one month** (one TOL season)

Projects that participate in the KPI-based competition but don’t have their own token to offer in the LPs can apply to receive rewards to incentivize their liquidity providers. However, this only applies to projects with TVL at risk, so liquid staking projects would not qualify.

Teams without their own token should therefore present a clear plan on how they will significantly increase their TVL at risk for the upcoming months. The final decision on the provision of the rewards is at the sole discretion of the TOL committee. 

<button href="https://forms.gle/sDGEAMcecuYBpvjh6" passutmsource="true">
 Apply as a project without a token 
</button >
<br/> 

## **Intro to the new category-based ranking system**
### **1. Token Leaderboard**

This category is reserved only for projects with a token and is split into two leagues: Major League and Minor League. This is the main leaderboard of the entire competition with tokens in the major league the only projects to receive the LP Boost benefit.

#### **1.1 The Major League**
This league will welcome all pilot season participants, except the two projects that ranked last in the pilot season and projects that failed to introduce a token mining mechanism. The league is reserved for the best-performing projects of the previous season and the top 3 projects of the Minor League. 

The worst performers in the Major League will be relegated to the Minor League at the end of the season. With the exception of receiving a Wild Card, It is only possible to apply to TOL and participate in the Major League by having participated in the previous season. 

**Note:** *The four new projects added two weeks after the start of the pilot season ($TONNEL, $FISH, $KINGY, $DFC) are granted special immunity and will NOT be eliminated from the Major League regardless of their performance because of the uneven duration of their participation in the beta season compared with the other contestants.*

#### **1.2 The Minor League**
This league serves projects new to the TON Ecosystem or first-time participants in The Open League. The projects in this league will compete to place in the top 3 spots and receive delegation into the Major League. It will also host the worst performers from the Major League of the previous season. 

**Eligibility criteria to enter the Minor League:**
- Clean track record and relevant expertise
- Clearly defined roadmap
- Total token TVL on DEXs must be higher than $50,000
- The FDV must be higher than $1,000,000
- The total number of token holders must be higher than 1,000
- Fair token distribution 

**In contrast to the Major League contestants, Minor League participants do NOT receive an LP boost.**

<button href="https://tonresear.ch/c/the-open-league/token-leaderboard/57" passutmsource="true">
 Apply to join the Minor League 
</button >
<br/> 

#### **1.3 The Wild Card**
A wild card can be granted in exceptional cases and at any time throughout the season. The wild card allows the team to join the Major League without necessarily competing in and winning the Minor League. 

The wild card can be given to new TON projects with impressive token metrics right after the launch, projects with substantial traction deployed on other blockchains and migrating to TON, hackathon winners or TON Accelerator alumni, and projects that win in the DeFi or App categories after token launch.

### **2. Meme Coin & Community Token Leaderboard**
This leaderboard is part of the TON Foundation's effort to spur the growth of community projects with no necessary utility, and we warmheartedly welcome meme coins and community tokens in the TON Ecosystem.

**The most impressive communities in this category may receive special rewards.**

The projects participating in this category are not guaranteed to receive an LP boost or a determined prize pool, and the rewards are at the sole discretion of the TOL Committee.

**Eligibility criteria to enter the Meme Coin & Community Token Leaderboard:**
- Clean track record
- Fair token distribution (fair launch)
- Total token TVL on DEXs must be higher than $100,000
- The FDV must be higher than $1,000,000
- The total number of token holders must be higher than 1,000

<button href="https://tonresear.ch/c/the-open-league/memecoin-leaderboard/59" passutmsource="true">
 Apply to join the Meme Coin & Community Token Leaderboard 
</button >
<br/> 

### **3.  App Leaderboard**
This leaderboard is dedicated to projects with decentralized applications (dApps) built on TON. Projects with their own dApp who participated in the pilot season are whitelisted to join Season #1 and will receive a priority enlistment to Season #1. dApp projects that didn’t participate in the pilot season can apply through the button below. 

To apply, projects must demonstrate performance (based on metrics such as UAW and TX numbers) as good or better than those that rank last in the current App Leaderboard. 

All new applications will be thoroughly reviewed, and application teams must provide proof that confirms their declared traction. Any manipulation of metrics will result in permanent disqualification of the project from The Open League. 

<button href="https://tonresear.ch/c/the-open-league/app-leaderboard/58" passutmsource="true">
 Apply to join the App Leaderboard 
</button >
<br/> 

### **4.  DeFi Leaderboard**
This leaderboard welcomes projects active in the DeFi section of the TON ecosystem, such as decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, etc. DeFi projects participating in the pilot season are whitelisted to join Season #1 and will receive a priority enlistment to Season #1. DeFi projects not participating in the pilot season can apply through the button below. 

Given that more new DeFi projects are expected to join the competition soon, the current DeFi Leaderboard will likely be split into sub-verticals after Season #1.

TOL Season #1 will continue to have a single DeFi Leaderboard, which will be upgraded with custom metrics and weights to embrace the specifics of the participating projects and ensure fair competition. More details on the methodology can be found in the DeFi Leaderboard (coming soon). 

<button href="https://tonresear.ch/c/the-open-league/defi-leaderboard/60" passutmsource="true">
 Apply to join the DeFi Leaderboard 
</button >
<br/> 

### **5.  Liquid Staking Leaderboard**
The last leaderboard is designed solely for liquid staking protocol on TON. Liquid Staking protocols participating in the pilot season are whitelisted to join Season #1 and will receive a priority enlistment to Season #1. 

## **The Open League Prize Pools**
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Blog_7_92aff39823/Blog_7_92aff39823.png) 

The prize pools for each leaderboard will continue growing each season, with the top projects in each category sharing the reward. These prizes are not the final numbers and may increase exponentially depending on how the competition develops.

## **The Open League Rules of Conduct**
To maximize the effectiveness of the TOL initiative and eradicate unfair competition, we’ve created a list of simple rules of conduct that apply to all TOL participants and will be harshly enforced. Any breach of these rules will be harshly penalized, potentially resulting in permanent disqualification from The Open League. 

The participants of TOL shall behave in good faith, showing respect towards other contestants and using legitimate and organic tools to increase their token and product metrics.

**Participants receiving an LP boost from TON Foundation must NOT:**
- Farm rewards in their own pools.
- Collude with others to benefit unfairly from the boosted pools. We are watching closely.
- Sell their project’s token to make a profit.
- Perform other actions of similar character.

**The participants of the KPI-based competitions must NOT:**
- Fake their metrics through the creation of multiple accounts and the generation of multiple transactions

Please note that these rules and principles are subject to change throughout The Open League initiative. TON Foundation reserves the right to improve and adjust this framework based on the circumstances. 


-----------

Season #1 of The Open League is here, and we invite all projects within the TON Ecosystem to consider their participation in this amazing initiative. Please, do not hesitate to contact us for more information or if you need help with your application to The Open League.


The Open League Season #1 For Projects

We’re excited to introduce the [TON Trading Mania](https://www.bybit.com/en/trading-contest/game/?name=TonTradingMania&period_id=1762) on Bybit, a competition designed to test and reward your trading skills with a prize pool of 150,000 USDT. This is a great opportunity to engage with the TON Community, prove your trading acumen, and win a share of the massive prize pool. 

TON Trading Mania is another significant advancement in incorporating DeFi into the TON Ecosystem, essential for the development of Telegram’s Web3 SuperApp. Although trading might not be for everyone, this initiative is vital for the broader Web3 community. Our goal is to incorporate all aspects of blockchain technology, including trading, into our ecosystem. At the same time, we’re committed to encouraging responsible trading and educating users about the potential risks involved.

## Event Overview

**March 28, 2024, 10 AM (UTC) – April 17, 2024, 11:59 PM (UTC)**

Get ready for TON Trading Mania, a two-event competition designed to showcase your trading skills in the TON Ecosystem. It’s the perfect opportunity for both experienced traders and amateurs to hone their skills and earn rewards. Bybit provides a smooth and user-friendly experience, equipped with all the necessary tools to trade effectively. Remember, participation in this competition is governed by Bybit’s Terms and Conditions, which are detailed on their landing page.

## Event 1: Trade for Triumph

In Bybit’s first event, users will engage in both TON Spot and Derivatives trading, aiming for a minimum total trading volume of $1,000. The goal is straightforward: increase your trading volume to rise up the ranks and claim your share of the 50,000 USDT worth of TON prize pool. The top trader can win up to 10,000 USDT worth of TON. 

## Event 2: Reach the Trading Milestone

For ambitious traders, Bybit’s second event offers an even greater challenge: aim to be one of the first 10 traders to achieve a total trading volume of at least $1,000,000, across both Spot and Derivatives markets, to win an additional 10,000 USDT in TON. This event is tailored for the high rollers, the risk-takers, and the true trading aficionados looking to etch their names in the TON hall of fame.

## How to Get Started

Ready to take on the challenge? Here’s how you can get involved:

- **Step 1**: Ensure you have an active Bybit account. If not, signing up is quick and easy.
- **Step 2**: Familiarize yourself with the trading interface and options available for TON on both Spot and Derivatives markets.
- **Step 3**: Start trading!

With 150,000 USDT on the line, TON Trading Mania on Bybit lets you showcase your trading talent, connect with like-minded traders, and make your mark in the TON Ecosystem. Whether you're trading for triumph or reaching for the milestone, join us from March 28 and let the mania begin!

<button href="https://www.bybit.com/en/trading-contest/game/?name=TonTradingMania&period_id=1762=" passutmsource="true">
  Start trading now!
</button >
<br/> 


Bybit launches $150,000 TON Trading Competition

Since its inception in early 2023, the [TON Accelerator Program](https://ton.org/accelerator) has been at the forefront of empowering entrepreneurs to integrate seamlessly into the TON-based Web3 ecosystem in Telegram. Its mission is to provide a frictionless path for Web3 builders to develop TON-based products that reach Telegram's 900 million monthly active users.

We received over 170 applications, and after carefully reviewing them, we chose 11 projects to join our Accelerator's 9-week curriculum. 

**In 9 weeks, the selected projects will expand their knowledge about:**
- **Product**: Mentors will demonstrate how to build scalable Telegram Mini Apps with special considerations for a user-friendly UI/UX, share best practices in Telegram Web Apps, and explore the unique features and advantages of building on Telegram, covering Wallet and Ton Space integration. 
- **Go-to-market strategy:** Learn how to leverage viral mechanics, Telegram Ads, and KOLs to boost the project's reach. We will review specific case studies to see real-world implementation.
- **Technical knowledge:** Improve your knowledge of smart contract programming, learn how to develop secure code, and more. 
- **Tokenomics & listing:** Understand exchanges' listing requirements, learn how to negotiate with market makers, and design sustainable tokenomics. 
- **Fundraising:** Our experienced mentors will show you how to build a resilient business structure and create a winning pitch deck.
- **Founder Sessions:** Private AMAs with the founders of top projects from the TON Ecosystem.

But that's not everything. 

**Participants in the Accelerator will receive a comprehensive grant and access to personalized mentorship from top experts.** Additionally, they will receive credits for Telegram Ads and, upon approval, $5,000 in cloud services credits from our partners AWS, Tencent Cloud, and Alibaba Cloud. They will also be prioritized for audit, gain opportunities for introductions to VCs and investors, and have the chance to secure speaking slots at future TON events.

To help the participants grow, **we will secure their access to the [Community Bot](https://t.me/community_bot) team**, the creators of Notcoin, **and to [Early](https://t.me/early_adopters), our platform designed to boost new projects** on TON to enable them to launch quests on their platform to attract their initial user base. Using the Community Bot service is optional, as the projects will have to negotiate a fee with the Community Bot team for the setup of their campaigns. Participation in the Early platform is free of charge. For teams interested in leveraging this opportunity, a dedicated module will be available to explain the process in detail.

The **top Accelerator participants may secure funding from a $2,000,000 pool provided by TON Ventures** and additional investment opportunities from TON Foundation’s network.

## **Meet the 11 selected projects**
- **[Nexton](https://www.nexton.solutions/):** Nexton is a staking & restaking hub on TON, designed to maximize and optimize your yields. Fully accessible via their [Mini App](https://t.me/Nexton_tele_bot ), Nexton allows you to simply enter the world of DeFi and access features, including staking, marketplace, and upcoming features such as loans and swaps. 

- **[United Finance](https://unitedfinance.io/):** The first yield aggregation protocol on the TON Blockchain. wuTON is the protocol's first product, a yield-bearing token backed by TON. Users deposit their TON and receive wuTON in return. wuTON is usable as any other token and aims to offer a higher yield than provided by staking.


- **[Gatto](https://t.me/gatto_gamebot):** Gatto is a mid-core game with meaningful collectibles (NFTs) and IAP using @wallet. This unusual game combines the genres of Tamagotchi, platformer, and farm simulator, where more than 1 million users already take care of their virtual pets and get TONCOIN. In the near future, there will be full-fledged PvP and PvE battles and construction mode.

- **[Maincard.io](https://maincard.io/):** Maincard is a fantasy manager for sports and esports designed to enable blockchain mass adoption in the most fun and engaging way. Launched in early 2023, to date, Maincard.io onboarded over 100,000 active players from over 120 countries. Their players made over a million transactions on Polygon, and in February, Maincard launched on TON. The TON mainnet launch is scheduled for April 15.

- **[Moons. so](https://moons.so/):** Moons.so is the leading SocialFi platform built on TON. It allows users to talk freely without any central admins in various local communities to explore and connect with global blockchain networks and diverse, worldwide users.                                                                                            

- **[MuggleLink](https://link.mugglepay.com/):** MuggleLink is a Web3 freelance services marketplace. Their mission is to link Muggles and make the world work together through crypto. MuggleLink allows individual users and content creators to receive crypto payments via social networks, including Telegram, X, and YouTube. 

- **[vSelf]( https://vself.app/):** vSelf is a Community-as-a-Service platform on TON that equips brands with the power of Web3 technology, providing easy-to-use tools for growth hacking and community engagement. 

- **[Bion](www.bionapp.com):** Bion makes Web3 shopping easy with its app, which allows you to make payments in crypto with listed brands and earn cashback in crypto for every purchase. 

- **[EdChess](https://edchess.io/):** As you probably guessed, EdChess is a game platform integrated into [Telegram as a Mini App](https://t.me/edchess_bot) and mobile app. Combining two huge user bases, EdChess provides an enhanced gaming and learning experience; the platform allows users to earn cryptocurrency by playing mind games, participating in tournaments, and various confrontations.

- **[FireHeadz](https://t.me/the_pixels_bot):** FireHeadz is a team of pioneers creating viral games on Telegram. They utilize a unique mechanic to capture and amplify user engagement and specialize in integrating cutting-edge Web3 mechanics into their games, setting new trends, and enhancing gaming experience with tokens, mining, unique NFT collections, and in-game content generated by artificial intelligence. They built an extremely successful game [The Pixels](https://t.me/the_pixels_bot), with more than 500,000 users. 

- **[Kit 42](https://t.me/kit42bot):** Kit 42 is a unique, feature-rich Telegram app that uses Telegram User API for maximum efficiency. Get detailed analytics on calls, contacts, chats, and channel recordings. Easily manage, clean blacklist, create, and send scripted animated messages, making your Telegram experience even more interesting.

These are the eleven selected participants for the TON Accelerator Program, and we wish them the best on their journey toward success. 

TON Accelerator Participants Announcement

The Open League's pilot season led to 70% growth in TVL (Total Value Locked) and 370% in daily active wallets. Very crazy results for just 2 weeks. TON Community it’s time to double-down. 

The first full season of The Open League, is here…

Starting April 1st, in 1 month seasons, TON Foundation will distribute 30 million Toncoin, roughly equivalent to $115 million. 4 systems will help us distribute all that Toncoin, and show the simple conversion path from humble Telegram user to onchain CHAD.

## What are The Open League Seasons?

TON projects compete every month to win a massive prize, while TON-chain users earn massive rewards for their activity. Simple.

**The competition consists of 4 systems that will share the total 30 million Toncoin budget:** 

- The League 
- Token Mining 
- Quests & Airdrops
- Liquidity Pool Boosts 

Each system is for a different style of character in the Telegram community: The degen dev, n00bie normies, degenerate dabblers and the CHAD.

Let’s dive into how they all work.

**The League: $5 million Toncoin Prize Pool.**
The League is for degen devs but also for everyone. It’s an overall KPI competition where Web3 projects compete to win the season’s Toncoin prizepool. There is the Major League, and the Minor League. With rankings shown in real time on the [live leaderboard](https://ton.org/en/open-league?filterBy=forProjects). 

Each season, 2 projects that perform well will be promoted from the Minor League to the Major, and 2 projects that underperform will be relegated 😭. Winning projects may then choose what to do with their winnings: keep it for themselves or distribute it to their communities. You can’t blame them either way, winners be winning…

Any Web3 project on TON can compete to enter the Minor League, how? Show significant traction, have a cool community, win community votes, be top hacker at one of our hackathons or boss the TON Accelerator. 

Projects from any chain are, of course, encouraged to migrate to TON, bring their community and attempt to get into Season 1. Migration first, then Open League goody bags for all.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/infographic_for_blog_4_bbe7a3c2ea/infographic_for_blog_4_bbe7a3c2ea.png) 

## Token Mining: Projects' Own Token

For n00bie normies. Some projects on TON have already achieved legendary status and proven that to grow on Telegram, you only need 2 things - a simple incentives mechanism and a referral program. 

We’re encouraging every project in The Open League to use this proven model to grow, and give all the n00bie normies out there a taste of free tokens - create simple, easy to use mining mechanisms using their own token. 

Just as [Notcoin](https://t.me/notcoin_bot?start=r_4_1659242), [Pixels](https://t.me/the_pixels_bot/play?startapp=0_896153f1-746c-4699-a1b8-25701e68826e_2_fallback-invite) and [Catizen](https://t.me/catizenbot?start=rp_1255826) have proven - with the right incentives and referral program projects can grow to 10s of millions of users, easily, in no time at all without any marketing spend. This kind of thing is very unique to TON and Telegram so let’s use our strengths! Every project should study Notcoin’s whitepaper down to the last word, to figure out how they did it. 

Projects! Create your own viral mining mechanism that gives n00bie normies an easy and immediate way to get free tokens. Do this well and may additional rewards rain down upon you. You’ll also find the doors to TON Foundation’s Telegram Ads grants program, start to swing open to you.

## Quests & Airdrops: $22 million Toncoin

For the Degen Dabblers, Quests give a step-by-step intro to on-chain usage of TON projects. 

You can already find many quests live in [Community Bot](http://t.me/community_bot), but there will also be more quest activities listed on [TON Society](http://society.ton.org). By completing activities in TON Society you’ll earn Soul Bound Tokens - on-chain collectibles you can’t sell from your wallet. Let’s just say holding these may come in very handy in the future. 

Airdrops can be given at any time for any reason. We like airdrops at TON, rewards will be made for all kinds of cool on-chain activities people get up to every season. Keep watch of the official channels and our affiliated team member’s social media there may well be easter eggs hiding in plain sight.

## Liquidity Pool Boosts: $40 million Toncoin

For the CHADs among you, liquidity pool boosts are there to make crazy APRs. 

Each project upon entering the Major League will get 50K Toncoin to boost their own liquidity pool’s rewards.

We already made CHADs pretty easy to figure out - you’ll find all the boosted pools through [The Open League Mini App](http://t.me/Open_league_bot/app). Yes, it’s just an app inside Telegram.

You CHADs probably already know this but, liquidity pools mean you deposit 2 tokens to “pool liquidity”; and the “Boosts” mean liquidity providers will earn additional Toncoin on top of the rewards from fees collected by the pool. 

LPs take some getting used to, and carry some significant risks of losing it all! So if you’re a n00bie normie or a degen dabbler - just stick to your token mining and quests. You’ll know when you’re ready.

## The Open League Flywheel

The Open League and its massive rewards are designed to create a positive "flywheel” for TON projects. 

*The hypothesis is simple – once the world sees how every project in The Open League can make millions of Telegram users go on-chain; TON becomes the obvious choice for every mass audience consumer product on the planet.*

*Fin.*

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/infographic_for_blog_2_017394bda4/infographic_for_blog_2_017394bda4.png) 

We’ve been saying for a while that TON is here to put crypto in every pocket. Well, here you go this is it. A seamless, highly rewarding conversion path for every type of Telegram user to become a Crypto CHAD. 

It’s a very public experiment, and we hope you’ll join us to make it a success. Let’s all show that crypto doesn’t have to be complex. It can be easy, intuitive, highly rewarding and accessible to everyone with a Telegram account.

If you’re a Web3 project reading this from any chain and you have significant traction–season 1 is here for you. Build your project on TON and Telegram, get millions of users. Stop playing around in the sandbox. The time to act is now.

Easter egg 1: Did you count $100 million in user rewards? Where oh where will the missing Toncoin go?



April 1st. The Open League Season 1. $115 million in Toncoin community rewards.

[The Open League](https://ton.org/en/open-league) just received a huge upgrade: The Open League Trading Challenge! This new campaign will completely change how the TON Community sees incentive programs. [TON Society](https://society.ton.org/) is supercharging [The Open League Incentives program](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-incentives-start-today-up-to-1-m-toncoin-to-be-distributed-to-the-community-by-april-1) by engaging influencers in a team-based trading competition. This initiative not only provides various communities within the ecosystem with more opportunities to earn rewards but also aims to support projects in The Open League by encouraging more blockchain activity. This anticipated surge in trading within the TON Ecosystem is another step towards putting crypto in every pocket by making the best Web3 DeFi services more accessible to Telegram’s mass user base.

The Challenge starts today, Mar. 19th at 3:00pm CET and lasts until Apr. 1st at 3:00pm CET. Top three winners for each competition will be announced following the completion of the competition.

## Influencer Trading Competition

The first phase of the challenge is the Influencer Trading Competition, where key opinion leaders will compete against each other to achieve the highest account balance by the end of the season. Starting with an initial 5,000 TON airdrop, participants are tasked with growing their balance and taking advantage of the [$1 million in TON incentives](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-incentives-start-today-up-to-1-m-toncoin-to-be-distributed-to-the-community-by-april-1) already offered by TON Society. Participants in the trading competition are restricted to using their 5,000 TON airdrop solely for projects in The Open League, without engaging in gambling, withdrawals, or adding external funds. 

Progress will be monitored via a [public leaderboard](https://ton.org/open-league?filterBy=forSquads) and the winner with the highest balance will receive the 15,000 TON grand prize. Prizes of 10,000 and 5,000 in TON are also set for second and third places, respectively. This part of the campaign is all about trading skill, strategic thinking, and commitment.

Here are our ten participating KOLs!

- RDeni ([Telegram](https://t.me/crypto_rostik))
- 0xFinish ([Telegram](https://t.me/finish_alpha), [X](https://twitter.com/0xFinish))
- serp1337 ([Telegram](https://t.me/serp1337pub), [X](https://twitter.com/serpnofomo))
- Pepesso ([Telegram](https://t.me/Pepesso_Alpha), [X](https://twitter.com/0xPepesso))
- Reflection ([Telegram](https://t.me/ReflectionAlpha), [X](https://twitter.com/0xReflection))
- Hanzo ([Telegram](https://t.me/defi_hanzo), [X](https://twitter.com/DeFi_Hanzo))
- Leshka ([Telegram](https://t.me/deltadegen), [X](https://twitter.com/leshka_eth))
- JetStart ([Telegram](https://t.me/start_threads), [X](https://twitter.com/0xStartt))
- Xremlin ([Telegram](https://t.me/gremlinz1), [X](https://twitter.com/0x_gremlin))
- TradeParty ([Telegram](https://t.me/tradeparty1337))

## Squad Competition

The campaign also includes the Squad Competition, giving you the opportunity to team up with your favorite influencer and compete for TON Community glory! By joining an influencer squad, you will be part of a group effort to maximize the squad’s overall balance. Each squad will be assigned a specific wallet address, allowing community members to join by contributing a small amount of TON (0.00001 TON) using a unique link or QR code. After contributing, the new member’s wallet will be integrated into the squad. Members can also boost their squad by referring friends and earning referral points. To refer a friend, the referee needs to include his referrer’s wallet address as a comment in the transaction while joining a squad.

To join a squad, [visit the public squad leaderboard](https://ton.org/open-league?filterBy=forSquads) and contribute 0.00001 TON to the squad of your choice. Be careful and double-check the amount of TON you are sending and the address you are sending it to.

Prizes for the squads are as follows: the top squad will receive a 50,000 TON airdrop, the second-place squad will be awarded a 25,000 TON airdrop, and the squad coming in third will earn a 10,000 TON airdrop.

Here’s a breakdown of the various performance metrics and their corresponding points for squads:

- Balance Tier (Wallet balances)
    - 5000 TON: 25,000 points
    - 1000 TON: 5,000 points
    - 100 TON: 500 points
    - 10 TON: 50 points
- Trading Tier (TON pairs with TOL tokens, total volume on Ston.fi & DeDust):
    - 1500: 500 points
    - 300: 100 points
    - 30: 10 points
    - 3: 1 point
- Referral Score (Friends with TON)
    - 5000 TON: 1000 points
    - 1000 TON: 500 points
    - 100 TON: 100 points
    - 10 TON: 10 points

Please choose your squad carefully, as you only have until March 25th to join or change your affiliation. Remember, any trading volume from before switching squads won’t count towards the new squad’s totals.

Choose wisely, get involved, and let’s turbocharge trading in the TON Ecosystem! 

## Conclusion

As we kick off this unique trading venture, we want to invite all enthusiasts, newcomers, and experienced traders to join our ecosystem! The Open League Trading Challenge represents a huge opportunity to engage with the community and explore the potentials of TON DeFi. This initiative is a crucial step towards our goal of putting crypto in every pocket, by introducing top DeFi opportunities directly to Telegram users. Here’s to responsible trading, effective teamwork, and shared success.

## *Disclaimer*

*This is not financial advice and it should not be a substitute to performing careful research of the risks associated with trading cryptocurrencies. Trading cryptocurrency is highly experimental and comes with substantial risks of losing all your cryptocurrency.*



The Open League Trading Challenge is Live!

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Web3, TON Blockchain has been at the forefront of delivering developments that redefine how we interact with the decentralized world. To this end, we recently announced the launch of the self-custody wallet, TON Space. This development not only reinforces the momentum of our Web3 ecosystem within Telegram and marks a significant milestone in our collective journey towards decentralized finance and actual ownership of assets. TON Space exemplifies our community's vision for a secure, user-friendly platform that empowers users to take control of their digital assets without compromising on convenience or security.

Making this vision a reality takes work, so we have teamed up with two elite companies. Enter Fireblocks and [DWF Labs](https://www.dwf-labs.com/), two titans in the Web3 realm. DWF Labs is a next-generation Web3 investor and market maker, one of the world's largest high-frequency cryptocurrency trading entities active across 60 top exchanges. [Fireblocks](https://www.fireblocks.com/) is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets, having secured the transfer of over $4 trillion in digital assets to date. 

As Web3 evolves from merely imitating Web2, the demand for security measures that match the TradFi standard becomes apparent. 

The journey ahead is about purposeful innovation; building a secure, convenient, and accessible digital future for the world. A future where the potential of Web3 is realized in full measure, breaking boundaries and establishing new paradigms. In this evolving narrative, TON Foundation, Fireblocks, and DWF Labs are not just participants but key architects of a Web3 ecosystem prepared for mainstream adoption.

## **Fireblocks Integrates TON Blockchain and Adds Support for Toncoin**
The most exciting news is that Fireblocks has also integrated TON Blockchain and its native currency, Toncoin, onto its platform. Fireblocks provides cutting-edge security for digital assets within the TON Ecosystem, mainly through the infrastructure supporting the self-custody wallet TON Space.

TON Foundation has set a goal to put crypto in every pocket, beginning with providing digital asset wallets to 500 million people by 2028. If we are serious about executing mainstream adoption, we must also provide infrastructure for tens of millions of users, ensuring our network is ready to handle this load and operate smoothly while processing millions of transactions per second. 

Fireblock's Multi-Party Computation (MPC-CMP) technology will help us achieve this. The MPC-CMP algorithm, developed by Fireblocks' cryptography team, enables digital asset transactions to be signed in just one round, offering the fastest transaction signing speeds of any MPC algorithm by 800%.

The significance of Fireblocks' involvement with TON is underscored by its successful track record with other Layer 1 networks. Past collaborations have shown Fireblocks' ability to enhance network security, streamline operations, and facilitate growth within various ecosystems. By drawing on these experiences, the integration with TON aims to replicate and surpass these successes, thanks to the unique attributes and expansive vision of the TON Ecosystem. With Fireblocks, TON will achieve improved cross-chain interoperability and provide new use cases for Toncoin. 

**The Fireblocks integration is now completed and fully operational as of March 2024.**

## **Closing Thoughts**
With this integration comes a new era of institutional-grade security for TON users and several important questions about its inevitable impact. How will this elevated security level transform users' interactions with their digital assets? What new opportunities does this open up for institutional investors looking to enter the TON Ecosystem? And, significantly, how will this integration contribute to the overall security and growth of the TON network?

While it will take some time to answer these questions, we already know that the impact will be highly favorable for the entire ecosystem and push TON closer to mainstream adoption on par with Web2 and TradFi markets. 

Together, we're painting a comprehensive vision of the Internet of Ownership, where users and businesses not only genuinely own their data and assets but also enjoy the highest security standards that were usually available only to institutional giants.  

**We want to thank the DWF Labs team for facilitating this exciting collaboration and financing this integration.** 



Ushering in a New Era of Internet Ownership to the Public

With the second month of 2024 behind us, it's time to announce the new list of grant recipients approved by the TON Foundation for February. 

The selected projects show our commitment to supporting social Web3 use cases within Telegram, which is the main focus of the current grant strategy. With TON and Telegram, we're dedicated to making Web3 onboarding simple and making mass adoption a reality. 

Our belief in the potential of straightforward and viral mechanics as the grounds for mass adoption drove us to offer grant support to the following teams.

## **TON Grants Recipients for February 2024**
### **Lost Dogs: Coin Flip & Game**
This team has been building in the ecosystem for quite some time now, and the granularity and precision of their two approved grant proposals demonstrate their deep understanding of how to create a viral product and quickly bring it to the market.

The team's first new product will be the classic coin flip game, and the examples of Solana and SUI prove that this mechanic can greatly benefit from Web3 elements. Fun and easy gameplay, combined with an effective marketing plan (own Telegram channels, collaborations with other TON teams, listing in catalogs and Telegram ads), is the key to success here.

In the second game, players compete with each other for a big prize just by throwing dice with one button. These simple 'battle' mechanics and smooth onboarding will help Web2 users start using @wallet and other TON wallets inside Telegram and see the immense opportunities that Web3 offers. [Click here to join their community.](https://t.me/lostdogscoeng)

### **Fortune Cookies**
Fortune Cookies is an entertainment app launched in 2019 on the VKontakte social network. It has a fan base of 1M+ users and more than 250 K active users on a weekly basis. The main feature of the game is predictions. Players enter the game every day for positive and motivating predictions. 

Predictions are unlocked for rare currency, which can be obtained for free in limited quantities and purchased extra through TON wallets. Apart from that, players can merge identical cookies to upgrade the level - there will be more than 190 unique cookie levels in the game. [Click here to join their community.](https://t.me/fortunecookie_app)

### **Sheep Royal**
Another game with viral mechanics and a 500K user base invites players to push logs to the opponent's side using a unique card deck. 

Aimed primarily at teenagers and young adults, Sheep Royal will try to replicate the best practices of the existing game in the form of a TMA, adding such Web3 elements as NFT skins and characters, and as a result, secure a decent share of the Telegram 800M monthly audience. [Click here to join their community.](https://t.me/sheeproyale2_game) 

### **Onton**
Another grant approved in February goes to the team developing an event management tool for the TON ecosystem. This easy-to-use tool with smooth onboarding will allow event creators of TON projects and the TON Society to create, manage, analyze, and improve events. 

It will also effectively engage participants through the integrated @wallet and the possibility of creating and distributing SBTs. The app is already functional and is being used at various TON events. [Click here to try their Telegram Mini App.](https://t.me/theontonbot) 


-----------


We invite you to participate in the TON Grants program as a project builder and help us on a mission to achieve mass adoption and enhance the TON ecosystem. Learn more about different aspects of the TON Grants program on the [official page](https://ton.org/grants).

As a builder, you can **[submit your project proposal on our Questbook page](https://questbook.app/proposal_form/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&newTab=true)** or join the discussion on specific projects to help us support the best possible ideas.

TON Grants Report for February 2024

TON Partners Report, January & February 2024

TON Partners Report, December 2023

TON Foundation and [TonX Studio](https://tonx.studio/) are excited to introduce the inaugural [TON HackerHouse](https://lihi.cc/Wf2yr). This event provides a unique platform for developers globally to demonstrate their abilities, innovate, and contribute to the fast-growing TON Ecosystem. 

Participants will have access to a $1 million prize pool, exclusive resources, and an opportunity to play a crucial role in TON’s ongoing development. The TON HackerHouse gives developers the chance to make a meaningful contribution to the mass adoption of Web3 technologies using TON and Telegram.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/tonx_studio_148c02de89/tonx_studio_148c02de89.jpg) 

## A unique developer opportunity

The TON HackerHouse is a significant event for TON Ecosystem, limited to 20 participating teams. Participants will have access to valuable resources, receive guidance from top VCs and industry experts, and enjoy unique networking opportunities with Telegram and TON developers. The TON Foundation and its VC partners will offer incubation and investment opportunities and allow participants to join in practical demonstrations, such as creating a Telegram Mini App.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/hackerhouse_1_ec0fa9cc38/hackerhouse_1_ec0fa9cc38.jpg) 

## Key areas of focus

The TON HackerHouse is built around four main themes to foster growth within the TON Ecosystem:

- Applications for TON’s upcoming native stablecoin;
- Infrastructure development for DeFi, such as swaps, DEX, and AMM development;
- Gaming and gamified applications through Telegram Mini Apps;
- And innovative applications like inscriptions, NFTs, and meme coins.

## The grand prize

Supporting this initiative are TON Foundation and TonX, aiming to make Web3 accessible for everyday users. The TON HackerHouse will be offering a prize pool of $1 million, along with immediate access to the TON Ecosystem Fund, valued at $250 million. The rewards include:

- Up to $300,000 in TonFura usage credits;
- Up to $300,000 in credits for Google Cloud Platform services;
- $100,000 in TonBit security audit services;
- $200,000 in grants from the TON Foundation;
- $100,000 from an investment fund.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/hackerhouse_2_faa05b54d8/hackerhouse_2_faa05b54d8.jpg) 

## How to get involved

Mark your calendars for **April 4, 2024**, and join us at the [**JW Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong**](https://maps.app.goo.gl/b5wg2NNssbcvyqB2A) for this landmark event. Secure your spot and be part of the movement shaping the future of Web3. Don't forget to follow TON HackerHouse on [X (formerly Twitter)](https://twitter.com/TONHackerHouse).

<button href="https://lihi.cc/Wf2yr" passutmsource="true">
  Register your spot
</button >
<br/> 

Build the Future of Web3 at the TON HackerHouse with $1 Million in Prizes

The blockchain and cryptocurrency space is seeing huge momentum, and TON is at the forefront of this surge. TON’s recent launch of a substantial incentive program aims to onboard and engage Web3 veterans users into the ecosystem by offering up to [1 million Toncoin](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-incentives-start-today-up-to-1-m-toncoin-to-be-distributed-to-the-community-by-april-1) through [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-pilot-season-is-now-live).

## Join the OKX trading competition

To build on this ecosystem momentum, we are thrilled to announce a new opportunity for our experienced crypto community: [TON Treasure Hunt](https://www.okx.com/campaigns/ton-treasures?channelid=86288639), a trading competition organized by [OKX](https://www.okx.com/). This isn’t just an ordinary event; it’s a chance to deepen your engagement with TON and secure more rewards that can be used for [The Open League Incentives](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-incentives-start-today-up-to-1-m-toncoin-to-be-distributed-to-the-community-by-april-1). Contestants have the opportunity to win from a generous prize pool, including:

- 60,000 Toncoin, to delve further into the TON Ecosystem and engage with The Open League.
- 15,000 USDT, provided by OKX (By the way: your USDT winnings can then be stored in [Wallet](https://wallet.tg/) in Telegram and sent to your contacts commission-free).
- 100 monthly Telegram Premium subscriptions, allowing you to make the most of the Telegram Web3 SuperApp.
- 10 monthly [TradingView](https://www.tradingview.com/) subscriptions, providing sophisticated analytics and insights for your trading activities.

## How to win

[The competition’s rules are simple](https://www.okx.com/campaigns/ton-treasures?channelid=86288639). By depositing and trading TON on OKX, completing designated tasks, and earning tickets, participants can win a portion of the prize pool. The more tasks you complete, the better your chances of winning. Here’s how it works:

- **Make a net deposit**: Depositing a minimum of 100 USDT earns 1 attempt to win.
- **Increase your trading volume**: Engaging in TON trading (both spot and derivatives) increases your chances. You earn additional attempts by reaching specific cumulative trading volumes on TON pairs (spot and derivatives) as follows:
    - 5,000 USDT: 1 attempt
    - 10,000 USDT: 1 attempt
    - 20,000 USDT: 1 attempt
    - 50,000 USDT: 1 attempt
    - 100,000 USDT: 1 attempt
    - 500,000 USDT: 2 attempts

- **First come, first served**: Rewards are allocated on a first come, first served basis, so get started quickly to claim your share.

Please note, OKX’s [Terms & Conditions](https://www.okx.com/campaigns/ton-treasures?channelid=86288639) govern the competition. This promotion is available to new and existing OKX users located in: Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, Taiwan, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

## Unlock TON and Telegram’s full potential

The TON Treasure Hunt on OKX is your gateway to the TON Ecosystem and Web3 on Telegram. Join the trading competition to win Toncoin, which you can use to back the most promising projects in [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-incentives-start-today-up-to-1-m-toncoin-to-be-distributed-to-the-community-by-april-1). By getting involved, you position yourself at the forefront of blockchain innovation, within a community committed to defining the future of cryptocurrency. Join the TON Treasure Hunt today, secure your Toncoin, and play a part in shaping the next wave of blockchain mass adoption.

TON Treasure Hunt on OKX Now Live: 60,000 Toncoin Up For Grabs

[Mirana Ventures](https://mirana.xyz/), a global Web3 investment firm, has announced the launch of a new long-term partnership with TON that includes an $8 million purchase of Toncoin in the secondary market. David Toh, Managing Partner at Mirana, said that TON was “uniquely positioned to help accelerate mass adoption of token-governed technologies” thanks to its [integration with Telegram](https://blog.ton.org/building-a-web3-ecosystem-in-telegram-with-toncoin). This collaboration provides financial support to TON and long-term assistance in building Telegram’s Web3 SuperApp, along with collaborating with other blockchains, such as [Mantle Network](https://www.mantle.xyz/). 

## Telegram Ads access and the TON-Mantle partnership 

Mirana Ventures will receive access to Telegram’s advertising platform as part of this new partnership. This opportunity allows Mirana and its partners, including [Mantle](https://www.mantle.xyz/) and [Bybit](https://www.bybit.com/en/), to leverage tailored advertising strategies aimed at boosting community engagement and growth from communities within the TON Ecosystem.

From its inception, TON was envisioned as a [blockchain of blockchains](https://docs.ton.org/learn/overviews/ton-blockchain), aiming to collaborate with other ecosystems across Web3. This new partnership between Mirana and TON takes a significant step towards realizing this vision by integrating TON-based [$MNT](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/mantle/) tokens into TON Space. This move towards partnerships with other ecosystems will significantly enhance the user experience in accordance with the foundational goals of TON.

## Mirana’s commitment to liquidity and technology

The Mirana-TON partnership will also include Bybit, one of its portfolio companies, stepping in to provide liquidity for [RFQ](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/request-for-quote.asp) technology in [TON Space](https://wallet.tg/ton). This move represents a considerable improvement in transaction efficiency and price optimization. RFQ, a trading mechanism that allows buyers to request price quotes for specific asset quantities among various suppliers, creates a more personalized trading experience and ensures that even large trades can be completed without negatively impacting market prices.

RFQ technology, with Bybit as one of the liquidity providers, is also set to improve the security and stability of the TON Ecosystem by reducing slippage and the risk of market manipulation. The partnership’s two-year commitment to this technology reflects a long-term vision for the TON Space wallet to be the leading non-custodial solution in the blockchain space.

## Cross-pollination with Bybit

Bybit, a leading exchange and partner of Mirana Ventures, has already been working closely with TON Ecosystem. For March 2024, Bybit is offering a [special 7% cashback promotion](https://blog.ton.org/bybit-card-x-ton-spend-ton-with-bybit-and-unlock-7-cashback) for users spending TON with their Bybit debit card. This follows the successful [Bybit x TON Odyssey](https://announcements.bybit.com/en/article/bybit-x-ton-odyssey-join-the-trading-competitions-and-split-up-to-56-000-worth-of-ton--bltd71c836c8bfa3323/) earn and stake initiative, which was warmly received by the community.

As a key player in the TON-Mirana partnership, Bybit will play a crucial role in supporting mutual token listings and other integrations, enhancing the accessibility and diversity of projects within the TON Ecosystem.

## TON and Mirana are building the Telegram Web3 SuperApp

This partnership between TON Foundation and Mirana Ventures, with the support of Bybit and Mantle, sets a groundbreaking precedent in the Web3 space. This collaboration is set to drive blockchain technology’s mass adoption by expediting the development of an accessible and user-friendly Telegram Web3 SuperApp.

Mirana backs Toncoin with $8 million

In our recent [introduction](https://blog.ton.org/an-introduction-to-ton-ecosystem-discover-web3-on-telegram) to the TON Ecosystem, we highlighted several use cases for Toncoin, which included staking as a key feature. Currently, the ecosystem holds [424,382,249 staked Toncoin](https://www.tonstat.com/) as of March 6, 2024, valued at over US$1 billion. This article aims to inform TON owners about the staking process within the ecosystem, highlighting how it contributes to network security and provides liquidity. 

Our ecosystem projects across Web3 sectors—DeFi, SocialFi, and GameFi—are poised for success on TON Blockchain. Unlike competitors, TON provides direct access to [Telegram’s vast user base](https://blog.ton.org/building-a-web3-ecosystem-in-telegram-with-toncoin) of approximately 800 million monthly active users, along with [unmatched scalability and shardability](https://blog.ton.org/speed-of-tomorrow-ton-is-the-worlds-fastest-blockchain). These features make any TON-based project a leader in its field.

One of the early promises of crypto was to replace the traditional centralized banking industry. Among the cornerstone services of TradFi is the ability to securely and conveniently store assets without them being inert and unused—a feature now reimagined for Web3 through TON staking.

## What is staking on TON?

TON Blockchain uses a [Proof-of-Stake](https://ton.org/stake) (PoS) model to achieve network consensus and security. This system is more energy-efficient than the method used by Bitcoin and other blockchains, known as [Proof-of-Work](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/proof-work.asp) (PoW). Unlike PoW, which requires miners to use computing power to solve complex mathematical puzzles, PoS selects [validators](https://ton.org/validators)—those who verify and add new transactions to the blockchain—based on the amount of cryptocurrency they commit as a security deposit. 

The idea is simple: the more cryptocurrency you’re willing to lock up as collateral, the more likely you are to be selected to validate transactions. This system hinges on validators’ investment in the network’s success, as their stake incentivizes them to maintain its integrity. You can read the full documentation [here](https://docs.ton.org/participate/network-maintenance/staking-incentives).

For a transaction to be added to TON Blockchain, it must receive unanimous approval from all validators. Users pay a small fee as part of any transaction, which serves as compensation to the validators for their role in securing consensus. This fee, along with any [new coins minted during the validation process](https://ton.org/stake), is distributed among the validators according to the size of their stake and their specific contributions.

Anyone interested in supporting the network’s security can become a validator. However, there’s an important requirement: typically, you need to stake a [minimum of 600,000 TON](https://docs.ton.org/participate/network-maintenance/nominators) to qualify. TON’s staking services aim to make participation more accessible, allowing average TON holders to join forces and earn participation rewards by pooling their resources together. Everyone on TON can now participate in network security.

Typically, this pooling process is supported by independent [smart contracts](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/smart-contracts.asp) and a [DAO](https://www.investopedia.com/tech/what-dao/#:~:text=A%20DAO%20is%20a%20decentralized,DAO's%20operations%20is%20publicly%20disclosed), which collectively manage user deposits for validation purposes and subsequently distribute rewards among those who contributed. Within the TON Ecosystem, there are several reputable projects offering these services, providing a secure and efficient way for users to stake.

## Ton Whales

[Ton Whales](https://tonwhales.com/staking) was the first service to offer open-source decentralized staking on TON Blockchain, attracting over 9,000 users who have collectively staked more than approximately US$62 million. They have reportedly distributed approximately 1,132,103 TON in rewards to their users. Ton Whales sets a high standard for transparency and fairness by making their [smart contract](https://github.com/tonwhales/ton-nominators) and [DAO](https://github.com/tonwhales/nominators-dao) fully open-source. This allows users to verify the integrity of the operations themselves. Additionally, the team ensures the system runs smoothly by providing [round-the-clock monitoring](https://mon.tonwhales.com/d/rNhEMWSVz/overall-v2?orgId=1&kiosk=tv) services.

To cater to different user needs, Ton Whales offers a variety of staking pools, each with its own set of requirements and conditions, and they claim to offer annual percentage yields (APY) ranging from approximately 4.05% to 5.85%. For added convenience, Ton Whales has integrated its staking services directly within several TON wallets, including [Tonkeeper](https://tonkeeper.com/). This integration means users can easily stake their Toncoin directly from their wallets.

## Tonstakers

[Tonstakers](https://tonstakers.com/) introduces a liquid staking protocol, offering the benefits of staking while allowing your coins to be used for other purposes within the TON Ecosystem. By staking with Tonstakers, you deposit your TON and receive tsTON tokens in return. These tokens represent your share in the staking pool and can be freely used across the TON DeFi ecosystem. You can exchange your tsTON tokens back for Toncoin, along with any accumulated yield, whenever you choose.

As of March 6, 2024, Tonstakers has over 23,000 participants, with a total of $69.7 million staked, reportedly offering an APY of approximately up to 5% for the year ended 31 December 2023. The platform was developed in collaboration with TON core developers, features open-source contracts, and has undergone an [audit by Certik](https://skynet.certik.com/projects/tonstakers), ensuring its reliability and security. Importantly, Tonstakers operates on a non-custodial basis, meaning users retain control over their assets at all times. Tonstakers also provides their services in a [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/tonstakers_bot) as well as natively within TON wallets like [Tonkeeper](https://tonkeeper.com/).

## bemo

[bemo](https://bemo.finance/) is another liquid staking service that features a [Telegram Mini App](https://t.me/bemo_finance_bot). With bemo, you can stake your TON tokens and receive stTON tokens in return, allowing you to continue earning staking rewards while participating in DeFi activities.

Staking TON via bemo lets you earn stXP (Staking Experience Points), which will convert to $BMO tokens in Q4 2024. Up to 20% of $BMO tokens will be distributed to stXP holders, rewarding higher stXP balances with more $BMO tokens.

With bemo, you can hold stTON and earn stXP, pool on a DEX for more stXP, or swap stTON to earn stXP based on trading volume. Delegate your tokens to validators while retaining ownership, receive staking rewards, and manage stakes through the Telegram Mini App, ensuring you can track your staking anytime, anywhere.

bemo has been audited by [Certik](https://gitlab.com/bemofinance/audits/-/blob/main/CertiK%20Liquid%20Staking%20Protocol.pdf) and TonTech, ensuring security and a 4.02% APY reported for 2023.

## Hipo

[Hipo](https://hipo.finance/), according to their claims, provides a decentralized liquid staking solution on TON Blockchain, enabling users to earn daily rewards as soon as they start staking. By participating, users receive hTON tokens, which represent their staked TON and can be utilized across the DeFi ecosystem, similar to other staking options. 

Hipo is committed to deploying staked TON in the most efficient manner to maximize rewards and offers an easy unstaking process for added convenience. Hipo currently has nearly 1 million Toncoin staked. The platform has undergone two audits, one by [TonTech](https://github.com/HipoFinance/audits#2023-10-tontech-hipo-audit-report) and another by [Daniil Sedov](https://github.com/HipoFinance/audits#2023-10-daniil-sedov-hipo-audit-report).

## Experience a new kind of finance with TON staking

Staking on TON Blockchain is a new and exciting entry point for users to step into the decentralized digital economy. With a variety of staking options–both traditional and liquid–TON allows everyone to earn cryptocurrency passively, with flexibility and security. By leveraging advanced smart contracts and DAOs, TON is promoting a more inclusive and efficient financial system, showcasing how blockchain can democratize access to financial investments and rewards.





*Disclaimer: Mentions of products or services on this blog do not imply endorsement or inducement. The cryptocurrency market is volatile, and usage of staking protocols could lead to getting less return on your cryptocurrency tokens than expected. We urge readers to conduct their own research and seek professional advice. We are not responsible for your financial decisions and any losses that might be resulted.*

TON Staking: Earning participation rewards with The Open Network

Today, March 4, TON Foundation launches The Open League incentives. Today, we introduce a new competitive format where TON projects compete for user attention to win rewards for you. The Open League started with Web3 quests, providing easy onboarding for new users of Web3 projects. Over 25,000 users have completed the Open League quests, but now we have added a new layer to the League to increase competition between projects and incentivize crypto native users.

Until April 1, Toncoin will be distributed by the TON Foundation to projects, which will boost their liquidity pools on TON’s Decentralized Exchanges (DEXes). Users can provide liquidity to their favorite projects and earn TON and the Project’s token as rewards.

### **Meet the Chosen Ones**
Today, we’re excited to announce 11 projects participating in the TOL pilot season, with room for more coming soon. This marks the beginning of incentives for experienced crypto users through Liquidity Pool Boosts. 

We selected these 11 projects based on growth metrics, including number of holders, token distribution, fully diluted value, innovation, and utility.

#### **11 participating projects (so far):**

*Clicking on the name of the project will open the available liquidity pool in a new tab.*

- [$STON - STON.fi](https://app.ston.fi/pools/EQDtZHOtVWaf9UIU6rmjLPNLTGxNLNogvK5xUZlMRgZwQ4Gt)
- [$SCALE - DeDust](https://dedust.io/pools/EQDcm06RlreuMurm-yik9WbL6kI617B77OrSRF_ZjoCYFuny)
- [$jNANO - Tonano](https://dedust.io/pools/EQC6zhZtFzgTBbTQ4bG1j5Fh5bWQATtiOMdJAAO98_j1REBU)
- [$PUNK - TON Punks](https://app.ston.fi/pools/EQARmtrqsIf8-lk9bH8ISV_UCsG8kS3iHzC7bV8ssQAi4pvw)
- [$FNZ - Fanzee](https://app.ston.fi/pools/EQAZFS5dJ8STrKcn5VnptYsoKILXbAYaDhdJJjbzUrNkDdH_)
- [$MC - Tap Fantasy](https://app.ston.fi/pools/EQCgMzlDFer3XqOnuQpELXeGSMBjV_6PWfWLElvaa3qv2ZUM)
- [$UP - TonUP](https://dedust.io/pools/EQABy0q1lpLkU09k7srKCCjeAm32D2nZ15WtmWgb81RvjLbP)
- [$RAFF - Ton Raffles](https://app.ston.fi/pools/EQCqFPpSLtcstURtrXLRCv9wyjfrw7_44_nwvD8JiSmSjbUI)
- [$ARBUZ - Arbuz](https://dedust.io/pools/EQChrWJNhwrazRcwYZU74S0DQuqJK6FT40xk7uKNLVmjZ9Da)
- [$GRAM - Gram](https://app.ston.fi/pools/EQASBZLwa2vfdsgoDF2w96pdccBJJRxDNXXPUL7NMm0WdnMx)
- [$JETTON - JetTon](https://app.ston.fi/pools/EQATnq6W2xv10C19LNlC26xFtTV1fbzMkXmXQCWHqtv6Okf7)

In Liquidity Pool Boosts, users provide 2 assets to the boosted pools on DeDust or StonFi. This is called providing liquidity; in return, liquidity providers will receive Toncoin and project tokens as a reward. The initial boosting has already begun and will continue until April 1st. 

The pool of up to 1 million Toncoin will be shared among the participating projects’ users based on four metrics: TVL at risk, trading volume, number of active wallets, and number of transactions. 

Winning founders will receive a Toncoin prize at the end of the season on April 1. 

We will assign boosted Toncoin rewards to projects at different times, so you should closely follow the community channels and remain active to ensure you don’t miss the boosts. 

The program’s progress will be tracked on a real-time public leaderboard that is coming soon and allows you to see the latest results of the boosted pools. 

## **How to Enter**
#### **1. Provide Liquidity**
To participate in the task, you need to hold both tokens present in the pool. If you don’t have the required tokens, you can swap your Toncoin to buy the token you need and then deposit equal amounts of both tokens to the pool. It’s worth noting that some pools might have lock-up periods, meaning that you must keep your assets in the pool for a specific time. 

#### **2. Monitor your positions**
You must monitor the health of your pooled positions by checking them inside the DEX you’re using. Reward amounts may change quickly. Due to market volatility, you can incur an impermanent loss when the value of one side of your position changes. 

[Follow the Toncoin channel](https://t.me/toncoin) to see the latest updates on new Toncoin boosts. 

#### **3. Claim your Rewards**
As you start providing liquidity, you will immediately earn rewards based on the activity within your pool. The rewards are automatically distributed based on the size of your position in the pool; the larger the pool share you have, the more rewards you’ll receive.


**Get Started on [DeDust](https://dedust.io/pools) or [STON.fi](https://app.ston.fi/pools).**


*IMPORTANT: Please note this activity is designed for experienced Web3 users who understand the intricacies of providing liquidity to 2-sided pools and clearly understand the associated risks.  [Read Bybit’s article on liquidity pools to learn more.](https://learn.bybit.com/glossary/definition-liquidity-pool/)*

*All projects participating in The Open League are selected based on their past performance. Neither the Open League nor the TON Foundation guarantees the future performance of these projects, and you must do your own research and assess the possible risks. Please evaluate each project carefully before making any on-chain actions.*


The Open League Incentives Start Today! Up to 1M Toncoin to be distributed to the community by April 1.

[Bybit](https://www.bybit.com/en/https://www.bybit.com/en/), a leading crypto exchange, has announced a new partnership with TON, introducing a significant update: their [Bybit debit card](https://www.bybit.com/fiat/cards), powered by Mastercard, now accepts Toncoin. Pavel Durov recently [announced](https://blog.ton.org/durov-announces-all-telegram-payouts-to-be-made-in-toncoin) that starting March 2024, Telegram’s ad revenue will be paid exclusively in Toncoin. This update from Bybit will allow Telegram channel owners to spend their Toncoin ad revenue directly with a debit card. To celebrate our new partnership, Bybit is offering a special 7% cashback on all Toncoin transactions throughout March. Please note, the Bybit Card is currently only available to EU and Australian residents or citizens.

## Use your Toncoin like fiat and earn cashback rewards

The Bybit debit card now allows Toncoin holders to use their digital currency for everyday purchases, just like any traditional fiat currency. This new Bybit-TON partnership marks another milestone in closing the gap between digital and traditional finance, empowering TON enthusiasts and Telegram channel creators to fully leverage their Toncoin.

Imagine getting a 7% return on every purchase you make. That’s exactly what Bybit and TON are offering until March 31, 2024. Every time you use your Toncoin to make a purchase with Bybit, you’ll be rewarded with cashback. [Terms and conditions](https://announcements.bybit.com/article/bybit-card-x-ton-spend-using-ton-with-your-bybit-card-and-unlock-7-cashback-blt789672a65c37620c/) from Bybit apply.

## How to get involved

Participating in this promotion is straightforward: simply choose Toncoin as your preferred currency on your Bybit Card. If you’re not a Bybit cardholder, this is the perfect time to [sign up](https://i.bybit.com/ab1PHyMZ)!

## Everyday crypto

This partnership between Bybit and TON is a big signal about where the blockchain industry is heading as a whole: everyday crypto use. This collaboration offers Toncoin holders and Telegram channel creators a new way to leverage their digital assets and earn big rewards tangibly. As the blockchain industry continues to evolve, initiatives like Bybit Card x TON are paving the way for a future where digital currencies are as commonplace and easy to use as traditional money. This is your opportunity to be at the forefront of a financial revolution—start using TON on your Bybit Card now!

<button href="https://i.bybit.com/ab1PHyMZ" passutmsource="true">
  Get your Bybit Card!
</button >
<br/> 

Spend TON with Bybit and unlock 7% cashback

In a sudden and unprecedented move, Pavel Durov, Telegram’s founder, has [announced](https://t.me/durov/247) a major update: Starting next month, Telegram, with its 1 billion active users, will activate Telegram ads in over 100 countries, sharing 50% of the revenue from advertising with Telegram channel owners. Telegram will exclusively use TON Blockchain and Toncoin for all transactions and payments to channel owners. 

This decision to use TON technology will transform digital advertising and monetization on the platform and set a new standard for creator economies across all major social networks.

## What does it mean?

Telegram’s decision to use Toncoin exclusively for monetization is a transformative step in bringing blockchain technology to mainstream Web2 digital platforms. By managing payments, withdrawals, and revenue sharing exclusively through Toncoin, Telegram is creating a new norm for digital transactions.

This change opens up enormous possibilities for Telegram users and channel owners. By enabling monetization purely through Toncoin, channel owners will be able to earn in a global, decentralized currency that supports peer-to-peer transfers between Telegram contacts via [Wallet](https://t.me/wallet).

Alongside this significant change, Durov announced the expansion of [Telegram Ads](https://ton.org/mini-apps) to more than 100 new countries, significantly increasing the potential audience for content creators and advertisers. Additionally, his commitment to share 50% of ad revenue with channel owners demonstrates Telegram’s dedication to its community, aiming to reward creators for their contributions and engagement fairly.

Besides Telegram Ads, an ecosystem of TON-based Mini Apps is already available for Telegram Channel creators, including [Wallet](https://t.me/wallet), which enables creators to manage their crypto transactions directly in Telegram and supports e-commerce operations with Wallet Pay. Likewise, the [Community App](https://t.me/community_bot) acts as an in-Telegram quest platform where subscribers can complete tasks to earn rewards. Finally, [Tribute](https://t.me/tribute) offers an additional monetization avenue for creators through donations from subscribers or access to subscription-only paid channels.

## TON towards mass adoption

Integrating TON Blockchain and Toncoin into Telegram’s monetization strategy is a defining milestone for the TON Ecosystem, but also for the entire blockchain industry. Make no mistake, this is an entirely new use case for any cryptocurrency.

The move highlights the increasing integration of blockchain technology into daily online activities. Telegram’s decision to exclusively monetize content with Toncoin is more than just an operational change; it signals a move towards widespread global Web3 adoption. This new model for digital monetization on a platform with 1 billion active users could influence financial transactions across other mainstream social media platforms, positioning TON as a leading example of blockchain’s first mass-adopted integration among Web2 audiences.


Durov announces Telegram to exclusively use TON for ad payments

In Q4 2023, TON Foundation played a pivotal role in advancing TON Ecosystem, directing funds towards promising Web3 Telegram Mini Apps, GameFi, DeFi, infrastructure and beyond. This report offers a detailed examination of the financial assistance provided to promising projects and the accomplishments highlighted by the completion of various bounties, emphasizing TON Foundation’s commitment to supporting the ecosystem’s journey towards mass adoption.

## [Grants](https://ton.org/grants)

TON Foundation is proud to announce the final list of grant recipients for Q4 2023!

This round saw a dynamic mix of projects from GameFi, [Telegram Mini Apps](https://ton.org/mini-apps), DeFi,  infrastructure, and beyond, drawing 243 submissions requesting approximately $1 million in funding. After a rigorous selection process, 228 proposals were reviewed, and 18 exceptional projects were chosen, receiving a total of about $350K in rewards.

The recipient teams, with their strong, relevant expertise, offered innovative solutions that addressed key challenges within the TON Ecosystem. They also presented effective go-to-market plans, crucial for grant success and product development.

In the GameFi segment, **FireHeadz** received a grant to develop hybrid-casual games on Telegram using TON Blockchain, aiming to create simple, viral Web3 games for mass adoption through Telegram’s user base. FireHeadz has already successfully launched two Telegram Mini App games: [GeoMapper](https://t.me/GeoMapperGameBot) and [The Pixels](https://t.me/the_pixels_bot).

**[PlayWallet](http://t.me/playwalletbot)** has introduced a solution allowing users to top up gaming platforms like Steam with cryptocurrency through a new Telegram Mini App; the team aims to onboard half a million users in the coming months.

**[TonJump](https://t.me/tonjump_bot)** marks a notable advancement within the ecosystem by introducing the first Web3 user-generated content game on Telegram. It provides a platform for users to craft and share their customizable game maps, blending NFTs and TON into a platformer game. 

In the realm of DeFi, **[DeDust.io](https://t.me/dedustBot)** has secured funding to develop a Mini App version of its DEX, effectively narrowing the gap between TON’s DeFi services and Telegram users. 

**[Kit42](https://t.me/kit42bot)** introduces a feature-rich mini app to Telegram, offering analysis and management tools for contacts, messages, and channels, alongside account cleanup features. This tool aims to streamline Telegram use and support user transition into Web3.

**[TON Raffles](https://t.me/tonraffle_bot)** has been funded to propel the development of a comprehensive Web3 project platform, enabling NFT minting and sales through a Mini App. In a similar vein, **[DAOLama](https://t.me/daolama_bot)** is at the forefront of NFT and Web3 project support with its protocol for NFT lending and renting, receiving grant support for its Mini App development. The team has recently launched a new product, allowing you to buy NFTs for half their market price.

**[Xircus](https://www.xircus.app/)** has received a grant for its platform that simplifies the creation and deployment of Web3 applications on TON, greatly easing the development process for creators and fostering innovation within the TON Ecosystem by removing common blockchain development barriers. This tool is becoming essential as interest in the TON Ecosystem grows, promising to increase developer engagement.

**[Tonano](https://tonano.io/)**, the first inscription protocol on TON, also received a grant from TON Foundation. This support aims to bolster community engagement and assist the protocol’s relaunch.

These latest grants highlight our commitment to supporting the wider TON Ecosystem, by showcasing a diverse range of projects: DeDust brings DeFi to Telegram users, TonJump and FireHeadz drive viral gaming experiences, PlayWallet simplifies gamer transactions, Ton Raffles upgrades Web3 project infrastructure, DAOLama fosters the NFT landscape on TON, Xircus enhances the developer experience, Kit42 broadens Telegram’s functionality, and Tonano pioneers with its innovative inscription use case.

Additionally, a total of 8 other innovative projects received TON grants.

Congratulations to the Q4 2023 grant recipients! Your initiatives showcase the immense potential of TON Blockchain and are crucial steps towards Web3 mass adoption and digital decentralization. We are excited to see your progress, proud to back your efforts, and are looking forward to the positive impact you will have on our community.

<button href="https://questbook.app/proposal_form/?grantId=65c7836df27e2e1702d2d279&chainId=10&newTab=true" passutmsource="true">
  Apply for a grant!
</button >
<br/> 

## Bounties

Q4 2023 was also a significant period for bounties, overall, 27 bounty tasks were completed, offering around $50K in rewards, and 44 tasks approved, receiving approximately $60K in rewards. A total of 77 proposals were processed.

Here is a [list](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues?page=1&q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aclosed+closed%3A2023-10-01..2023-12-31) of the most outstanding finished bounties for the quarter:

### Developer Tools

- Implemented [native python bindings for TON](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/231), awarding $12,000 to a recipient in Russia.
- Created a [C# library for TON Connect 2.0](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/276) and conducted a review, awarding $2100 to a recipient in Russia.
- Developed a [Ruby SDK for TON](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/188), with $5000 awarded to a recipient in Ukraine.
- Added [Tact highlight and grammar support](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/320) for the VIM editor, awarding $1500 to a recipient in Russia.
- Launched a [crypto donate service](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/305), providing $2000 to a recipient in Russia.
- Implemented a [smart contract for scalable airdrops](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/273) on TON Blockchain, with $1500 awarded to a recipient in Russia.
- Implemented [ADNL over UDP and DHT in Python](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/is), with $4000 awarded to a recipient in Russia.
- Implemented [ADNL over TCP in C#](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/337), with $2250 awarded to a recipient in Russia.
- Created a [Tact lexer for pygments](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/350), awarding $400 to a recipient in Russia.
- Established an [NFT fractionalization standard](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/295), with $1200 awarded to a recipient in Russia.

### Infrastructure

- Designed a [general blockchain stats page](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/241), with a $5000 reward to a recipient in Russia.
- Created [pages with detailed stats](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/240) for each blockchain entity, rewarding $3000 to a recipient in Russia.

### Education

- [Showcased TON Connect and Telegram bot on Python](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/329), rewarding $410 to a recipient in Russia.
- Updated the [Tact language syntax for prism.js](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/288), rewarding $300 to a recipient in Russia.
- Completed a [TON tutorial speedrun](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/252), awarding $4350 to a recipient in Russia.

There have also been 44 total bounty approvals for Q4 2023. 

##### The bounties in progress as of February, 2024:

- Create a [tutorial](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/284) on how to interact with TON’s main contracts
- [Integrate Blueprint](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/286) into VS Code as an extension
- Develop a [Web UI](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/291) for the Highload Wallet Standard
- Launch a [new Highload Wallet](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/300)
- Release a [Swift SDK](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/309) for TON to facilitate iOS and macOS application development
- Use [Tonpy](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/325) with lite-client, func, and merkle
- Develop [TonAPI SDK for Rust](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/370)
- Create a [TONAPI library](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/375) for Python
- Implement a [Sandbox UML plugin](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/380)
- Make a series of improvements to [Tact Language](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/384)
- Develop a [C# Ton Client](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues/407) over Lite Client

The full list is available [here](https://ton-org.notion.site/Approval-bounties-list-for-Q4-2023-c74c29c87acc411f9dc7fbacfc3479b8?pvs=4).

To see all the open bounties available for applications, please [visit TON Society](https://github.com/ton-society/grants-and-bounties/issues) and execute a bounty task that suits you.

Our Grants and Bounties Reports showcase the TON Foundation’s commitment to supporting the TON Ecosystem. We outline the distribution of grants to a diverse range of projects as well as detail the completion and approval of various bounties. Through these initiatives, TON Foundation acknowledges existing contributions and seeks to encourage ongoing development within the TON Ecosystem.

Grants and Bounties Report Q4 2023

Web3 constantly evolves, and with progress comes new challenges. Early-stage projects across every blockchain and Layer 1 protocol struggle with onboarding new users and building an engaged user base. Despite exceptional speed, a seamless integration with Telegram, and mass adoption being realized as we speak, the TON Ecosystem encounters its share of challenges related to growth. 

TON Foundation recognizes the struggles facing teams looking to build and launch Web3 products. We have already rolled out several support initiatives, including the [TON Accelerator Program](https://ton.org/accelerator), the [Mentorship Program](https://blog.ton.org/become-a-mentor-for-the-ton-accelerator-mentorship-program), [Community Bot](https://t.me/community_bot), and [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-pilot-season-is-now-live). However, there remains a gap in our support for emerging projects aiming to build communities and attract users at the very earliest stages. The reality for new ventures is clear: without a pre-existing audience, achieving the necessary exposure after launch can seem insurmountable.

We aim to bridge this gap, offering a lifeline to promising projects that might otherwise remain hidden gems. By incentivizing users to explore and engage with new projects, the TON Ecosystem provides an invaluable platform for discovery, encouraging experimentation with technologies that users might otherwise never encounter. 

## Introducing Early

We’re excited to introduce Early, a growth hacking platform tailored for early-stage projects building sustainable solutions on TON to find their first power-users. Developed through a collaboration between the TON Foundation Accelerator and Open Builders (the team behind [Notcoin](https://blog.ton.org/virality-masterclass-notcoins-rise-to-4m-players)), Early leverages the [Community bot](https://t.me/community_bot)’s infrastructure to connect new TON projects with an audience of over 7.5 million users of the Community bot platform.

Early is TON’s new cutting-edge tool to help Web3 teams attract dedicated communities, refine their business goals, and prepare for their token launch with confidence. It promotes community engagement, rewards completed tasks and adopts a fair token distribution approach—*[sweat equity](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sweatequity.asp)*—which values tangible contribution over financial input. 

Coming soon to Community Bot, [Early](https://t.me/early_adopters) offers a unique opportunity to engage with up-and-coming TON Ecosystem projects, earn rewards, and gain early access to project Alphas without any financial commitment.

## From TON Accelerator to Early, to Tonstarter and The Open League

Early is not an isolated initiative; it is the final piece of the TON conveyor belt of launchpad programs, designed to propel projects from initial ideas all the way to tangible success and popularity. To be guaranteed access to Early, projects must initially be accepted into the [TON Accelerator program](https://ton.org/en/accelerator). The TON Accelerator supports projects with mentorship, strategic insights, and the capital necessary to become a serious and sustainable business in the competitive Web3 landscape: Early then offers exposure, allowing projects to test what they’ve learned from the accelerator.

[Early](https://t.me/early_adopters) is the platform that shepherds dedicated users to projects, building initial momentum without requiring financial contributions from participants—emphasizing the value of contributors over capital. Success in Early demonstrated through active user engagement and the establishment of a solid user base opens the doors to [Tonstarter](https://tonstarter.com/) and other platforms that help projects launch.

Tonstarter gives projects the perfect platform to conduct a fair token launch, allowing everyday users to hold a stake in their favorite project’s future success. Success on Tonstarter leads to the ultimate goal: participation in [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-pilot-season-is-now-live). This final stage is reserved for TON’s most successful and popular projects, completing the journey from inception to prominence in TON Ecosystem.

## Early adopters

Early extends beyond project development; it directly serves the TON Community. Users can discover the newest projects with the greatest growth potential, support their development through quest-like tasks, and earn rewards via a fair token distribution mechanism. We call this *Web3 sweat equity* – put in the work and receive your tokens.

Early participants will receive soulbound tokens (SBTs), recognizing their active support for ecosystem startups. These SBTs not only qualify participants for a portion of the project’s public assets but also highlight them as top prospects for future airdrops. Our goal is to acknowledge and reward the active contributors to the TON Ecosystem for their efforts.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all early-stage Web3 projects will succeed; indeed, most of them don’t. But Early offers risk-free access to these ventures. As a user, you will receive Alpha access to new projects and tokens without financial outlay, while the projects benefit from a dedicated community of contributors. It is a win-win scenario for both sides. 

## Be Early

[Early is now live on Telegram](https://t.me/early_adopters), with the first batch of TON Accelerator participants coming shortly. 

Overall, we aim to invite up to 30 TON Accelerator projects to participate in Early within the first two months, with more coming on later. 

## Conclusion

With Early, we anticipate the participating projects getting exposure to millions of Community Bot users and growing their user base at a fast but sustainable pace. We believe this initiative will be beneficial for both projects and users, who will have a chance to experiment with new projects and benefit from the rewards without having to bear the risks traditionally associated with a similar launchpad program. 

It will always be a challenge to uncover the ‘hidden gems’ and projects that provide valuable use cases. Early plans to change this, becoming a go-to place for discovering emerging products with high potential. Simply put, Early is the signal that cuts through the noise by having TON Accelerator vet the various aspects of projects such as security, tokenomics, go-to-market fit, and innovativeness. As a user, you can be confident that you are investing your time and energy into projects that have the highest chance of success. 

<button href="https://t.me/early_adopters" passutmsource="true">
  Be Early, try it now.
</button >
<br/> 

Be Early: Web3 Growth Hacking on TON

TON is rapidly gaining popularity: [Notcoin](https://blog.ton.org/virality-masterclass-notcoins-rise-to-4m-players) now boasts 20 million users, [TON Society](https://society.ton.org/) has just launched crypto’s biggest-ever user onboarding campaign called [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-pilot-season-is-now-live), and TON is [officially the fastest blockchain in the world](https://blog.ton.org/speed-of-tomorrow-ton-is-the-worlds-fastest-blockchain). For new users, we’ve already published a guide to TON. However, this post is designed as a primer for developers who may have heard about Web3, blockchain, TON, and Telegram, and want to get involved but aren’t sure where to begin.

This primer goes beyond technical jargon and complex whitepapers. Our goal is to introduce you to blockchain through the emotions and unique experiences that TON brings to its users, including you, as a developer looking to get started with blockchain.

Before we start, here is the core concept that underpins what TON is and why we as a community are building here: TON Blockchain provides a platform where you, as a developer, can empower your users with full control over their digital data, identity, and assets. This means that assets are safe from government seizure, published information remains permanent on the blockchain, and every transaction is both transparent and immutable, creating a uniquely trust-less system of peer-to-peer interaction.

## The unmatched TON experience

We won’t just suggest you read the [TON Whitepaper](https://ton.org/whitepaper.pdf) and leave you to decipher the appeal of blockchain and TON’s unique advantages on your own. Our aim is for new developers to truly experience what sets TON Blockchain apart. For many, this might be your first time working with blockchain, and technical specifications won’t capture the full picture.

For those new to TON Blockchain, start by exploring [Wallet in Telegram](https://t.me/wallet). Check out its user-friendly interface, a familiar sight for Web2 users, and notice how straightforward it is to purchase 5 TON using a credit or debit card. Then, download the [Tonkeeper wallet](https://tonkeeper.com/) on your phone and transfer your 5 TON. 

Dive into Tonkeeper’s built-in browser extension next, and see how you can use your TON to buy an [eSIM](https://app.tonmobile.com/), access [ChatGPT](https://ton-ai-front.vercel.app/), purchase [digital gift cards](https://tokenstore.io/), a [VPN](https://t.me/tonvpn_bot?start=tonkeepertop), and more. This firsthand experience, showcasing the simplicity and accessibility of interacting with cutting-edge apps within TON Ecosystem, is crucial. It demonstrates that blockchain technology is not an esoteric mystery but a readily accessible tool for everyone.

Why opt for a standalone Web3 wallet filled with confusing energy or bandwidth indicators, or a browser extension wallet that talks about bridges and swaps through complex dropdown menus, feeling detached from the rest of the internet? TON combines the best of blockchain with the best environment: Telegram – an accessible, tangible internet interface that makes blockchain feel both familiar and authentic.

The TON Community has taken innovation to new heights by building the [Telegram Web3 SuperApp](https://blog.ton.org/building-a-web3-ecosystem-in-telegram-with-toncoin), powered by TON technology. [Wallet](https://wallet.tg/) is the key stone that provides both custodial and non-custodial services with [TON Space](https://wallet.tg/ton), and also serves as an identification and authorization tool for the various Mini Apps under development. These apps are featured in the TON-based [Telegram Apps Center](https://www.tapps.center/), which we have covered in a [previous blog post](https://blog.ton.org/ton-ecosystem-evolved-introducing-telegram-apps-center-t-apps-center).

DeFi is a standout feature in blockchain: go to [DeDust](https://t.me/dedustbot) and [convert](https://dedust.io/swap) some of your TON to [Gram](https://gramcoin.org/), then add your tokens to the Pool section. You’ll receive LP ([liquidity provider](https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/liquidity-provider-amm-tokens)) tokens in your wallet equivalent to how many tokens you put into the general pool. This allows others to use your tokens for exchanges on the DEX, ensuring liquidity.

Moreover, by staking your LP tokens in the Pool section in the [Gram/TON pair](https://dedust.io/pools/EQAZZXXhnoNGCzIlSKYqY4vL-hHqdIAuNQXEgqMKg-CYCs1u), you can earn up to 257.81% APR with a lock-in period ensuring liquidity stability. If you want to leverage your position, the [EVAA Protocol](https://t.me/EvaaAppBot) Mini App offers crypto borrowing from a decentralized market. Conversely, conservative users might prefer the [bemo](https://t.me/bemo_finance_bot) Mini App, offering over 4% annual returns for contributing your Toncoin to pools that support network functionality.

Feeling overwhelmed by the options? [The Open League](https://blog.ton.org/the-open-league-pilot-season-is-now-live), an onboarding initiative by [TON Society](https://society.ton.org/), rewards users with Toncoin-backed incentives and Collectibles for completing tasks across the TON Ecosystem, guiding you through the most popular projects available.

By following these steps, you’ll quickly grasp the diversity of tokens on TON, its efficiency, user-friendly authorization, and how profits are generated in DeFi, entrusting a portion of your TON to the exchange's smart contracts.

Technically, TON [surpasses all of its competitors](https://ton.org/analysis): it’s faster, more scalable, and more secure. For detailed technical information, you can visit our [documentation](https://docs.ton.org/learn/introduction) or check out our [video course](https://stepik.org/course/176754/) on TON Blockchain. However, at TON, it’s not just about the technical specifics; it's about the experience we provide. We aim to capture the loftiest ideals of blockchain technology and share them with the world.

## But what exactly is going on here? What is blockchain?


This brief blog isn’t the place for an in-depth exploration of blockchain technology, but we've handpicked some excellent resources to help you begin your journey. For a foundational understanding of blockchain, we recommend starting with [this](https://talkol.medium.com/why-decentralized-consensus-blockchain-is-good-for-business-5ff263468210) insightful article by one of our TON Ambassadors. He also covers similar topics in [another article](https://talkol.medium.com/how-to-run-a-blockchain-on-a-deserted-island-with-pen-and-paper-899949ec555b) worth reading. If videos are more your style, this [YouTube tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wxtiNgXBaU&feature=youtu.be) offers a great introduction. To see how these concepts apply specifically to TON, take a look at [this](https://blog.ton.org/what-is-blockchain) TON Blog post.

Curious about why TON stands out among other blockchains? [This analysis](https://ton.org/analysis) provides a clear comparison. Afterwards, you might want to delve into the official [TON documentation](https://docs.ton.org/learn/introduction) for a deeper dive. If you find the documentation overwhelming, [this video series](https://stepik.org/course/176754/) breaks down the information in an accessible format.

## TON is looking for new developers

If you're keen to begin developing on TON, head over to our [Developer Portal](https://ton.org/dev) to start crafting a basic Mini App or smart contract. TON prides itself on being exceptionally developer-friendly, boasting a vibrant community of over 13.5K developers active in [TON developer chats](https://t.me/addlist/1r5Vcb8eljk5Yzcy). For beginners, [ton.org](https://ton.org/dev) serves as an all-encompassing hub for the ecosystem, offering a wealth of learning and technical resources in one spot. Here, you’ll find tutorials for creating Mini Apps, developing smart contracts with [Tact](https://blog.ton.org/the-story-of-tact) (TON’s next-generation programming language), and guidance on downloading ecosystem SDKs.

We've also featured interviews with [Anatoliy Makosov](https://blog.ton.org/interview-with-anatoly-makosov), TON’s Technical Lead, and shared news about [Anton Trunov](https://blog.ton.org/anton-trunov-joins-ton-foundation-and-presents-a-new-tact-roadmap), a well-known Web3 developer, joining the TON Tact team. TON supports developers through various [grants and bounty programs](https://ton.org/en/grants), both directly from TON Foundation and via partnerships. Our [accelerator program](https://t.me/accelerator_ton), along with collaborations with prominent entities like [DoraHacks](https://ton.org/en/grants), [Amazon Web Services](https://blog.ton.org/aws-dwf-labs-defi-hackaton), [Tencent Cloud](https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/25/telegram-wechat-super-app-ton-foundation/), [Animoca Brands](https://cointelegraph.com/news/animoca-becomes-validator-telegram-ton-blockchain), [KuCoin](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/12/01/kucoin-ventures-to-provide-20k-grant-to-ton-ecosystem/), and [OKX](https://blog.ton.org/join-tonomania-on-okx-and-win), aims to offer talented creators the finest avenues to contribute to the ecosystem.

A Developer’s Primer to TON Ecosystem

Last year, we kicked off our TON Acceleration Program, aiming to benefit builders within the TON Ecosystem and provide them with valuable tools and resources. We're on a journey to turn TON into a complex ecosystem surrounding the Telegram SuperApp with over 800M active monthly users, and we need your help! 

To this date, we have held three cohorts with 20 participating projects, including a [cohort cosponsored with Future3 Campus, powered by Wanxiang Blockchain Labs and Hashkey Capital. ](https://blog.ton.org/ton-fires-up-a-web3-mini-app-renaissance-in-asia)

*"I see immense opportunities with integrating TON's Blockchain technology and Telegram Mini Apps platform. Telegram Mini Apps open a new era of interaction for Web3 projects, offering developers access to 800 million users. Our vision is to foster an ecosystem where each app adds value, improving users' experience and opening new paths for engagement and monetization. We invite you to build a digital future where Web3 is recognized and available for hundreds of millions of users." 
**Gleb Vorontsov, Telegram Mini-Apps Lead and TON Accelerator Mentor, TON Foundation***

The current cohort will kick off in late February, and the entire curriculum will be delivered digitally, ensuring projects can participate regardless of their region. 

### **Here's Why You Should Join**
There are tons of benefits to projects that decide to participate, including a structured curriculum, access to the world's leading mentors, and potential funding opportunities. 

The curriculum covers essential modules for your success – go-to-market strategy, development on TON, and advanced Telegram Mini App strategy. 

**To list a few benefits:**
- The digital 10-week curriculum presented by the TON Foundation and our partners, such as Wallet, Community Bot, TON Tech, and more
- Exclusive access to marketing tools such as Telegram Ads and Community Bot quests
- Support from the TON Tech team to help you with integrations and audits
- Marketing & growth mentorship
- Potential funding for your project

With this complex approach, we want to ensure that builders and entrepreneurs receive insights on the best strategies and practices while building meaningful connections and innovative products. 

Furthermore, the best projects will have the opportunity to secure funding from a $2M funding pool provided by TON Ventures and from other funds and investors in our network. 

*"Mini-Apps are becoming a key component of driving mass Web3 adoption within Telegram. Developers can leverage the Mini Apps platform to focus on building tailored experiences for their users. I am excited to see the growth of a rich ecosystem of Mini-Apps tailored to meet the needs of existing users while also lowering the barriers to entry for millions of newcomers taking their first steps in Web3." **Jordan Dunne, Head of Defi at @Wallet and TON Accelerator Mentor***

### **Application & Deadline**
The February cohort applications are now open until February 25, 2024. 

[Visit our website](https://ton.org/accelerator) for more info about the TON Accelerator Program. 

<button href="https://forms.gle/Bsv1pSdQer2zonw98" passutmsource="true">
  Click here to apply
</button >
<br/> 


Attention Builders: TON's February Acceleration Cohort Is Now Open

We are excited to announce another round of grant recipients approved by the TON Foundation for January 2024. 

These projects met the strict criteria set by the grants program, showed innovative solutions, and continued developing products and initiatives beneficial for users and the entire TON Ecosystem. 

- **[bemo](https://app.bemo.finance/)** – bemo is the first liquid staking platform built on the TON blockchain that allows you to stake native TON tokens and, in return, get stTON tokens, which you can use freely in DeFi. The team is building a Telegram mini-app within the grant scope to help people stake their TON coins easily without leaving Telegram. This app will have all the main staking options in one place and work with many TON wallets, including @wallet, ensuring smooth and effective onboarding into this promising DeFi product. [Click here to join the Bemo community.](https://t.me/bemofinance)

- **[Bounty Bay](https://t.me/bountybay_bot)** – Bounty Bay is a Web3-based social commerce platform that aims to empower brands and sellers with a more seamless and effective way to drive and thrive from Telegram social traffic. The platform introduces a monetized rewards system focusing on reshaping the overall experience of product viral distribution in Telegram; Bounty Bay emerges as a groundbreaking force, unlocking new possibilities in the realm of digital commerce. [Click here to join the Bounty Bay community.](https://t.me/bountybaycommunity)

- **[Miomi Game](https://miomi.game/)** – Miomi Game is an eSports online arena for free and paid tournaments and matches with multi-games and social network with Escrow capabilities. The project boasts a loyal 100K audience that played over 1.2M matches on the original web2 platform, which the team is now transforming into a user-friendly Telegram Mini App. There is a cherry on top: Miomi Game has recently partnered with the famous football star Ronaldinho that will be involved in the project's further growth.


- **[Adsgram](https://adsgram.ai)** – Adsgram is a novel ads network built specifically for Telegram Mini Apps. The team is solving the current acute problem of the lack of ad monetization tools for Telegram Mini Apps. What is interesting and important is that the team tries to mitigate their own pain: the project is led by the co-founder of Fanton, one of the largest games on TON that faced monetization problems while growing the app.

We invite you to participate in the TON Grants program as a project builder and evaluation contributor. **[Learn more about different aspects of the TON Grants program on the official page.](https://ton.org/grants)**

As a builder, you can submit your project proposal on our Questbook page or join the discussion on specific projects to help us support the best possible ideas.

TON Foundation Grant Support: January 2024

[BitGo](https://www.bitgo.com/), a leading crypto custody and financial services provider, now supports Toncoin. Serving over 1500 institutional clients across 50 countries, BitGo is introducing bespoke regulated custody, hot wallet, and staking services for TON. BitGo users and TON holders can now securely manage their Toncoin with an enterprise-grade qualified custodian. 

Let's not underestimate the importance of this integration - from now on, almost every Toncoin holder has the ability to safeguard their assets with BitGo. You don't have to be an accredited or institutional investor; all you need is to hold TON. 

For more information about how custodial wallet services work, check out our previous blog [here](https://blog.ton.org/explaining-the-differences-between-custodial-and-non-custodial-wallets).

### **Security**
The digital asset market faces considerable safety challenges. However, TON’s unique security [architecture](https://blog.ton.org/the-architecture-behind-the-open-network), combined with BitGo’s state-of-the-art cold storage methods, ensures that TON Ecosystem will now set the benchmark for the highest security standards in Web3. 

BitGo’s custodial service stores users’ private keys offline, providing insurance and complying with the strictest cold storage regulations. The synergy of TON’s advanced cryptographic algorithms and multi-signature technology, along with BitGo’s native security protocols, ensures the safety of TON holders, institutional investors, and BitGo users.

### **Compliance**
Custodians play a crucial role in both Web2 and Web3 financial markets, facilitating the safe storage of assets while ensuring regulatory compliance. In the context of Web3, the absence of centralized oversight can be a source of concern for investors. 

However, BitGo’s compliance and regulatory expertise and TON’s transparent and auditable smart contract framework create a secure and trustworthy platform for investors looking to store and manage their digital assets. BitGo and TON are well-positioned to quickly adapt to future Web3 regulatory changes and safely capitalize on emerging market opportunities.

### **Consolidation**
BitGo and TON also offer a solution for institutional investors looking to enter the digital asset market by addressing challenges related to balance sheet fragmentation. Under certain circumstances, Web3 investors must distribute their assets across multiple platforms, exposing themselves to security and counterparty risks. With BitGo, investors holding Toncoin can consolidate their portfolio, avoiding the need to trust less secure parties like exchanges with their tokens.

TON, officially the [world’s fastest blockchain](https://blog.ton.org/100000-transactions-per-second-ton-sets-the-world-record-on-its-first-performance-test) with the capacity to process 104,715 transactions per second, combined with [BitGo’s automated settlement systems](https://www.bitgo.com/services/prime/settlement/), enables investors to unify fragmented balance sheets. This collaboration will ensure smooth cross-platform trading, reliable liquidity, and operational efficiency.

### **Looking Ahead**
This new partnership between BitGo and TON represents a significant milestone for TON Ecosystem: it introduces the first-ever safe and dependable enterprise-grade custody solution for Toncoin holders. As a result, TON assets are under the protection of a regulated custodian, remaining readily accessible and guaranteeing security for both institutional and individual investors.


Toncoin Holders May Now Use BitGo, Web3’s Leading Crypto Custodial Service

In November last year, we teamed up with Future3 Campus, Hashkey Capital, and Wanxiang Blockchain Labs to kick off our first TON Acceleration Program focused entirely on Asia. Our shared goal is to introduce builders to the TON Ecosystem and together build Telegram into the world’s biggest SuperApp.  

*The TON accelerator represents our ongoing efforts and shared vision to build a sustainable Web 3 ecosystem where Future3 Campus will formulate dedicated training courses for selected projects and provide them with the support they need to compete in today’s Web3 market. TON Accelerator participants can take advantage of a spectrum of marketplace opportunities and present their products and services to our audience of industry leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs at the 2024 Web 3 Festival’s demo day pitch and showcase events. Top performers also have a great chance to get up to $500,000 in funding from Future3 Campus Eco Fund,” **said Du Yu, General Manager of Wanxiang Blockchain Labs, Initiator of Future3 Campus.***

The logic behind Telegram SuperApp is obvious – Telegram Mini Apps built around Telegram Messenger and Wallet’s crypto payments form a coherent ecosystem. We decided to take the Asia-first approach because Asian audiences are familiar with the concept of SuperApps such as Weibo or WeChat. In contrast, in other regions, this concept seems quite alien, and all the attempts to introduce SuperApps have failed. 

## The State of Web3 Development

Despite 2023 not being the best year for Web3, the crypto ideology of building in bear markets proved strong, with new projects and features introduced almost nonstop last year. Strong and well-positioned teams remained building, ignoring the market volatility, regulatory pressure, and decrease in user adoption, to prepare their product for the next bull market regardless of when it comes. 

According to [Alchemy’s 2023 Web3 Development Report](https://www.alchemy.com/blog/web3-developer-report-2023), the number of EVM smart contracts created across Ethereum Mainnet, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon was up by 303% YoY in 2023. From TON’s perspective, the developer library downloads, active addresses, and mobile wallet activity reached record numbers in Q3 of 2023. This confirms that Web3 development continues to grow regardless of market trends. 

The TON Ecosystem displayed its development strength consistently across the last year, with new features and projects launching every week. The user adoption, new wallets, active wallets, and the number of active projects continue to grow and we believe that 2024 will be even better for the ecosystem than the last year. 

The Web3 markets are volatile and easily influenced by factors outside of Web3, such as black swan events, economic fluctuations, and regulatory pressure, but as long as the development activity continues, we’re confident that the bull market and new wave of user adoption will come sooner or later. 

## Web3 Renaissance in Asia

In just a month after opening the application process, we received almost 200 applications from various projects. After a thorough review, the committee admitted 12 projects to the program that will go through a 10-week curriculum focused on product development, operations, compliance, and marketing. The mentors will help them understand Telegram’s unique environment to leverage the built-in wallet and design stable tokenomics. 

*“We are thrilled to welcome 12 outstanding teams to our accelerator run in partnership with Future3 Campus and the Hashkey network.  This accelerator, as well as future accelerators, are an invitation for builders to leverage Telegram’s strong global base, TONs Web 3 technology, and key monetization primitives to build the next generation of SuperApp products.” **commented Ian, Acceleration Lead, TON Foundation.***

Among the mentors are exceptional professionals and experts from both traditional backgrounds and Web3, including  Dr.Xiao, Chairman & CEO of Hashkey Group, Deng Chao, President & Hashkey Capital CEO, and Dr. Zou, Chief Economist at Hashkey Group.     

The curriculum officially began on Jan 28, 2024 in Hong Kong during the private event with selected participants, and it will finish in May with a Demo Day event. 

## Meet the 12 Selected Accelerator Teams

It’s never easy to pick the best projects from almost 200 applicants, but after hundreds of hours reviewing the applications and consulting the experts, the committee selected these 12 teams.

- **[Tradoor](https://www.x.com/tradoor_io)**: A next-generation decentralized platform for trading derivatives, leveraging TON's scalability for an enhanced user experience.

- **[NFBT Ticketing](https://www.tontix.io)**: A TON and Telegram mini-app enabling cinemas to sell movie tickets to users with TON wallets.

- **[WowFish](https://www.wowfish.io/#/Home)**: The first social fishing casual game in the Telegram-TON ecosystem.

- **[Xircus](https://xircus.app)**: The first no-code platform for building, deploying, and managing cross-chain dApps and mini apps compatible with Telegram/mobile, catering to both Web3 and Web2 businesses.

- **[Bounty Bay](https://www.bountybay.shop/)**: A TON-native social commerce platform designed for creators and brands to distribute products effectively, utilizing The Open Network. Check out their [Community](https://t.me/bountybaycommunity) and [Mini App](https://t.me/bountybay_bot) on Telegram.

- **[BOOM UP](https://www.boomup.fun/)**: A dynamic GameFi mini application, offering a blend of social engagement and profit opportunities through building, defending, and enhancing personalized towers with NFT buffs built on TON Blockchain.

- **[Anome](https://anome.xyz/)**: An issuance and lending protocol for value-based fully on-chain gaming NFT assets.

- **[Telemetree](https://www.ton.solutions)**: The first analytics service built specifically for the TON and Telegram Mini App ecosystems. You can find their Telegram group [here](https://t.me/tg_business_en).

- **[TonStash](https://www.tonstash.xyz)**: A project that revolutionizes micro-investing by utilizing spare change, making it easier for users to engage in decentralized finance (DeFi).

- **[HypeSaints](https://www.hypesaints.xyz/)**: An NFT-gated mobile playing console.

- **[DaoBot](https://imdaobot.com/)**: A decentralized community management bot on Telegram. 

- **[TonsofFriends](https://app.tonfriends.tech/)**: A dynamic directory where users can effortlessly buy and sell access to premium Telegram communities, streamlining the discovery of groups in an enjoyable and rewarding way.

**To learn more about future acceleration programs, please visit the [official accelerator website](https://ton.org/en/accelerator).**

TON Fires Up a Web3 Mini-App Renaissance in Asia

Today, we bring you another interview from the TON Innovators series, where we look at exciting projects built within the TON Ecosystem. Today’s edition is slightly different, as we’re not interviewing a project but a group of TON contributors based in Asia who are committed to nurturing innovation and shaping the future of the next-gen internet. 

[TonX Studio](https://tonx.studio/) was founded in 2021 as a venture studio, founded by early TON developers and investors. Their portfolio includes products like TonStake, the first public staking validator, and TonKey, a multi-sig TON wallet that sets new security and convenience standards. 

TonX regularly hosts impactful hackathons that cultivate talent and foster a vibrant Asian community. Currently, they’re working on TonFura, a key infrastructure for tApps and TON. 

**TonX Studio: Leading the Charge in Next-Generation TON Blockchain Technology**

## **TonX Studio**
**Can you explain TonX Studio to our readers who might not be familiar with the concept of a venture studio? What do you do?**

TonX Studio, a team dedicated to the research and development of the foundational technology of TON Blockchain, has been deeply involved in exploring key technologies such as TON Validator, [TON DNS](https://dns.ton.org/), [TON Storage](https://ton-storage.org/), and [TON Proxy](https://docs.ton.org/participate/web3/sites-and-proxy) since 2021. In the early stages of TON's relaunch, due to their outstanding research and technical contributions, TonX Studio joined the Newton team, working together to build the next generation of blockchain.

Beyond technical development, TonX Studio is also actively engaged in community building, having organized multiple TON Meetups and hackathon competitions. Through these events, we have successfully incubated numerous TON blockchain development teams, spanning innovative areas like physical payment systems, zero-knowledge proof applications, transaction visualization systems, transaction tracking systems, oracles, decentralized exchanges, and multi-signature wallets.

As an experienced blockchain development team, we have invested our decade-long experience in cryptocurrency into the Web3 era of TON Blockchain. Our scope of work includes in-depth study of TON-related technical literature, analyzing related project codes on GitHub, collaborating with top TON developers worldwide, and working closely with the TON core team to jointly address issues and optimize the blockchain network. We are committed to the foundational infrastructure of the TON blockchain, tirelessly striving to create a more robust and efficient TON ecosystem.

**Who are the founders of TonX Studio?**

I am [Dr. Awesome Doge](https://twitter.com/drawesomedoge), the founder of TonX Studio and a seasoned scholar in the fields of blockchain technology and privacy. Since 2013, I have delved deeply into studying Bitcoin, privacy protection, and the Tor network. My work, which includes numerous research papers on Bitcoin, artificial intelligence, and anonymous networks, has significantly contributed to developing these areas.

Beyond my academic achievements, I have been actively promoting the application of Bitcoin in Asia. I established the largest Bitcoin community in the Chinese-speaking world, which now boasts over 160,000 members. Under the influence of this community, numerous entrepreneurs have emerged, leading to the creation of various innovative projects and exchanges, and I have witnessed their rise and decline.

In March 2021, my deep interest in The Open Network (TON) and its Newton community inspired me to dedicate myself fully to the research and development of the TON blockchain. This includes working on several key technological areas such as TON Validator, TON Storage, TON Proxy, TON Payment, and Multisig.

**Can you briefly describe your mission and vision? Why did you decide to develop the TON Ecosystem?**

*Dr. Awesome Doge: Founder of TonX Studio and Blockchain Technology Pioneer:*

I have participated in numerous leading research projects covering key technologies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Layer 2, ZCash, and Ethereum. From these studies, we've observed several limitations in the development of Bitcoin. Initially designed for basic transactions, the introduction of Ethereum in 2015, with its virtual machine concept, brought the innovation of smart contracts to the blockchain world. Furthermore, the advent of Ethereum led to the widespread application of Fungible Tokens (FT) and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) since 2017. The launch of various Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications in 2018 laid the foundation for today's DeFi infrastructure. The mass popularity of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in 2020 marked the beginning of a new era. In recent years, with the rapid development of blockchain applications, decentralized infrastructures have faced a demand exceeding supply. The cost of executing smart contracts once soared to $300 per transaction, highlighting the issues of high fees and long transaction confirmation times. To address these challenges, the industry spent over eight years seeking high-speed blockchain solutions, focusing on Layer 2, Sharding, and Proof of Stake. In 2018, Telegram proposed a solution based on Sharding and PoS and launched the largest ICO in history - Telegram Open Network (TON).

I believe The Open Network will be the ultimate blockchain solution, considering both the technical advantages of TON Blockchain and the importance of messaging software in the evolution of the internet. Previously, messaging apps like WeChat and Line integrated traditional financial payment methods, such as Visa and Mastercard, demonstrating value transfer systems based on messaging platforms. Facebook's Libra and Signal's token launch are also part of this trend. However, these attempts faced strong regulatory opposition or struggled due to low platform usage. In contrast, Telegram, with the world's second-largest user base, has successfully overcome various challenges, including sanctions from Russian and U.S. governments, showcasing its problem-solving capabilities. Compared to WeChat, Telegram is more likely to achieve internationalization and has already integrated a cryptocurrency payment system into its platform, an unprecedented move signaling a historic shift.

I am confident in the future of TON Blockchain. It not only possesses a unique blockchain architecture but also the largest chat software user group in the world, reaching 1.4 billion people. Telegram has been continuously optimizing the user experience over the past two years and may eventually achieve seamless integration of users with the Web3 world. As an early Bitcoin supporter with extensive cryptocurrency experience, I am committed to focusing on [TON Blockchain](https://ton.org/) development for the next decade, following a decade dedicated to Bitcoin technology.

**TonX supports projects building on TON, but you also build your own products. Can you introduce us to your portfolio?**

TonX Studio is centered around two core business areas. Firstly, we are dedicated to in-depth research and development in the underlying technology of the TON blockchain. As pioneers in this field, we have actively invested resources over the past three years to fill the technical documentation gap in the TON ecosystem. Our goal is to remain focused on the foundational technology of the TON blockchain, tackling its most challenging issues. This commitment allows us to concentrate on the technical development of foundational APIs, creating a comfortable and efficient development environment for future developers and entrepreneurs.

Secondly, we are committed to managing and optimizing the development process of this underlying technology. By creating TonFura, a high-performance API service, we have significantly reduced the development time for new partners joining the TON ecosystem. Historically, many startups faced challenges with node issues and a lack of APIs when integrating into the TON blockchain ecosystem. Through a one-time investment and concentrated effort, TonX Studio successfully developed TonFura, eliminating the need for future developers to spend months developing basic infrastructure. This not only saves new companies at least four months of development time and associated costs but also provides an optimal development pathway, accelerating the creation of quality products.

In summary, the business strategy of [TonX Studio](https://tonx.studio/) and the innovation of TonFura play a significant role in accelerating the growth of the TON ecosystem and enhancing development efficiency.

**As a group that’s been working on TON since 2021, you’ve seen the ups and downs of the TON Ecosystem over the years. What do you consider to be the most important developments of the past year?**

To understand the progress of the TON blockchain in 2023, it's crucial to look back at the year 2022. That year, the TON Core team made significant adjustments to the TON ecosystem, including the restructuring and optimization of core components such as TON Proxy, TON Storage, TON Nominator, and TON Payment. These elements are key parts mentioned in the TON whitepaper.
It's important to note that when the TON blockchain was proposed in 2017, tokens like ERC-20 and ERC-721 were not yet widely adopted. At that time, integrating a DNS structure into the blockchain was a foundational and challenging task, lacking modular design. In 2021, when development of the TON blockchain resumed, one of its primary tasks was to design TON token contracts. This led to the release of TEP 74 Fungible Tokens (Jettons) standard and TEP 62 NFT standard. Based on these standards, the 2017 DNS system was redesigned to incorporate the concept of NFTs and a DNS trading market was launched in 2022.

In 2023, building on the foundations of FT, NFT, and DNS infrastructure, the TON ecosystem expanded comprehensively into the realm of application development. The three key developments for 2023, in my view, were:

- **Launch of the Telegram Mini App Concept:** This significantly enhanced SDK and Figma design templates, marking a substantial contribution to the entire ecosystem.
- **Refinement of Wallet Connect:** This development is crucial for a closer integration of the TON blockchain with the Web 3 world, especially considering Wallet Connect's previously limited popularity.
- **Integration of Telegram with Wallet:** Announced at Token 2049, this enabled all Telegram users to have direct access to a TON Wallet, marking the entry into a 1.4 billion-user market for developers and the beginning of leading all Web 2 users into the Web 3 world.

Looking ahead, the TON blockchain has the potential to become a true Super App, which could profoundly impact the entire digital ecosystem.

**What are your plans for 2024? Can you tease any upcoming products or partnerships?**

In 2022, the TON core team successfully established fundamental blockchain infrastructure such as Fungible Tokens (FT) and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT). Entering 2023, this foundation further expanded into the application layer, notably through the development of the Telegram Mini App integrated with TON Wallet's TON Connect feature, achieving a seamless merger of Web 2 and Web 3. Currently, the TON blockchain infrastructure faces the challenge of serving Telegram's 1.4 billion users, and the widespread application of the Telegram Mini App is expected to further boost user growth.

In anticipation of this surge in users, we recognize that the TON blockchain is still in its nascent stage. To this end, TonX Studio has implemented two main strategies:

- **Development of the TonFura API Service:** We are committed to developing TonFura, a highly stable, high-frequency, and scalable API service. This service aims to become the preferred tool for developers and provide solid support to a broad user base. Our goal is to cater to all Telegram users.
- **Focus on Development in the Asian Market:** The Asian market is rich with skilled developers, entrepreneurial spirits, and enthusiastic businesses. Past battles in the DeFi and GameFi sectors have shown that Asia plays an indispensable role in the Web3 world, leading the market forward. Therefore, TonX Studio will focus on converting talent and setting clear development directions in the Asian market, aiming to become the most significant promoter and accelerator of TON in Asia.

**You have your finger on the pulse of the TON Ecosystem. What do you expect to be the biggest trend on TON in 2024?**

The year 2024 witnessed some of the most significant advancements in the TON ecosystem, particularly in two key areas:

- **Launch of a Native Stable Coin:** Since the end of 2022, the team has been exploring the feasibility of creating a native Stable Coin. Early considerations included designing an entirely new working chain to support the operation of the Stable Coin, an innovative and unique approach. However, in 2023, the focus shifted primarily to developing a smart contract version, concentrating on contract design and Sharding planning. After a year of intensive planning, design, research, and implementation, the development of the native Stable Coin is expected to be completed in 2024. The ability to use a native Stable Coin within Telegram is an eagerly anticipated milestone.
- **Innovation in Cross-Chain Bridges:** Another significant development in 2024 is the major upgrade of the TON Virtual Machine (TVM). The TVM will integrate a variety of new cryptographic algorithms, including several native to Ethereum and Bitcoin. This upgrade means the TON blockchain will be able to handle signatures and verifications from different blockchains more directly, thereby enhancing the functionality of cross-chain bridges between TON and other blockchains. This not only strengthens the design of oracles but also enhances the robust development potential of Layer 2 solutions, although the need for Layer 2 might be minimal due to TON's inherent high speed.



TON Innovators: TonX Studio

> “Telegram is **the** Web3 messaging platform…[and] there was no good way of integrating Web3 into Telegram until TON.”


*– [Yat Siu](https://twitter.com/ysiu?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor), Co-Founder of [Animoca Brands](https://www.animocabrands.com/), on [CoinMarketCap Live](https://coinmarketcap.com/community/post/332299256/).*

-----------

Towards the end of 2023, [Animoca Brands](https://www.animocabrands.com/), a leading Web3 gaming and metaverse company,  announced a [strategic partnership](https://cointelegraph.com/news/animoca-becomes-validator-telegram-ton-blockchain) with TON Blockchain and became its largest validator. Following this announcement, Yat Siu, the Co-Founder of Animoca Brands, joined Steve Yun, President of the TON Foundation, and John Hyman, Chief Investment Advisor at Telegram, on [CoinMarketCap Live](https://coinmarketcap.com/community/post/332299256/). They discussed how TON and Telegram are revolutionizing the GameFi sector by [developing a new Web3 SuperApp](https://blog.ton.org/building-a-web3-ecosystem-in-telegram-with-toncoin). Yat Siu also mentioned that thanks to this three-way collaboration, Animoca Brands plans to launch many of their new games on Telegram.

The TON Community is bullish about gaming on TON, especially following the global success of Notcoin, which became [one of the most popular Web3 games worldwide](https://blog.ton.org/virality-masterclass-notcoins-rise-to-4m-players) within two weeks of its launch. In this post, we explore the network’s GameFi sector and consider how casual gaming on TON and Telegram could be the key to blockchain mass adoption.

## TON is the ideal gaming platform

​​The general transition from Web2 to Web3 gaming marks a significant change in the industry. Web2 games, like Call of Duty, Minecraft, or Grand Theft Auto operate under centralized control with limited player asset ownership, offering little real-world value for in-game achievements.

Web3 gaming, centered on decentralization, empowers players with real ownership of digital assets via NFTs and introduces a Play-to-Earn model. However, these games typically face several challenges. Users often struggle with complex processes, like downloading wallets, toggling between apps, and securely depositing funds. Moreover, attracting and retaining users is a significant hurdle in terms of distribution. An often-neglected but crucial aspect is the gameplay itself, which must be both engaging and enjoyable. In contrast, TON Blockchain retains all the benefits of Web3 gaming while addressing these common issues.

## TON’s user experience is unparalleled

TON’s user experience is simply second to none, particularly for casual gaming. Thanks to TON, it is far easier and much faster to launch a game in Telegram compared to traditional marketplaces. In a typical app store, users go through multiple steps, such as downloading and authorizing the app. However, with TON-based games on [Telegram’s Mini Apps](https://ton.org/mini-apps) platform, users can start playing with just one click via [Wallet in Telegram](https://wallet.tg/). This wallet, native and unique to Telegram, offers both custodial and self-custodial options, enabling users to manage cryptocurrency directly within games. It also serves as a method for verifying accounts and identities. 

The integration of TON games into Telegram transforms the gaming experience. Players don’t need to juggle multiple apps or install extra extensions. This means faster access, lower transaction fees, and enhanced security. Furthermore, TON-Telegram games integrate into Telegram chats. This includes leaderboards, fostering competition within communities. Such features add a new layer to traditional group chats, improving both the gaming and social experience.

## TON can distribute games to Telegram’s 800 million MAU

Currently, gaming on Telegram is not widely adopted, with only 1% of its monthly active users (MAU) playing games on the platform. This is modest compared to platforms like Facebook, VK, WeChat, TikTok, and YouTube, where 10-30% of users play games. Therefore, Telegram holds significant potential for growth in its gaming sector. The success of platforms like WeChat and Facebook in attracting a large gaming audience demonstrates the effectiveness of SuperApps in diversifying user engagement.

Telegram has the potential to become the fastest-growing social network for games. Developers seeking an audience for their projects could benefit from being early adopters of the platform. For TON, targeted marketing on Telegram is crucial. Utilizing tools like [Telegram Ads ](https://blog.ton.org/ton-ecosystem-evolved-introducing-telegram-apps-center-t-apps-center) allows for the precise targeting of specific users and communities, ensuring that games reach their most relevant audience. This strategy will significantly boost game engagement on Telegram.

## Notcoin is TON’s proof of concept

Notcoin has become one of the most popular Web3 games in the world and is a [viral sensation](https://blog.ton.org/virality-masterclass-notcoins-rise-to-4m-players). TON’s developer community has proven it can build engaging and enjoyable games that set the network apart from the competition. Moreover, other graphically rich and story-driven games, such as [Gatto](https://ton.app/games/gatto?id=1348) and [Tap Fantasy](https://ton.app/games/tap-fantasy?id=1227), have also seen success. For instance, Tap Fantasy alone attracted 600,000 players in January, 2024.

## TON offers simplicity and accessibility

TON is one of the [most diverse and accessible blockchains](https://blog.ton.org/an-introduction-to-ton-ecosystem-discover-web3-on-telegram) available and its gaming sector is playing a pivotal role in driving mass adoption. Recognizing the importance of gamers, a significant and active demographic, is key to putting crypto in every pocket. TON is well-suited for both Web3 GameFi developers and gamers. Prepare for Telegram’s transformation into a SuperApp, as a range of TON-based games are set to launch soon. Many of these games are already available in the [tApps Center](https://blog.ton.org/ton-ecosystem-evolved-introducing-telegram-apps-center-t-apps-center). For builders interested in creating games on TON, check out this [X (Twitter) thread](https://x.com/ikardanoff/status/1746974108598882709?s=20) from Inal Kardan, Gaming Lead at TON Foundation.

The Future of GameFi on TON: Playing Games on Telegram

On November 16, during The Gateway conference in Dubai, TON Foundation Director Jack Booth proposed a new ecosystem-wide competition designed to gamify the experience of using TON Blockchain – The Open League (TOL). [You can rewatch Jack's presentation here.](https://youtu.be/FCX5uGvPiq4) 

[TON Foundation initiated the community vote](https://ton.vote/EQCb8dxevgHhBnsTodJKXaCrafplHzAHf1V2Adj0GVlhA5xI/proposal/EQA5eyWDAAegbL5Ay1CfelGG3yY9Ow7bgpfocTV6KDt9zeIl) on this proposal on November 20 and received a staggering 99.5% support from TON holders, pushing plans to launch TOL into effect. 

The Open League's inaugural Pilot season is live today, and in this article, you'll find everything you need to know to gain great rewards just by using TON projects in Telegram. Keep reading to learn how to participate and discover how The Open League will contribute to attracting and retaining 5 million new users to TON in the next 12 months.

## **The Open League**
The Open League (TOL) is a competition for TON Ecosystem projects and users. Projects earn new and sticky users for TON, while users get rewarded for their activity.  It is designed to increase user engagement across the ecosystem, help projects grow their user base, and develop more attractive and functional products ready for the massive audience on Telegram. 

Like the English Premier League or similar sports leagues, TOL will run in six-month-long seasons, with the initial pilot season kicking off today, January 29th, 2024. Each season is split into four months of active participation for users to earn TON-backed incentives and a two-month blackout period. 

Each season of the Open League is designed to onboard users by leveling up their Web3 skills and knowledge, guiding users with incentives to use TON projects. Each month of the season will include a new level of quests to complete for every project involved, starting off with easy introductory tasks and getting more difficult with each level. Quests for each level are aggregated into one master quest, with each participating project having 1 quest per level. 
 
## **The Pilot Season**
This pilot season will run for just 4 months, with 3 months of experimentation and 1 month blackout period to prepare for Season 1! Expect experiments and changes; no parameter, mechanism, or feature is set in stone. Constant testing and changes will help The Open League deliver on the goal of more active and sticky users for TON. 

Pilot Season Level 1 starts today and includes five projects already boasting over 26 million Monthly active users: Wallet, tApps Center, Notcoin, and GetGems. 

These projects will provide a simple, incentivized onboarding experience to Web3 with use cases anyone can enjoy. tApps Center will provide a familiar way of exploring all the applications built on TON and Telegram. Notcoin will give users their first meme-coin with its simple tap-to-earn minting mechanism. GetGems will help users understand and own their first collectibles, providing an easy on-chain experience. Finally, Fanton will help users get familiar with connecting their wallets in Telegram, topping up, and earning through an easy-to-use football fantasy game.

### **Pilot Reward System**
The Open League's reward system is based on 1 major concept: incentivizing only real and active users. Over time, the system should weed out fake accounts and bots to make sure rewards are distributed to real people. 

**There are 4 systems at work here:**
1. Soul-Bound Tokens (SBTs)
2. Experience Points (XP)
3. The XP Lottery
4. Referrals

#### **Soulbound Tokens (SBTs)**
Level 1 of the Pilot Season starts with Soul Bound Tokens (SBTs). SBTs are non-transferable, so you can't sell them; they are awarded for completion of each quest. 

#### **Experience Points (XP)**
At Level 2, we will introduce Experience Points (XP). XPs are off-chain points backed by TON. XPs can be exchanged for TON anytime, but the exchange rate is time-based, so the longer you hold your XP, the more they are worth until the final day of Season 2, where each XP will be worth 1 TON.

#### **The XP Lottery**
XP will be awarded to users in a weekly lottery. Each SBT acts as a lottery ticket, with some SBTs worth more than 1 entry; the more quests you complete, the higher your chance of winning a share of the weekly prize pool. Each level the SBTs needed to qualify for the lottery will be reset, giving everyone a fair chance to win. 

#### **Referrals**
Viral mechanics are a key feature of TON projects in Telegram. Users who refer their friends to join the quests will earn Influencer SBTs, awarding them additional lottery entries and increasing their chance of winning the weekly prize.

SBTs and Experience Points (XP) together build your on-chain reputation. In time, this on-chain reputation will help any project on TON airdrop to users they know are loyal, valuable, sticky, and active. So work hard to build a reputation that deserves reward because this is just the start, and the very best users will earn for years to come.

## **How to Participate in the Pilot**
It's simple to get started, but before you start, [head to TON Society and read the intro to The Open League.](https://society.ton.org/the-open-league-pilot-season)

1. Open the Level 1 Quest **[here](https://t.me/community_bot/join?startapp=id_60)**
2. Complete each project's quest
3. Claim your SBT at the end of each quest 
4. Track your SBTs in your TON Society profile

*NB: There is a small blockchain transaction fee to mint an SBT - currently 0.07 TON, so make sure you have TON in your wallet when you try to claim, or it won't work.*

You must complete Level 1 to qualify for Level 2, so you have a month. Have fun, learn about TON, and enjoy The Open League. A world of rewards and reputation awaits every pilot who completes the training.

<button href="https://society.ton.org/the-open-league-pilot-season" passutmsource="true">
  Start your Open League journey here!
</button >
<br/> 




The Open League Pilot Season Is Now Live!

The Open Network (TON) is experiencing rapid growth. In 2019, we had 35,000 [accounts](https://www.tonstat.com/); this number grew to 80,000 in 2021, 120,000 in 2022, 1.8 million in 2023, and now in 2024, we’ve reached 5.2 million. This surge in new users is largely due to TON’s latest impressive developments, including [setting a world speed record](https://blog.ton.org/speed-of-tomorrow-ton-is-the-worlds-fastest-blockchain), the [global success of Notcoin](https://blog.ton.org/virality-masterclass-notcoins-rise-to-4m-players), and our [collaboration with Telegram](https://blog.ton.org/building-a-web3-ecosystem-in-telegram-with-toncoin).

We’ve written this short guide to help newcomers navigate the TON-Telegram Web3 SuperApp. It’s designed to introduce you to some of the ecosystem’s best features and help you leverage the full potential of TON.

##  #1 Create your wallet

To join TON, start by [creating a wallet](https://blog.ton.org/how-to-create-and-start-using-wallet) on the network to manage your assets. All these wallets listed below offer similar functionality and are equally reputable, so don’t be overwhelmed by the number of choices. The easiest option for newcomers to the ecosystem may be [Wallet in Telegram](https://wallet.tg/), especially if you already have a [Telegram](https://telegram.org/) account – it takes less than a minute to set up. For a comprehensive list of available wallets, visit the [ton.org website](https://ton.org/en/wallets?locale=en&pagination[limit]=-1).

### Wallet in Telegram

We recommend using [Wallet in Telegram](https://twitter.com/wallet_tg), a TON-native wallet fully integrated with Telegram. You can access it through [@Wallet](https://t.me/wallet) in Telegram Messenger and easily sign up using your existing Telegram account.

Wallet includes both a [custodial section and a non-custodial section](https://blog.ton.org/explaining-the-differences-between-custodial-and-non-custodial-wallets) called [TON Space](https://blog.ton.org/building-a-web3-ecosystem-in-telegram-with-toncoin) – the first self-custody wallet completely within Telegram. It supports various assets, including Toncoin, [jettons](https://blog.ton.org/a-short-introduction-to-tokens-on-the-open-network), NFTs, Bitcoin, and USDT, all manageable directly in Telegram. Wallet in Telegram also allows users to transfer crypto to other Telegram users without any commission fees. If you have any issues, check out the [Wallet FAQ](https://wallet.helpscoutdocs.com/) and visit the [Wallet News channel](https://t.me/wallet_news). 

### Tonkeeper

[Tonkeeper](https://tonkeeper.com/) is another widely-used wallet within the ecosystem, available for Apple, Android, Desktop, and as a Chrome or Firefox extension. It’s the most downloaded [non-custodial](https://blog.ton.org/explaining-the-differences-between-custodial-and-non-custodial-wallets) wallet, offering you full and exclusive control over your digital assets. 

Tonkeeper also includes an integrated browser and a native staking feature from [Ton Whales](https://tonwhales.com/staking) or [Tonstakers](https://tonstakers.com/), enabling you to earn up to 5% APR on your Toncoin stored in the app. For further details, you can visit the [Tonkeeper News channel](https://t.me/tonkeeper_news) on Telegram.

### OpenMask

[OpenMask](https://www.openmask.app/) is the TON-analog of the popular MetaMask wallet acting as a Google Chrome extension. It is entirely open-source and supports TON [jettons](https://blog.ton.org/a-short-introduction-to-tokens-on-the-open-network) and NFTs. For more information, check out the [OpenMask Telegram channel](https://t.me/openproduct).

### MyTonWallet

[MyTonWallet](https://mytonwallet.io/) is a popular, self-custody, cross-platform, open-source wallet accessible on desktop, tablet, and smartphone. It supports multiple tokens, NFTs, and offers the convenience of multiple accounts and cross-blockchain functionality. For more information, you can visit the [MyTonWallet channel](https://t.me/MyTonWalletEn) on Telegram.

### Bitget Wallet
[Bitget Wallet](https://web3.bitget.com/en/) stands as one of the world's leading non-custodial Web3 wallets and decentralized ecosystem platform. With the Bitget Onchain Layer, the wallet is well-poised to develop a burgeoning DeFi ecosystem through co-creation and strategic incubation. 

Aside from a powerful Swap feature, Bitget Wallet's feature suite also includes multi-chain asset management, smart money insights, a native Launchpad, an Inscriptions Center, and an Earning Center. Supporting over 100 major blockchains, 250,000+ tokens, and a wide array of DApps, Bitget Wallet is your top wallet for asset discovery and Web3 exploration.

### Tonhub

[Tonhub](https://tonhub.com/) is another non-custodial wallet developed by [Ton Whales](https://tonwhales.com/) that is specifically designed to be user-friendly, fast, and secure. Visit [their Telegram channel](https://t.me/tonhub) for more information.

### Hardware Wallets

If security is your top priority, TON is compatible with several cold storage hardware wallets, such as [Ledger](https://www.ledger.com/), [SafePal](https://www.safepal.com/en/), and [Tangem](https://tangem.com/en/). These options provide enhanced security for your assets. However, for convenience and full access to the entire TON Ecosystem, we recommend using one of the native hot wallets mentioned earlier.

## #2 Buy Toncoin (TON)

Toncoin (TON) is the native currency of The Open Network. For a comprehensive list of where to buy TON, visit the [ton.org website](https://ton.org/en/buy-toncoin?filters[exchange_groups][slug][$eq]=buy-with-card&pagination[page]=1&pagination[pageSize]=100).

### Buy with a debit or credit card

You can buy Toncoin directly within Telegram using [Wallet](https://t.me/wallet), which supports purchases with a bank card. Additionally, [Wallet's P2P Market](https://wallet.helpscoutdocs.com/article/5-p2p-market-faq) allows you to trade various fiat currencies for Toncoin with other Telegram users. Always be sure to check the seller’s rating and transaction history before responding to any ads.

[Blockchain.com](https://www.blockchain.com/en/) has [recently listed Toncoin](https://t.me/toncoin/1030) and partnered with TON Foundation, allowing purchases with GBP, EUR, and USD. Other well-known centralized exchanges like [NeoCrypto](https://neocrypto.net/) and [Mercuryo](https://exchange.mercuryo.io/) offer the option to buy Toncoin directly with a bank card.

### Buy with crypto

Many of the top Web3 exchanges have listed TON crypto pairs allowing you to purchase TON.

#### Centralized Exchanges

- [KuCoin](https://www.kucoin.com/trade/TON-USDT) 
- [OKX](https://www.okx.com/markets/spot-info/ton-usdt) 
- [MEXC](https://www.mexc.com/exchange/TON_USDT) 
- [Bybit](https://www.bybit.com/en-US/trade/spot/TON/USDT) 
- [Bitget](https://www.bitget.com/en/spot/TONCOINUSDT_SPBL)
- [EXMO](https://exmo.com/trade/TON_USDT)
- [BIT](https://www.bit.com/spot?pair=TONCOIN-USDT) 
- [CoinEx](https://www.coinex.com/exchange/TON-USDT)

#### TON-Native Exchanges

- [DeDust](https://dedust.io/)
- [STON.fi](https://ston.fi/)

#### Decentralized Exchanges

- [Uniswap](https://info.uniswap.org/#/tokens/0x582d872a1b094fc48f5de31d3b73f2d9be47def1)
- [PancakeSwap](https://pancakeswap.finance/swap?outputCurrency=0x76A797A59Ba2C17726896976B7B3747BfD1d220f)
- [Biswap](https://exchange.biswap.org/#/add/0x76A797A59Ba2C17726896976B7B3747BfD1d220f/0x55d398326f99059fF775485246999027B3197955)

## #3 Explore TON Ecosystem

### TON App

TON is a fully decentralized ecosystem that continues to grow every day as new teams join, bringing innovative ideas. Like most blockchains, TON consists of a series of independent apps, and you can explore the full range of +500 apps at [TON App](https://ton.app/). 

### tApps Center

However, what sets TON apart is its unique building platform, born from our collaboration with Telegram: the [Telegram Mini App](https://ton.org/mini-apps). These Mini Apps represent an evolution in app technology, fully integrated within Telegram, and offer TON builders access to Telegram’s 800 million users. TON Foundation recently unveiled the [Telegram Apps (tApps) Center](https://blog.ton.org/ton-ecosystem-evolved-introducing-telegram-apps-center-t-apps-center) to showcase these apps with a Web3 section dedicated to TON-based Mini Apps. The latest additions to this collection are highlighted on the [Trending Apps channel](https://t.me/trendingapps).

## #4 Use your Toncoin (TON)

Toncoin offers a huge variety of practical use cases that extend beyond traditional financial transactions, all while remaining within TON Ecosystem. 

### Telegram Premium

You can conveniently pay for [Telegram Premium](https://telegram.org/faq_premium) on [Fragment](https://fragment.com/) using Toncoin. Fragment is a decentralized platform handling transactions for NFTs or Collectibles among users.

### Telegram usernames

You can purchase unique Telegram usernames formatted as Collectibles at [Fragment](https://fragment.com/) with Toncoin.

### VPN

You can access a [TON-based VPN service](https://t.me/ConnecTONbot) within Telegram using Toncoin, providing a secure and convenient way to enhance your online privacy.

### eSIM with mobile data

You can purchase an [eSIM with a mobile data plan](https://t.me/Mobile) for countries all over the world directly inside Telegram with Toncoin.

### Decentralized storage

You can get access to [TON Storage](https://blog.ton.org/ton-storage), a decentralized on-chain file storage service, using Toncoin.

### Voting

Toncoin holders can participate in voting on key blockchain events through [ton.vote](https://ton.vote/), a TON Ecosystem’s native on-chain governance platform. To vote, users connect their wallets and use their Toncoin to weigh in on different community proposals.

### Buy real-world products

You can use Toncoin to buy real-world items on [GM.co](https://GM.co), the largest Web3 marketplace. Additionally, Toncoin is accepted on other select platforms, including [CoinCoffee](https://www.coincoffee.life/), [DrippyMilano](https://drippymilano.com/), and [COURBET](https://www.en.courbet.com/).

### Staking

Staking your Toncoin with [TON Whales](https://tonwhales.com/staking) allows you to earn passive returns by participating in network security and operations. Alternatively, liquid staking with [Tonstakers](https://tonstakers.com/) or [bemo](https://bemo.finance/) gives you the flexibility of staking while keeping your assets liquid. 

### Loans

Toncoin owners also have access to a variety of different DeFi lending protocols: [DAOLama](https://daolama.co/) offers loans against NFT collateral, while [EVAA Protocol](https://evaa.finance/) and [Tonpound](https://tonpound.com/) support decentralized Toncoin-backed lending and borrowing.

## #5 Welcome to the future

Blockchain, Web3, and cryptocurrency are still in their early stages, and TON Ecosystem is no different: constantly evolving but already equipped with a range of cutting-edge features and services, growing more user-friendly each day. You are now at the forefront: by simply creating a wallet, purchasing, and using Toncoin, you give yourself comprehensive control over your digital identity, assets, and data, an opportunity not found anywhere else. We warmly invite you to join our community and discover the future of digital interaction and finance with TON.

An Introduction to TON Ecosystem: Discover Web3 on Telegram

This Q4 developers’ report outlines the TON Ecosystem’s progress and its significance for builders, with a special focus on the growing number of Telegram Web Apps (tApps) developed on TON. Our aim is to encourage new developers to build their solutions on TON as part of a [Web3 SuperApp on Telegram](https://blog.ton.org/building-a-web3-ecosystem-in-telegram-with-toncoin), leveraging the platform’s extensive user base of 800 million monthly active users (MAU). We’ll guide you through TON’s development landscape, highlighting the opportunities that TON and Telegram offer to Web3 builders looking to create mass adoption of on-chain products.

## Key Insights

2023 was a year of unprecedented success for TON, you could say it was our break-out year. The ecosystem saw remarkable expansion, user and developer growth, as well as technological enhancements. 

### Community growth

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/dev_report_update_b6dc35ba47/dev_report_update_b6dc35ba47.jpg) 

- The [**TON Developers Community**](https://t.me/addlist/1r5Vcb8eljk5Yzcy) on Telegram grew from 10957 members on October 1 to 13454 by the end of December, a 22.8% increase in Q4.
- In 2023, **[TON Society](https://society.ton.org/)** significantly enhanced its global presence with a record number of meetups and project onboarding. This includes the addition of 17 new projects within [TON Society Europe](https://t.me/TONSocietyEurope), and the planning of over 80 offline meetups for the 2024 preseason. 
- **[The Gateway Conference](https://blog.ton.org/the-gateway-rewind)**, TON Community’s first mass public event, attracted over 500 enthusiasts and 50,000 viewers on [YouTube](https://youtu.be/vsAyfdmt374).
- A new [**TON Dev News** Telegram channel](https://t.me/tondev_news) was launched, providing the growing builder community with the latest updates on new services, tools, and libraries in TON.

### Platform development

- In Q4, the **[tApps Center](https://blog.ton.org/ton-ecosystem-evolved-introducing-telegram-apps-center-t-apps-center)** and the **[Telegram Mini Apps](https://ton.org/mini-apps)** platform saw significant growth, with the addition of over 140 new apps to the catalog. The tApps Center achieved a new high of 12,000 MAU, a 75% increase from November. Additionally, a [new community platform](https://github.com/telegram-mini-apps-dev) and an official open-source [Telegram SDK repository](https://github.com/TelegramMessenger/TGMiniAppsJsSDK) were launched.
- **[Blueprint](https://github.com/ton-org/blueprint)**, the all-in-one tool for smart contracts on TON, and **[Sandbox](https://github.com/ton-org/sandbox)**, a testing framework for TON smart contracts, received key updates for faster verification and greater flexibility.
- TON set a new **[TPS World Record](https://blog.ton.org/speed-of-tomorrow-ton-is-the-worlds-fastest-blockchain)**, verified by Certik, processing 104,715 transactions per second. The network far surpassed all competing blockchains as well as traditional CeFi payment services, including Visa and Mastercard. After this milestone, [key updates](https://github.com/ton-blockchain/ton/blob/master/Changelog.md) were made to the mainnet, with more planned for Q1 2024. Additionally, TON has revised its **node hardware requirements** to improve system security. Please refer to the [updated specifications](https://t.me/tonstatus/85) for details.
- In December, TON processed over **[80 million transactions in 15 days](https://t.me/toncoin/1102)** for incoming inscription ordinal projects. As a result of this success, TON Blockchain infrastructure has become stronger than ever before.
- A new version of **[Tact](https://tact-lang.org/)** (1.1.5), a next-generation programming language for TON, was released that included 7 new language features. Additionally, [Anton Trunov](https://blog.ton.org/anton-trunov-joins-ton-foundation-and-presents-a-new-tact-roadmap), a prominent Web3 developer recognized for his work on blockchain-oriented programming languages, has joined the TON Tact development team at TON Foundation.
- The [Hack-TON-berfest](https://docs.ton.org/hacktonberfest) event resulted in the creation of the new **[Tact Cookbook](https://github.com/tact-lang/tact-cookbook)**, an all-in-one guide for developers looking to start working with Tact on TON. Compared to 2022, the event saw a 6x increase in pull requests from 41 to 230 and a 7x rise in developer participation from 15 to 100.
- **[TVM](https://docs.ton.org/learn/tvm-instructions/tvm-upgrade-2023-07)** (TON Virtual Machine) received a [huge update](https://blog.ton.org/the-most-significant-tvm-update-so-far-extended-cryptography-arbitrary-precision-arithmetic-and-new-instructions), allowing developers to create a wider variety of smart contracts, services, and products on TON. This includes the new capability to develop Zero-Knowledge protocols, following extensive testing on the testnet and numerous bug bounties.
- IntelliJ IDEA's [Language Server Protocol](https://microsoft.github.io/language-server-protocol/) (LSP) compatibility means that the **[TON plugin for FunC and Tact](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/23382-ton)** will soon work with a range of other IDEs, including Vim, Sublime Text, Brackets, Emacs, Atom, and [others](https://microsoft.github.io/language-server-protocol/implementors/tools/).

### Building opportunities

- Several new TON **[development competitions](Uhttps://t.me/toncontests)** were recently held. These include the [Liquidation Hackathon](https://t.me/toncontests/154), [TON Smart Challenge](https://t.me/toncontests/151), an [NFT Royalty Contest](https://t.me/toncontests/148), the [W5 Optimization Contest](https://t.me/toncontests/140), and the [Tact Challenge](https://society.ton.org/ton-tact-challenge).
- The **[TON Bootcamp Program](https://finbold.com/future3-campus-and-ton-foundation-announce-bootcamp-for-mini-app-builders-in-telegrams-web3-ecosystem/)**, a specialized camp for developers of Telegram Mini Apps, launched in collaboration with [HashKey Capital](https://hashkey.capital/), a major Singapore-based digital assets firm. Its goal is to create tangible payment and gaming solutions within Telegram’s Web3 ecosystem.
- **[Kucoin Ventures](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231201434476/en/KuCoin-Ventures-Announces-Partnership-with-TON-Foundation-Provides-Grant-to-Support-TON-Ecosystem)** has announced a new partnership with TON Foundation to offer major grants aimed at developing the TON Ecosystem.
- **[GeckoTerminal](https://twitter.com/GeckoTerminal/status/1726447427081879874)** by CoinGecko has rolled out support for TON Blockchain, an enhancement that improves the visibility and monitoring of DEXs within the TON Ecosystem.
- [**Animoca Brands**](https://www.animocabrands.com/ton-foundation-welcomes-animoca-brands-as-ton-blockchain-largest-validator) has made a strategic investment in TON and unveiled its bespoke [TON Analytics Dashboard](https://ton-dashboard.dat.animoca.space/).

## Ecosystem Developments

### Developer tools

2023 was the year of TON developers, and TON Foundation committed itself to providing builders with the necessary tools and resources to develop a Web3 SuperApp on Telegram and leverage its 800 million MAU for TON Web3 projects.

##### Telegram Mini Apps and the tApps Center

The [tApps Center](https://www.tapps.center/) is the universal catalog for [Telegram Web Apps](https://core.telegram.org/bots/webapps), granting developers access to a platform with a user base of 800 million. The [Trending Apps](https://t.me/twa_apps) channel, showcasing newly launched apps, received an update featuring fresh illustrations and buttons, resulting in an 80% increase in conversion rate for the tApps Center launch.

This year, the [tApps Center](https://www.tapps.center/) saw significant growth with over 140 new apps added in Q4 and a 90% increase in app launches in November, leading to 12,000 monthly active users — a 75% rise compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, [ton.org](https://ton.org/) updated the [Telegram Mini Apps section](https://ton.org/mini-apps) to provide new builders with content for getting started with TON and Telegram development.

A new [Telegram Web App GitHub Community](https://github.com/telegram-mini-apps-dev) has launched, bringing together developers to improve the Telegram Mini Apps builder experience. This repository provides tools, documentation, examples, and tutorials, with 16 new app examples and development tools introduced in October. A [TMA Playground Bot](https://t.me/tma_sandbox_bot) for testing Mini Apps was launched, and an [official Telegram SDK](https://github.com/TelegramMessenger/TGMiniAppsJsSDK) was also open sourced for Mini Apps developers. Telegram released [Bot API 7.0](https://t.me/BotNews/86), the biggest update for the Bot Platform. 

#### TVM (TON Virtual Machine)

[TVM](https://docs.ton.org/learn/tvm-instructions/tvm-upgrade-2023-07) (TON Virtual Machine) underwent a [major update](https://blog.ton.org/the-most-significant-tvm-update-so-far-extended-cryptography-arbitrary-precision-arithmetic-and-new-instructions), enabling developers to create a wider variety of smart contracts, services, and products on TON. Following this update, various TON projects have already developed new services using the improved TVM features, including the [Tonnel Network](https://t.me/tonnel_en), [Redstone](https://redstone.finance/), [EVAA Protocol](https://t.me/evaaprotocol), [TON Teleport](https://t.me/tonblockchain/201), and [Clean.ton](https://cleanton.org/). More information about the technical documentation is available [here](https://docs.ton.org/learn/tvm-instructions/tvm-upgrade-2023-07).

#### TON Connect

In Q4 2023, a collaborative effort between [TonTech](https://ton.tech/), [Telegram](https://telegram.org/), [Wallet](https://wallet.tg/), [Tonkeeper](https://tonkeeper.com/), [Getgems](https://getgems.io/), [TON Diamonds](https://twitter.com/tondiamonds?lang=en), and other teams resulted in substantial improvements to the TON Connect SDK. This effort culminated in the release of new versions, **[@tonconnect/sdk 3.0.0](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@tonconnect/sdk)** and **[@tonconnect/ui 2.0.0](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@tonconnect/ui)**, which included more than 50 enhancements and bug fixes.

#### Blueprint and Sandbox

**[Blueprint](https://github.com/ton-org/blueprint)**, TON’s all-in-one tool for smart contact development, rolled out a new version ([0.15.0](https://github.com/ton-org/blueprint/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md)). The update includes the introduction of a ‘verify’ command, streamlining contract verification on [verifier.ton.org](https://verifier.ton.org/). Additionally, custom API v2 endpoints have been incorporated, catering to testing needs within private TON APIs, and enhancing flexibility for developers.

**[Sandbox](https://github.com/ton-org/sandbox)**, TON’s testing framework for smart contracts, also rolled out a new version ([0.15.0](https://github.com/ton-org/sandbox/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md)) with new TVM opcodes support.

#### Tact

A new programming language for the TON Blockchain that is focused on efficiency and simplicity, [**Tact**](https://tact-lang.org/), has recently been updated to version [1.1.5](https://github.com/tact-lang/tact/releases/tag/v1.1.5). This release coincides with the introduction of a forward-looking [Tact roadmap](https://github.com/tact-lang/roadmap), which incorporates insights from over 10 active developers within the TON Community. Additionally, the recent [Hack-TON-berfest](https://docs.ton.org/hacktonberfest) event saw the creation of the [Tact Cookbook](https://github.com/tact-lang/tact-cookbook), now a vital guide for newcomers to the TON Ecosystem. In a notable update, [Anton Trunov](https://blog.ton.org/anton-trunov-joins-ton-foundation-and-presents-a-new-tact-roadmap), a prominent Web3 developer, has joined the TON Tact development team at TON Foundation. 

### The Gateway Conference

[The Gateway Conference](https://blog.ton.org/the-gateway-rewind) in November 2023 was a major milestone for TON Community, featuring partnerships with key crypto players like Orbs, Kucoin, Cointelegraph, and Bybit. This first major public event attracted over 500 attendees and 50,000 [online viewers](https://youtu.be/vsAyfdmt374). It brought together a diverse group of creators, builders, startups, and investors, with more than 20 TON ecosystem teams like [Notcoin](https://blog.ton.org/virality-masterclass-notcoins-rise-to-4m-players), [TON Diamonds](https://twitter.com/tondiamonds?lang=en), and [EthSign](https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/19/ethsign-line-telegram-blockchain-esignature/) showcasing their projects.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/devrep1_524672733a/devrep1_524672733a.jpg) 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/devrep4_7e3fb31f2b/devrep4_7e3fb31f2b.jpg) 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/devrep2_0708954134/devrep2_0708954134.jpg) 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/devrep3_9765745cd1/devrep3_9765745cd1.jpg) 

### TON Society 

[TON Society](https://society.ton.org/) is TON’s new on-chain social network, aimed at growing regional TON communities across the world. It focuses on hosting offline events to connect enthusiasts and attract local investors to engage with TON projects. In Q3 of 2023, the platform introduced user profiles and distributed SBT rewards for all prior activities. This initiative aims to enhance communication between ecosystem participants based on their expertise and contribute to on-chain analytics. Notably, [29 activities](https://society.ton.org/activities/events) were added, resulting in over 3,300 SBTs being issued, and more than [1,600 users](https://society.ton.org/contributors) have already registered on the platform.

##### Europe

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Eur_d5a6c753ed/Eur_d5a6c753ed.jpg) 

In 2023, TON Society Europe experienced significant growth, onboarding 17 new projects and participating in key crypto events. Highlights included an exclusive presentation at [Web Summit 2023](https://qatar.websummit.com/blog/news/web-summit-2023-highlights/?gclid=CjwKCAiA1-6sBhAoEiwArqlGPoTdPcNimaWQOV8YQTE0-40hsQ9Mv5LVWFD3kp8jRQgqxsod_A5myBoCDWAQAvD_BwE), focusing on the potential of the [Telegram Mini Apps platform](https://core.telegram.org/bots/webapps) for TON Web3 developers and successful events in Amsterdam and Prague, attracting over 250 attendees. A significant milestone was the development of the ONBOT tool by [Prague TON Workshop](https://society.ton.org/in-tact-with-ton) winners, a critical asset in introducing new members to the TON Ecosystem.

#### Asia

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/TS_Asia_1_1d57042b00/TS_Asia_1_1d57042b00.png) 

Following the [announcement](https://blog.ton.org/the-gateway-rewind) of TON’s new APAC Initiative at The Gateway, TON Society Asia also experienced a year of great progress. TON Foundation and TonFura’s [meetup](https://twitter.com/ton_fura/status/1735621591495762180) at Taipei Blockchain Week attracted over 30 new developers. Additionally, [Starbase Asia Urban Action](https://medium.com/@MyStarbase_com/starbase-ecological-partner-program-asia-urban-action-in-shanghai-concluded-successfully-725a73f20968)’s events in Shanghai and Hong Kong, centered on TON, drew over 220 participants. In Chengdu, a notable workshop co-organized with [ScaleBit](https://twitter.com/scalebit_) and Starbase brought together over 100 attendees, featuring startup showcases and four keynotes. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/TS_Eur_14adcc1ef7/TS_Eur_14adcc1ef7.png) 

In Thailand, there was a breakthrough local meet-up led by TON Foundation’s Developer Relations representative in partnership with [SCB 10x](https://www.scb10x.com/), Thailand’s largest Web3 incubator. In South Korea, key events included an AMA session with [DKODO DAO](https://twitter.com/DOKDODAO) and a presentation from the TON Society Korea lead at the [BlockFesta Conference](https://en.foresightnews.pro/blockfesta-2023-in-seoul-to-open-dec-7/), highlighting Telegram Mini Apps and TON Space for game development.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/TS_Asia_2_bff87c7f0b/TS_Asia_2_bff87c7f0b.png) 

In [India](https://twitter.com/TON_SocietyIND), TON Society hosted a hugely successful hackathon at Delhi University, attracting 3500 online and 700 offline participants. Other key initiatives included a Tact Workshop in Ahmedabad and the launch of the Tact-onboarding challenge, drawing over 100 participants. The [TON India team](https://t.me/TONSocietyIndia) made a significant impact at [India Blockchain Week 2023](https://indiablockchainweek.com/) in Bangalore as sponsors and speakers, as well as collaborating with major industry players such as [Graviton](https://www.gravitonaccelerator.com/) and [Web3 Carnival](https://www.web3carnival.world/).

## Talk with us

If you have any ideas on how to enhance the TON Ecosystem for developers, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We constantly seek feedback to improve the environment and our reports for builders. Please use the feedback form [here](https://agkcv6ne.paperform.co/).


TON Developer Report: Q4 2023

Expectations weren’t high when [Notcoin](https://t.me/notcoin_bot/click) launched two months ago. It is a simple TON-based meme coin built inside a Telegram Mini App that allows players to mine Notcoin by tapping a coin icon. 

At the start of 2024, Notcoin launched the live version of their game and reached a staggering 4.1M players within a week, surpassing the rest of the GameFi market combined. 

In this article, we will look at Notcoin’s rise to virality and its mechanics, explore the gameplay, and discuss what’s next for TON’s biggest game.

## **Notcoin’s Rise to 4 Million Players**
The Notcoin beta launched in mid-November 2023 as a simple clicker [Telegram Mini App](https://docs.ton.org/develop/dapps/telegram-apps) game developed by a little-known team with no major projects on record. It was launched as a meme coin based on zero expectations, no whitepaper, and little to no information on the game available. The team explained the premise of Notcoin in one sentence: “Notcoin is probably nothing.”

Within the first month, Notcoin reached almost 500K players and, during the beta version, reached over 650K players who mined more than 60 billion Notcoin. With the official version of Notcoin launched on January 1, 2024, the player base has already reached 4.1M players who mined almost 1.2 trillion Notcoin altogether. 


> **Fun fact: Notcoin reached 1M users faster than ChatGPT**


By gaining 500K players in less than a month, Notcoin surpassed legendary GameFi projects such as STEPN and Axie Infinity, which were two of the most anticipated and played projects in GameFi’s short history. 

Even more incredibly, this was achieved without spending a single dollar on advertising, and it was all accomplished directly within Telegram, relying solely on the engagement and interactions of Telegram users.

Their virality trick is so simple yet amazing – remove all onboarding requirements, allow every Telegram user to play with no investment required, and reward users for referring their friends. This shows that removing as many onboarding obstacles as possible is the only way to reach mass adoption. Notcoin didn’t force their potential players to jump through hoops to play the game; they brought Notcoin to players and made it possible for them to start playing in seconds. This is an extremely rare and underrated aspect among GameFi projects and potentially Notcoin’s secret recipe for success.

## **Notcoin Gameplay**
As mentioned above, Notcoin’s gameplay is as straightforward as it can get. All you need to do is open Telegram, search for [Notcoin](https://t.me/notcoin_bot), and start mining.

Let’s look at the basic principles of Notcoin’s gameplay. Please note that you can only play Notcoin on a mobile device. 

### **Tap-2-Earn**
At the core of Notcoin’s gameplay is their tap-2-earn mechanism, where you simply mine new Notcoin to your player profile by tapping the Notcoin icon in the middle of the screen. Each tap rewards you with a specific amount of Notcoin, starting at 1 Notcoin per tap. The number of Notcoin you can mine per session is limited, starting at 1,000 Notcoin and refreshing based on your purchased boosts. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/S_bcc437ee9c/S_bcc437ee9c.png) 

### **Boosts & Boosters**
Boosts are upgrades that you can purchase with your Notcoin balance and apply to your player profile. With Boosts, you can increase the number of Notcoin per tap, decrease the recovery time, increase your maximum Notcoin energy, and more. 

When you purchase a boost, the price will be deducted from your total Notcoin balance, and the upgrade will be immediately applied to your profile. Each purchase increases the price, requiring you to spend more on each boost. 

- **Multitap:** Increase the number of Notcoin mined per tap
- **Energy Limits:** Increase the number of Notcoin you can mine per session, adding to your total energy limit
- **Recharging Speed:** Decrease the time it takes for your Notcoin energy limit to restore 
- **Auto Tap Bot 2.0:** Automatically mines Notcoin, consuming your energy limit whenever you’re offline for over 60 minutes. Auto tap bot 2.0 requires you to be in a Silver League.
 
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Screenshot_2024_01_05_at_15_36_05_Untitled_design_0ddc9ba192/Screenshot_2024_01_05_at_15_36_05_Untitled_design_0ddc9ba192.png) 

In addition to boosts, you can use temporary Boosters that increase your Notcoin per tap for a short period of time, immediately recharge your full energy limit, and more. 

For example, the 3x Turbo Booster triples your number of Notcoin per tap, and you can activate it manually in the game’s interface. Occasionally, a booster will appear on your screen in the form of a rocket. If you tap the icon, you will receive a Trubo Booster without having to use your free daily boosters. Some boosters can only be activated if you meet the requirements, such as holding Toncoin in your wallet or using TON Inscriptions, while other boosters refresh on a daily basis.

### **Earn**
In addition to mining Notcoin, there are ways to grow your Notcoin holdings with the Earn functionality. 

Earn allows you to receive significant rewards for completing simple tasks such as inviting friends to join the game via your referral link, joining a squad, or reaching milestones such as entering the Silver League or activating Telegram Premium. 

**Earn tasks are split into three main categories:**

- **Onboarding:** This category is based purely on the referral functionality, where you receive rewards by joining a squad or inviting your friends to play Notcoin.
- **Specials:** These one-off tasks reward you for reaching major achievements, holding specific NFTs, or interacting with affiliated projects. Specials are time-limited, so complete them as soon as you can before they disappear. 
- **Web3 World:** You can also earn rewards by interacting with the Web3 ecosystem on TON. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Screenshot_2024_01_05_at_15_39_47_Untitled_design_b44d81b249/Screenshot_2024_01_05_at_15_39_47_Untitled_design_b44d81b249.png) 

### **Referrals**
Referrals are at the core of Notcoin’s viral growth, allowing enthusiastic players on Telegram to share their referral links with their friends. By doing so, both the referrer and the referral receive a number of Notcoin as a reward, and each effectively becomes an ambassador for the game.

The simplicity and effectiveness of this mechanism cannot be overstated; it is seamlessly integrated into the gaming experience, feeling like a natural part of the gameplay rather than a separate promotional task.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/S_2_bdccbb619f/S_2_bdccbb619f.png) 
 

### **Squads**
Notcoin’s Squads feature represents an organic evolution within the game, largely spurred on by the viral referral system. This community-driven aspect of Notcoin plays a pivotal role in enhancing player engagement and collaboration. Each squad is linked to a specific Telegram channel or chat and has its own leaderboard showcasing the top players daily and weekly.

Friends introduced to the game through personal referrals naturally form squads who band together and pool resources with a dual purpose: to maximize Notcoin earnings and to represent their favorite Telegram channels or groups. Squads add another viral layer to Notcoin’s gameplay by introducing competitiveness, encouraging players to compete against each other and against other squads.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/S_1_523f2f92fd/S_1_523f2f92fd.png) 

## **Is Notcoin minted yet?**
This famous phrase is quite common among the Notcoin community, eagerly awaiting the minting of Notcoin on TON Blockchain. At the moment of publishing, Notcoin isn’t minted yet and still exists only as an in-game asset with no real value. However, both CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko already list Notcoin, possibly indicating the upcoming mint and launch of the token. 

## **Conclusion**
Overall, Notcoin’s rapid rise to fame with over 4.1 million players within just a week of the official launch is a testament to the power of simplicity, accessibility, and community engagement in GameFi. 

Notcoin’s unique tap-2-earn mechanism, coupled with features like boosts, boosters, referrals, and squads, has created a highly addictive and viral gaming experience entirely based on the Telegram Mini Apps platform. 

Many players await with bated breath the expected minting of Notcoin, and at this point, all that remains to be said is: Notcoin is probably nothing. 

<button href="https://t.me/notcoin_bot?start=r_4_1659242" passutmsource="true">
  Start playing and receive a 50,000 Notcoin signup bonus! 
</button >
<br/> 


Virality Masterclass: Notcoin's Rise to 4M Players

This Year in Review chronicles TON’s remarkable progress in 2023, highlighting the key events that have shaped the ecosystem. From launching services like TON Storage to setting a World Blockchain Speed Record, TON’s 2023 journey, marked by developments like the TON Believers Fund and partnerships with tech giants like Amazon Web Services and Animoca Brands, showcases the community’s relentless resolve to put crypto in every pocket.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/blog_infographic_2_e0e9d943c9/blog_infographic_2_e0e9d943c9.png) 

Each and every month of 2023 brought on new milestones as the community continued to build a robust, interconnected, and user-friendly blockchain environment for Telegram’s 800 million users. The top 3 achievements of TON in 2023 are: 

- **Setting the World Blockchain Speed Record**: TON officially became [the world’s fastest blockchain](https://blog.ton.org/speed-of-tomorrow-ton-is-the-worlds-fastest-blockchain) after processing an astounding 104,715 transactions per second during a public performance test, confirmed by Certik. This surpasses all existing blockchain networks and centralized payment systems like Visa and Mastercard.

- **Integration with Telegram**: TON’s [new collaboration with Telegram](https://blog.ton.org/building-a-web3-ecosystem-in-telegram-with-toncoin) and its commitment to developing a Web3 SuperApp are the most significant steps towards Web3 mass adoption in our industry’s history. As part of this integration, TON Space was launched on Telegram as the platform’s first-ever self-custodial crypto wallet, combining non-custodial security with Telegram’s accessible interface. This new partnership is set to seamlessly integrate blockchain technology into the everyday digital activities of Telegram’s extensive user base, marking a new era of blockchain accessibility and utility.

- **The Gateway in Dubai**: TON Community’s [first-ever in-person conference](https://blog.ton.org/the-gateway-rewind), The Gateway, represented a significant milestone for the ecosystem. This event brought together key projects within the TON Ecosystem, highlighting the community’s dedication to supporting Web3 builders in TON. Additionally, the event showcased the community’s role in driving the new TON-Telegram collaboration and advancing their joint initiatives in the blockchain space.

### January

- **TON DNS update**: TON’s Domain Name System (DNS) received a major update, improving its performance and reliability with a view to mass adoption. [Learn more](https://telegra.ph/TON-DNS-06-30)
- **SlowMist audit**: TON successfully passed a [SlowMist](https://www.slowmist.com/about-us.html) audit, with no issues or vulnerabilities found. [Learn more](https://www.slowmist.com/security-audit-certificate.html?id=5ea981ee06d54568474e9f92492e8e47c44441bc746ebd92dc534af254d4ac22)

### February

- **Hack-aTONxDoraHacks**: TON partnered with DoraHacks to launch a hackathon series with a $300K prize pool, attracting 223 projects across 14 global offline meetups. [Learn more](https://dorahacks.io/blog/news/highlights-revealed-hack-a-tonx/)
- **Fanzee introduces [jetton](https://blog.ton.org/a-short-introduction-to-tokens-on-the-open-network) staking**: Fanzee became the first ecosystem project to introduce jetton staking on TON. [Learn more](https://app.fanz.ee/staking)
- **TON Community votes to freeze old mining wallets**: The community voted to freeze old mining wallets to [optimize tokenomics](https://t.me/tonblockchain/178) and ensure network security. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/760)
- **GAGARIN launches decentralized token staking on TON**: [GAGARIN](https://gagarin.world/) introduced decentralized token staking for TON users. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/770)

### March

- **The TON & Co. YouTube channel relaunches**: The [TON & Co. YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@ton-company) was restarted and is now one of the leading sources of educational content about TON. [Learn more](https://t.me/tonandcompany)
- **Megaton Finance secures $1.5 million seed funding**: [Megaton Finance](https://megaton.fi/) successfully secured $1.5 million in seed funding to support TON DeFi development. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/megaton-finance-ceed)
- **TON App update**: TON App received a major update to enhance its functionality and usability. [Learn more](https://ton.app/)
- **[Wallet in Telegram](https://wallet.tg/) introduces support for USDT**: Wallet in Telegram began to support Tether TRC-20 and received an updated interface for improved usability. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/791)
- **Bitfinex lists Toncoin (TON)**: Toncoin was listed on [Bitfinex](https://www.bitfinex.com/), a leading cryptocurrency exchange. [Learn More](https://t.me/toncoin/792)
- **TON Wallet Challenge**: The TON Wallet Challenge was launched, offering a $60,000 prize pool for developers to create new wallet solutions on TON. [Learn more](https://ton.org/en/ton-wallet-challenge)
- **[Telegram Premium](https://t.me/premium) starts to accept payment in Toncoin**: Telegram Premium began accepting Toncoin as payment on [Fragment](https://fragment.com/). [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/799)

### April

- **Unlimited ERC-20 Token Bridge**: TON introduced the first unlimited bridge for ERC-20 tokens, improving interoperability between TON and Ethereum. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-erc-20-bridge-tutorial)
- **[Ton.org](https://ton.org/) website update**: Ton.org received a significant update and is now a leading source of information about the TON Ecosystem. [Learn more](https://ton.org/)

### May

- **Trust Wallet integration**: [Trust Wallet](https://trustwallet.com/), a leading self-custody wallet, introduced support for TON and TON-based assets. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/trust-wallet-support)
- **Chanalysis collaboration**: TON began collaborating with [Chanalysis](https://www.chainalysis.com/) to enhance crypto incident response capabilities. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/chainalysis-crypto-incident-response-program)
- **AltcoinBuzz feature**: Toncoin (TON) was featured on the [AltcoinBuzz](https://www.youtube.com/@AltcoinBuzz) YouTube channel. [Learn more](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfLH7_W0How)
- **TON Wiki Challenge**: The TON Wiki Challenge rewarded users who contributed to updating the TON Wikipedia page, leading to significant improvements across various languages. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-wiki-challenge)
- **Liquidity Mining Rewards campaign**: TON’s liquidity mining rewards campaign distributed $720,000 in incentives, resulting in a substantial 2200% increase in network TVL. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/liquidity-mining-rewards-campaign)
- **TON Accelerator Program**: TON launched a $25 million accelerator program, supporting innovative projects in the ecosystem. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-accelerator-program)
- **TON Connect 2.0**: The TON Connect protocol, which enables users and developers to connect wallets with applications easily, was updated for full integration with all major TON wallet service providers. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-connect-the-future-without-passwords)
- **TON Ambassador Program**: TON launched an Ambassador program, a volunteer initiative designed to support Web3 community outreach. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-ambassadors-program)
- **Hack-a-TON x DWF Labs x AWS**: Hack-a-TON partnered with Amazon Web Services to host a series of DeFi and data analytics hackathons. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/aws-dwf-labs-defi-hackaton)
- **Interview with Anatoliy Makosov**: TON Foundation published an exclusive interview with the TON technical lead, Anatoliy Makosov. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/interview-with-anatoly-makosov)

### June

- **Toncoin burn mechanism**: The community voted to implement a real-time deflationary mechanism to burn 50% of Toncoin transaction fees. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-holders-and-validators-vote-in-favor-of-implementing-the-toncoin-real-time-burn-mechanism)
- **TON Torrent**: A TON-based torrent system was introduced, enabling users to share and download files in a decentralized manner using TON Blockchain. [Learn more](https://github.com/xssnick/TON-Torrent#getting-started)
- **TVM Update**: The TVM received a significant update, including extended cryptography and new instructions. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/the-most-significant-tvm-update-so-far-extended-cryptography-arbitrary-precision-arithmetic-and-new-instructions)
- **GM.co partnership**: TON partnered with [GM.co](https://gm.co/), the world’s largest Web3-based marketplace, allowing users to pay for goods and services using Toncoin. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/893)
- **TVM Rewards Challenge**: TON launched a $54,000 rewards challenge for developers to create smart contracts using the new features in the latest TVM update. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/tvm-challenge-is-here-with-over-54-000-in-rewards)
- **Tonkeeper browser extensions**: [Tonkeeper](https://tonkeeper.com/) released a series of browser extensions and became the first TON wallet available on Firefox. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/909)

### July

- **TON encryption**: TON introduced encryption messaging support across all major ecosystem wallets. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-wallet-becomes-an-encrypted-messenger)
- **TON Believers Fund**: The TON Believers Fund, also known as [The Locker](https://tonscan.org/locker/EQDtFpEwcFAEcRe5mLVh2N6C0x-_hJEM7W61_JLnSF74p4q2), was launched as a smart contract, enabling users to lock their Toncoin for an extended period in exchange for rewards. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.cat/locker/)
- **Liquid staking on TON**: Liquid staking was introduced to TON through platforms like [Tonstakers](https://tonstakers.com/) and [bemo](https://bemo.finance/). [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/879)
- **TON NFTs feature in Times Square**: [Ellen Sheidlin](https://www.instagram.com/sheidlina/), a popular photoblogger and painter, launched an NFT Collection on [TON Diamonds](https://ton.diamonds/) that was featured in Times Square, New York. [Learn more](https://t.me/tondiamonds/162) 
- **TON GameFi development**: [TON Play](https://tonplay.io/) released Unity SDK and game payment management that sparked a surge in TON GameFi projects. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/839)
- **Alchemy Pay collaboration**: Support for Toncoin (TON) was introduced on [Alchemy Pay](https://alchemypay.org/), a leading payment solution provider for both crypto and fiat. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/toncoin-ton-now-available-on-alchemy-pays-fiat-to-crypto-service)
- **Wallet Pay**: [Wallet](https://wallet.tg/) introduced Wallet Pay which allows for shopping with crypto directly through Telegram. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/introducing-wallet-pay-revolutionary-technology-for-shopping-with-cryptocurrency)
- **Bit enables trading fee payment in TON**: [Bit](https://www.bit.com/) became the first ever crypto exchange to allow trading fee payments in a token other than its native coin. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/bit-enables-trading-fees-to-be-paid-in-toncoin)

### August

- **TON Society**: TON’s native decentralized social network, [TON Society](https://society.ton.org/), underwent a major overhaul, introducing a new platform and establishing a series of global hubs. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/954)
- **Telegram Web Apps and tApps Center**: TON introduced Telegram Web Apps and the [Telegram Apps Center](https://www.tapps.center/), marking a significant step towards evolving into a Web3 SuperApp. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-ecosystem-evolved-introducing-telegram-apps-center-t-apps-center)
- **TONcoin.Fund investment**: [TONcoin.Fund](https://toncoin.fund/) announced a six-figure investment in [TonUP](https://tonup.io/) to support ecosystem growth. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/toncoin-fund-announces-investment-in-tonup)
- **Telegram Web3 Grant Program**: TON Foundation launched the Telegram Web3 Grant Program to support ecosystem growth. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-foundation-announces-telegram-web3-grants)

### September

- **First Stage Labs rebrand to The Open Platform**: FSL rebranded itself as “The Open Platform,” clearly stating its mission to assist in developing the Telegram Web3 SuperApp. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/995)
- **TON x Telegram**: At [TOKEN2049](https://www.token2049.com/), the official TON-Telegram collaboration was announced, including the launch of the TON Space self-custodial wallet in Telegram. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/building-a-web3-ecosystem-in-telegram-with-toncoin)
- **TON Stat**: The leading network data analytics platform, [TON Stat](https://www.tonstat.com/), was officially launched to provide users with key metrics about the ecosystem. [Learn more](https://www.tonstat.com/)
- **Tencent Cloud partnership**: TON Foundation announced a partnership with Tencent Cloud, a leading cloud computing provider, to support Telegram’s Mini App ecosystem. [Learn more](https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/25/telegram-wechat-super-app-ton-foundation/)

### October

- **TON wallet address update**: TON wallets received an address update to make the network safer and more accessible. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/1013)
- **Blockchain.com listing**: Toncoin (TON) was listed on [Blockchain.com](https://blockchain.com/), increasing its accessibility to a broader audience. [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/1030)

### November

- **World Speed Record**: TON officially became the world’s fastest blockchain, outperforming all competitor blockchains, Visa, and Mastercard, with the result audited by Certik. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/speed-of-tomorrow-ton-is-the-worlds-fastest-blockchain)
- **The Gateway**: TON’s first in-person conference, The Gateway, was hosted in Dubai, where the community announced its commitment to build a Web3 SuperApp on Telegram using TON technology. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/the-gateway-rewind)
- **TON Innovators Series**: TON introduced the Innovators Series of interviews, featuring discussions with [EVAA Protocol](https://blog.ton.org/ton-innovators-evaa-protocol) and [Notcoin](https://blog.ton.org/ton-innovators-notcoin).
- **TON Accelerator Mentorship Program**: TON introduced a mentorship program to guide and support builders and developers. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/become-a-mentor-for-the-ton-accelerator-mentorship-program)
- **Animoca Brands joins TON**: [Animoca Brands](https://www.animocabrands.com/), a Web3 gaming and metaverse leader, became the largest validator on TON Blockchain. [Learn more](https://cointelegraph.com/news/animoca-becomes-validator-telegram-ton-blockchain)

### December

- **Anton Trunov joins TON Foundation**: Anton Trunov, a prominent blockchain developer, joined TON Foundation and presented a new TON roadmap. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/anton-trunov-joins-ton-foundation-and-presents-a-new-tact-roadmap)
- **KuCoin joins TON**: [KuCoin ventures](https://www.kucoin.com/kucoin-ventures), the investment arm of the [KuCoin](https://www.kucoin.com/) crypto exchange, announced a strategic partnership with TON Foundation. [Learn more](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/12/01/kucoin-ventures-to-provide-20k-grant-to-ton-ecosystem/)
- **cNFT format launched on TON**: TON introduced support for the cNFT format, initially used by [Getgems](https://getgems.io/) in their [Egg Fight Club](https://t.me/eggfightclub). [Learn more](https://t.me/toncoin/1091)
- **TON supported by Ledger**: Ledger hardware wallets added support for Toncoin (TON), enhancing security for TON holders. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/ton-is-coming-to-ledger-hardware-wallets)
- **TON x OKX**: TON teamed up with [OKX](https://www.okx.com/), the world’s leading crypto exchange, to launch a Learn & Earn campaign. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/join-tonomania-on-okx-and-win)
- **TON inscriptions**: A new inscription token standard was introduced, leading to unprecedented levels of transactions on the mainnet. [Learn more](https://blog.ton.org/inscriptions-on-ton-new-crypto-craze-or-next-gen-tokens)

The year 2023 was the biggest year in TON’s history, and the community achieved some groundbreaking milestones. The network’s achievements, strategic partnerships, and community-driven initiatives have positioned TON at the forefront of Web3 development and adoption. We wish to thank every member of the TON Community, and we eagerly look forward to welcoming more Telegram users who will soon be joining us here on the Web3 frontier.

Here’s to another year of progress 🍻 

The Open Network Year in Review: 2023

In what has been a groundbreaking few weeks for the TON Ecosystem, inscriptions have launched and caused all kinds of activity on The Open Network. Since the first inscriptions protocol was launched on TON, there have been 83 million transactions, 105,000 new unique users, 2,525 new inscriptions tokens launched, and TON has collected over 170,000 TON in transaction fees[[1]](https://t.me/dtonforum/3596/4491). 

Before inscriptions, TON's average daily transactions were around 50k, and total transactions on the network were just 198 million. Since December 5, the activity has grown to an average of 1.5 million daily transactions and sent total transactions to 274 million. **That's almost 40% transaction volume growth in just 15 days.**

This seems to be only the beginning, as more inscription protocols are planned to launch on TON in the coming weeks. With [Tonano](https://tonano.io/) and [ShardZone](https://shard.zone/market) already launched, and [Gram20](https://gram20.com/) launching right now.

So, what are Inscriptions? Why are they surging in popularity across all blockchains? Why have they come to TON? What can we do with them? Are they just crypto's latest craze or the next generation of tokens? We'll answer all that and more in this blog article.

## **What are inscriptions?**
Inscriptions began on the Bitcoin blockchain with the development of the Ordinals protocol by software engineer Casey Rodarmor. This protocol was designed to inscribe data directly onto individual satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin. By leveraging the available data space in Bitcoin transactions, Ordinals allow for embedding various data types, such as images or text, thereby creating distinct, identifiable units within the blockchain. This innovative approach enabled the creation of unique digital assets on a blockchain not initially designed for such complex functionalities.

Over the last six months, however, the popularity of many BRC-20 tokens has led to the spread of BRC20-style tokens to blockchains beyond Bitcoin. These tokens, which originated as a workaround on Bitcoin due to its lack of native token support, are now being adopted on other blockchains that already have native support for token creation.

When these token standards are applied to other blockchains, they are often renamed to reflect their specific chains, such as PRC-20 on Polygon PoS, Ethscriptions on Ethereum, Doginals on Dogecoin, and Solana Inscriptions on Solana. This expansion to other blockchains has significantly increased network activity across ALL chains. Now, they have come to TON, where it's so early that there is no official standard.

### **What are the challenges with Inscriptions?**
The increased blockchain activity caused by inscriptions has been a major issue for many blockchains, most notably Bitcoin, where core developers are split on whether the development should be considered spam and banned or innovation and be supported. 

With Bitcoin and most chains, the issue is blockchain fees go up due to the increased demand for transactions. With Bitcoin, ETHscriptions, and Avalanche, this renders the blockchain almost unusable at points due to the already high costs of transactions. 

With other chains like TON, Arbitrum, and ZkSync, some of the infrastructure connected to the blockchains initially had issues dealing with processing transactions when inscriptions were launched due to the sudden increased load. In the worst case with Arbitrum, that caused a complete temporary network halt. 

TON also experienced growing pains as many network validators needed to account for the sudden growth in normal transaction volumes. This caused bandwidth limits to be reached, leading to congestion on the network as transactions were waiting to be confirmed. The TON Core Development Team acted swiftly, working with the network validators worldwide to unblock the transaction queue. These swift upgrades helped the inscriptions launch to continue without an issue. 

### **Why have Inscriptions surged in popularity?**
Despite the challenges, Inscriptions are surging across all chains for a few reasons: 

- **Novelty:** These tokens represent a new and innovative way to use blockchain technology, offering a unique token creation and management approach.
- **Lower Transaction Costs:** Inscription-based tokens are cheaper than tokens built using smart contracts on other blockchains.
- **Ease of creation:** Creating these tokens is more accessible to a wider range of people, somewhat similar to the concept of proof-of-work mining.
- **Speculative Appeal:** Like many cryptocurrency trends, there is a speculative element where investors are attracted to the potential for rapid value appreciation.


### **Why are Inscriptions coming to TON?**
Inscriptions have shown their potential to the blockchain community, with successful launches across many major chains. However, they need a particular type of high-performing blockchain to succeed because of the issues they have caused with transaction fees and network congestion.

**Firstly,** TON is a highly performant blockchain; as we saw in the World's Fastest Blockchain Record attempt, TON can hit up to 104,715 Transactions per second. This event didn't use the mainnet to avoid major disruptions to users in the event of failure; it used a testnet and a future upgrade of the TON Protocol, called the "Accelerator Upgrade." That being said, the world saw what TON was capable of with regard to scalability. This has been proven further on the Mainnet for the first time, reaching the 200 millionth transaction 15 days ago, and now on track to hit the 300 millionth in just 30 days. 

**Secondly,** TON has a fixed fee structure where fees remain stable no matter the load on the network. While TON was under peak load since inscriptions launched, fees have averaged a tiny $0.004 per transaction. 

**Thirdly,** TON has a unique integration into Telegram, enabling mini-apps built within Telegram to connect and use the TON blockchain. This gives TON projects a unique distribution channel. All 800 million Telegram users can easily access a TON wallet, buy TON, and make a TON-based transaction without ever leaving their daily messenger. This increases the reach of TON projects while massively improving the onboarding and end-user experience.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Network_1_fa653e6781/Network_1_fa653e6781.png) 
*Sources: EVM data[[1]](https://dune.com/hildobby/inscriptions),TON data[[1]](https://tonscan.org/stats),[[2]](https://t.me/dtonforum/3596/4579), Solana data[[1]](https://flipsidecrypto.xyz/marqu/solana-inscriptions-solana-inscriptions-asOTFY)*

### **What are the use cases for Inscriptions?**
Inscriptions are effectively unique tokens, so they have similar use cases to normal tokens based on smart contracts. 

**The two major uses for Inscriptions are:**

- **Fair Token Launch:** What is unique about inscriptions is the “Minting” process, unlike regular smart contract tokens, where the token creator controls the token distribution. Inscriptions are initially minted by the user in various quantities, and users only pay whatever the transaction fee is to mint. It means tokens are fairly distributed as users need to devote time and effort to mint a new Inscriptions token, and no user has an advantage over another in minting. This fair launch mechanism for token distribution could become a new standard for how projects initially launch their token. 

- **Collectibles or NFTs:** Inscriptions can also be used as NFTs because unique data like images and text can be attached to individual units of a cryptocurrency. This creates a distinct and immutable record on the blockchain and could provide a new avenue for digital art and media to be stored, authenticated, and traded. 


Inscriptions on TON: New Crypto Craze or Next-Gen Tokens?

## **Problem**
On December 5, after the launch of the TON-20 promo, the load on the blockchain increased rapidly, and the blockchain split into 11 shardchains.

The TON blockchain has a specific maximum amount of time to create new blocks. There are also other limits on block creation - maximum number of gas, maximum number of transactions, etc. The limit system is necessary.

In times of normal transaction volume, blocks include the number of transactions processed within the specified limits. When the load increases, the TON blockchain splits into shardchains, and the split must occur in one block. At this point, not only the state but also the message queue splits. It is essential to maintain the sequence of messages in the queue.

Around 18:00 UTC on December 5, two shardchains attempted to split under load, but the validators of these shardchains were not performing at a level required to bypass the message queue in the given time. This resulted in endless attempts to split, with the message queue only growing due to new messages.

Shardchain validators in TON periodically rotate, but the load and message queue increased so much that validators on productive hardware could not keep up with the limit.
Due to the resulting large queue, a similar problem occurred further when trying to merge some shardchains, and deleting already processed messages from the message queue became slow.

## **Impact**
From the evening of December 5 through December 8, there were periods when the transaction processing speed in some shardchains dropped to 1 TPS and periods when some shardchains did not make blocks at all.

## **Solution**
First, the team took actions to stabilize the situation and reduce the number of new messages. We asked the TON-20 project to suspend the promotional campaign and the services to suspend the ability to send messages if possible.

While there were still alternative ways to send new messages to the blockchain, this had some effect.

TON Core Development Team released a preliminary update with the limit changes and some optimizations.

The queue growth slowed down significantly.

### **Identified Issues**
#### **1. Validators hardware issues**
The global solution is to improve the penalty system for poorly performing validators, motivating all validators to work on productive hardware. We have planned this, but it will take time.
At the time of the incident, we just asked in the public channel validators with CPUs less than 15 to exit, which resulted in about 98 validators out of 342 voluntarily exiting validation.

Even though this situation should not happen, if it did, we need a mechanism to prevent the queue from growing, preventing the situation from worsening. We have made such a mechanism in the validator code update.

The repair time depends on the size of the message queue. Having made several updates to the validator code, we finally managed to achieve independence of block production from the queue size.

**Having promptly prepared an update of the validator code, we faced another problem:** Validators in the network were not ready to promptly update their validators; most validators are anonymous, and we needed to establish a communication channel with most of them. We made a public request for validators to get in contact.

After most validators had updated, the message queue was processed in full. Queue processing could be monitored in real-time on a public dashboard.

After that, the TON-20 project completed its mint, and new TON-20 projects began to launch. From December 9 to the current time, December 21, the network has processed over 75 million transactions.

#### **2. APIs, infrastructure, and 3rd party services**
Although many third-party API services experienced problems during the load, their work was restored within a few hours, indicating the absence of conceptual issues.

Some services and exchanges were not designed to work when the blockchain contained multiple shardchains. We provided the necessary consulting assistance to modernize their systems.

It also turns out that many popular products use public liteservers to access the blockchain, although public liteservers are made for a quick start and cannot guarantee high uptime. We've published the guidelines along with new hardware recommendations.
We believe that the heavy activity on the TON blockchain will continue and increase, so this is the moment for the developer community to adapt their products to the heavy load.

## **Summary**
This rapid and sudden increase in activity has uncovered places that need improvement in blockchain, infrastructure, and services. The changes described above have already been made, allowing all transactions sent by users to be processed, and there have been 75M such transactions in the last 11 days. 

However, improvements will continue - better penalties system for poor validators, validator hardware upgrades, improved external message delivery, and more. We found no omissions in the blockchain architecture. The TON architecture can process millions of transactions per second.

We thank the community for your patience and understanding. Despite the obstacles, we are moving towards mass adoption of decentralized technologies and cryptocurrencies.


Technical Report: December 5, Inscriptions Launch on TON

The biggest and most anticipated TON Virtual Machine (TVM) update is finally here! On June 5, 2023, we published an [article announcing the launch of this TVM update on Testnet](https://blog.ton.org/the-most-significant-tvm-update-so-far-extended-cryptography-arbitrary-precision-arithmetic-and-new-instructions). At the same time, we launched the [TVM Challenge](https://t.me/toncontests/116), a contest focused on discovering innovative use cases and features for TVM, with a total prize pool of 30,000 Toncoin.

After more than six months of intensive testing, dozens of completed bug bounties, and audits, we're excited to deploy the TVM update to TON Mainnet. The validators voted to activate the TVM update and updated their software on November 30. The new TVM functionality is enabled immediately. 

This update is poised to make TVM one of the most flexible and capable virtual machines for creating smart contracts, services, and products. 

## **TVM update in simple terms**
Simply put, we add to TON all cryptographic and hash primitives, which is required to support interactions with other blockchains:  SHA256, SHA512, BLAKE2B, secp256k1 and more.

Besides, TVM now also support modern and fast cryptography  BLS12-381 and Ristretto which are used for cutting edge ZKP protocols.

*Please note that this update doesn't directly affect you as a user in any way. It improves TON's functionality, versatility, and security but doesn't impact the user experience.* 

## **List of updates**

To take it a step further, we have added to TVM the widest possible range of cryptography methods:

- Hash functions over an unlimited number of bytes:
- SHA256 - OpenSSL implementation
- SHA512 - OpenSSL implementation
- BLAKE2B - OpenSSL implementation
- KECCAK256 - [Ethereum-compatible implementation](http://keccak.noekeon.org/)
- KECCAK512 - [Ethereum-compatible implementation](http://keccak.noekeon.org/)

**Cryptographic primitives on the following curves:**
- secp256k1 - Bitcoin/Ethereum signatures
- secp256r1 - useful for hardware wallets
- Ristretto - fast and safe operations on elliptic curves
- BLS12-381 - curve operations with pairing support

### **Other updates**

- New instructions to simplify writing smart contracts and security enhancements
- Ability to securely run TVM from inside TVM via RUNVM
- Opcodes to work with the new c7 values
- Support for arbitrary-precision arithmetics
- Stack operations
- New hash family of operations
- Updated functionality for sending messages

You can find the complete list of improvements [here](https://docs.ton.org/learn/tvm-instructions/tvm-upgrade-2023-07). 

We wanto to highlight the amazing work of  several TON community teams who already started building with the TVM, including  
[Tonnel Network](https://t.me/tonnel_en), [Redstone](https://redstone.finance/), [Evaa](https://t.me/evaaprotocol), [TON Teleport ](https://t.me/tonblockchain/201), and [Clean.ton](https://cleanton.org/). 

There were a lot of great ideas at the [TVM hackathon](https://blog.ton.org/tvm-challenge-is-here-with-over-54-000-in-rewards).


The Most Significant TVM Update Comes to Mainnet 

We teamed up with [OKX](https://www.okx.com/), the world's leading exchange and the first to list Toncoin, to bring you TONomania. TONomania is a series of simple events and activities where you can learn about TON, explore OKX, and win Toncoin prizes. 

TONomania is split into three phases, with the first phase kicking off today, December 14, 2023, and lasting until December 28, 2023. 

## **Learn & Earn on OKX**
The first activity will test your knowledge about TON, where you must complete KYC verification on your OKX account and pass the OKX App quiz.

TONomania is open to all new and existing OKX users without completed KYC verification from Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

 Existing users with completed KYC verification or those outside the abovementioned regions are not eligible to participate. [Full T&Cs are available here](https://www.okx.com/help/okx-learn-to-earn-with-okx-and-ton-the-open-network-event-rules). 

To boost your chances of completing the quiz, join us for today's AMA with Anthony Tsivarev, Director of Ecosystem Development at TON Foundation. The AMA goes live today, December 14, at 17:00 UTC; you can [join it here](https://t.me/okx_ru). 

**You can participate in the quiz from today, December 14, until December 28, 2023. After the activity, winners will equally split a prize pool of 8,000 TON! T&Cs apply.**

The details of the following two phases will be unveiled over the upcoming weeks during two more AMAs we have scheduled for you on December 18 and 21, 2023. All three sessions will be hosted on [OKX's official YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/OKXCryptoExchange) and [Telegram channels](https://t.me/okx_ru). 

<button href="https://okx.com/download?deeplink=okx%3A%2F%2Fexchange%2Flearn%2Fearn%3Fid%3D2" passutmsource="true">
  Download OKX and register today!
</button >
<br/> 


Join TONomania on OKX and Win!

As we’re nearing the end of the year, it’s a perfect time to review your security and audit your holdings. You should always go for the highest security standard while also keeping some usability; there’s no better solution than hardware wallets.

*“We’re delighted to bring support to TON on Ledger Wallets,” **says Carl Anderson, VP of Engineering at Ledger**. “The Open Network and Ledger share similar values when it comes to the right to privacy and the commitment to giving everyone freedom of money. Now, TON users can ensure they have access to uncompromising security as well as privacy. With direct access to the Telegram ecosystem via TON, this partnership also benefits millions of Ledger users.”*

Today, we’re excited to announce that you can now secure your [Toncoin](https://ton.org/) and other TON tokens on [Ledger hardware wallets](https://www.ledger.com/), giving you the confidence that the highest security standards protect your assets.

*"The importance of asset security cannot be overstated, and with Ledger, we are bringing the highest security standards to the entire TON community. Leveraging the robust security framework of Ledger devices, which are renowned for their user-friendly interface, we are thrilled to introduce TON to the world of secure hardware storage. This strategic integration is not just a milestone for TON; it also encourages Ledger users to explore the dynamic and thriving TON Ecosystem with confidence and ease," **said Anthony Tsivarev, Director of Ecosystem Development at TON Foundation**.*

This collaboration with Ledger confirms TON’s commitment to giving you absolute freedom of money and the best possible security. We’re one step closer to bringing TON to everyone’s pocket (don’t carry your Ledger in your pocket, please).

## **How to secure your Toncoin and TON tokens with Ledger devices**

In this quick guide from Ledger, we will give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to store and manage Toncoin and other TON tokens (Jettons) on your Ledger hardware wallet and MyTonWallet. You can also store your TON NFTs on Ledger devices, but they will not display in your wallet as this functionality is yet to be developed. 

Please note that creating a TON account directly in Ledger Live is currently impossible.

### **Before you start**

- [Download and install Ledger Live ](https://www.ledger.com/ledger-live/download) on your computer. You can learn more about how to get started with Ledger Live [here](https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404389503889?docs=true).
- Update the firmware of your Ledger [Nano S](https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002731113) / [Nano S Plus](https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/4445777839901?docs=true) / [Nano X](https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013349800).

### **Video instructions**

<video autoPlay loop playsInline preload="auto" muted style="border-radius:16px; max-width: 776px; width: 100%"><source src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/How_to_store_and_manage_TON_with_your_Ledger_device_60bfbffda3/How_to_store_and_manage_TON_with_your_Ledger_device_60bfbffda3.mp4" type="video/mp4" /></video>


### Install the TON Network (TON) app on your Ledger device

1. Open Ledger Live and navigate to My Ledger tab.
2. Connect and unlock your Ledger device.
3. If asked, allow the My Ledger on your device.
4. Search for the TON app in the app catalog.
5. Click the Install button to install the app on your Ledger device

- Your Ledger device displays Installing.
- Ledger Live displays Installed.

- You're all set!

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Pic_1_ledger_878da0c19d/Pic_1_ledger_878da0c19d.png) 

### Connect your Ledger device to the MyTonWallet app

1. Go to mytonwallet.io and install the MyTonWallet extension for your Chrome browser or download the desktop client.

- Note that this tutorial will focus on the browser extension, but the steps for the desktop client are similar.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Pic_2_Ledger_10a2c82704/Pic_2_Ledger_10a2c82704.png) 

2. Once installed, open the extension and click on the 'Import from Ledger' button.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/pic_3_ledger_638de61080/pic_3_ledger_638de61080.png) 


3. When the MyTonWallet app displays the 'Connect Ledger' screen, open the TON app on your Ledger device using its buttons. You should see 'TON is ready' on your Ledger device screen. Then, click on the 'Continue' button in the MyTonWallet app.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/pic_4_ledger_980c63390d/pic_4_ledger_980c63390d.png) 

4. In the pop-up window that appears, select your Ledger device and click 'Connect'.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/PIC_5_LEDGER_db6f78c9c3/PIC_5_LEDGER_db6f78c9c3.png) 


5. MyTonWallet should now display 'Ledger Connected!' Click on 'Continue'.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/PIC_6_LEDGER_0a590f1699/PIC_6_LEDGER_0a590f1699.png) 


6. Next, select a TON account from the list provided and click 'Add'.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/PIC_7_LEDGER_ed6de6e4f7/PIC_7_LEDGER_ed6de6e4f7.png) 


7. Once you reach the dashboard, click on the 'Receive' button and copy your Ledger TON address.

- You can now use this address to receive TON coins and TON tokens (called jettons) into your Ledger account.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/PIC_8_LEDGER_b44e05899e/PIC_8_LEDGER_b44e05899e.png) 






TON Is Coming to Ledger Hardware Wallets


Following our previous [TON Innovators interview with Evaa Protocol](https://blog.ton.org/ton-innovators-evaa-protocol), we’re bringing another interview from the series today. However, for this one, we picked a bit lighter subject. 

They have no website, no roadmap, not even a whitepaper. It’s the latest meme coin that took the TON Ecosystem by storm, successfully onboarding over 470,000 players since its launch less than a month ago, thanks to its competitive and gamified experience. We’ve talked to Notcoin, and here’s what they had to say. 

*This interview is for educational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not an investment advice.*

## **TON Innovators - Notcoin**
**Can you introduce Notcoin to our readers? What is the core concept behind this Telegram-based game?**

Notcoin is probably nothing. 
<br/><br/>
<br/><br/>

**Thank you for the interview.**

TON Innovators: Notcoin

We often talk about the native token of The Open Network, Toncoin (TON). But did you know there are dozens of tokens and coins besides TON? 

The Open Network is not just about promoting digital ownership and bringing blockchain to Telegram; it’s also focused on developing real-world Web3 use cases within its ecosystem. A key area of focus is Decentralized Finance (DeFi), which hinges on the ability to create different fungible and non-fungible tokens (Jettons and Collectibles) on the blockchain. 

TON offers the ideal environment for creating and using all types of digital tokens, ensuring you have full control and can maximize value within the ecosystem.

## J**ettons**
[The TON Jetton token standard](https://t.me/tonblockchain/112), finalized in March 2022, allows developers to create their own unique cryptocurrencies, known as ‘Jettons,’ on TON Blockchain. Just as Ethereum supports various tokens like SHIBA, USDT, and USDC alongside its native ETH, TON Blockchain, with Toncoin (TON) as its native asset, hosts a range of unique jettons such as PUNK, [BOLT](https://huebel.art/), and STON.

Jettons on TON have various use cases beyond acting as transactional mediums or simple monetary assets, including:

- **Ecosystem development:** Jettons are crucial in building micro-ecosystems around various products within the TON Ecosystem, fostering more cohesive and engaged communities centered around shared interests.
- **User incentivization:** They incentivize user participation in projects, rewarding engagement and contribution to the TON project community.
- **Rights representation:** Jettons can represent more than monetary value; they might symbolize rights like access to specific services or shares in a project. For example, PUNK allows you to participate in closed tournaments within [TON Punks](https://tonpunks.org/), whereas [STON](https://ston.fi/) lets you hold exclusive digital Collectibles.

[TON App](https://ton.app/jettons) provides a comprehensive list for those interested in exploring jettons on TON. It offers insights into trading volumes, price fluctuations, and coin distribution. TON Ecosystem anticipates the introduction of many more Jettons soon, especially in areas like NFT gaming and TON-based services. 

This expansion is being made even easier by the launch of [Tokenova](https://tokenova.fi/), a user-friendly, no-code Jetton self-launch platform on TON.

### **Buy Jettons**
Purchasing Jettons is straightforward and fast. You can buy them directly within Telegram via [TON Space](https://t.me/wallet_news/169) using [Wallet in Telegram](https://t.me/wallet), or through various exchanges, including [STON.fi](https://ston.fi/) or [DeDust](https://dedust.io/).

### **Store Jettons**
Storing TON Jettons has become even more user-friendly; they can now be directly stored in major TON wallets like [Tonkeeper](https://tonkeeper.com/) and [TON Space](https://t.me/wallet) in Telegram. This approach is much more convenient than platforms like MetaMask, where you must manually import all your wrapped tokens.

## **Collectibles**
Unlike jettons, which are fungible, Collectibles are unique or ‘non-fungible’ digital assets. These assets can vary from digital art to rare items, each possessing distinct characteristics and value. Collectibles grant users complete ownership rights over the items they represent. For example, each Telegram username and virtual phone number available on [Fragment](https://fragment.com/) counts as a unique digital Collectible.

Collectibles within the TON Ecosystem are more than just pieces of digital art; they offer a range of functionalities, including:

- **Trading utility:** Collectibles act as tradeable digital assets, enabling users to buy, sell, and exchange them within the TON Ecosystem.
- **Exclusive access:** Collectibles can grant special privileges like ticketing or access to exclusive events.
- **Gaming integration:** These tokens can be used in GameFi, allowing players to interact with blockchain-based games on TON.

TON supports two advanced NFT standards besides the usual Collectible formats: the [Soulbound Token](https://github.com/ton-blockchain/TEPs/blob/master/text/0085-sbt-standard.md) (SBT) and the [Compressed NFT](https://github.com/ton-blockchain/TEPs/pull/126) (cNFT). [SBTs](https://github.com/ton-blockchain/TEPs/blob/master/text/0085-sbt-standard.md) are non-transferable tokens ideal for social permissions or certifications, such as marketplace discounts or university certificates.

Meanwhile, the cNFT standard, featured in [Egg Fight Club](https://t.me/egg_fight_demo_bot) on [Getgems](https://getgems.io/), supports the creation of massive NFT collections, accommodating up to a billion elements, making it especially suitable for gaming competitions.

TON Ecosystem offers many [NFT marketplaces and services](https://ton.app/nftservices). The simplest way to buy Collectibles on TON is through leading marketplaces like [TON Diamonds](https://ton.diamonds/) or GetGems. Here, you can effortlessly connect your TON wallet to make purchases. You can also directly store your Collectibles in all major TON wallets, including Tonkeeper and TON Space.

## **Conclusion**
Tokens, both fungible and non-fungible, are essential to the TON Ecosystem. TON’s Telegram-based user-friendly interfaces for purchasing and storing digital assets and its diverse marketplace options reflect its mission to democratize digital ownership and put crypto in every pocket. 

As the network continues to expand and evolve, the potential and utility of these tokens are expected to grow, creating exciting opportunities for both users and developers.



A Short Introduction to Tokens on The Open Network

[The Gateway](https://tongateway.org/), The Open Network’s inaugural in-person conference held in Dubai this November, was a key turning point for the TON Community. With over 500 enthusiasts, developers, investors, and thought leaders in attendance, the event demonstrated the community’s dedication to putting crypto in every pocket by building a Telegram Web3 SuperApp.

Over the past year, the TON Ecosystem has made remarkable progress. Highlights include the launch of the self-custodial TON Space within Wallet on Telegram, streamlining tApp onboarding, gaining priority access to Telegram Ads, setting a global TPS record, and maintaining network stability without any outages for two consecutive years. These efforts have translated into more than 20 successful professional audits and a 40-fold increase in accounts since November 2021.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Untitled_design_2_bd597ba45b/Untitled_design_2_bd597ba45b.png) 

This recap updates TON Community members on the latest announcements from The Gateway that showcase our ongoing success and demonstrate how TON is on track to onboard 500 million users within the next 3-5 years.

## **Community Announcements**
TON Community is the foundation of The Open Network, with blockchain development led by a decentralized, open-source team guided by a community-driven philosophy. During The Gateway conference, numerous announcements highlighting the community’s central role were made:

- **The Open League:** [Jack Booth](https://twitter.com/jbfxdotme), Head of Marketing at TON Foundation, has proposed launching [The Open League](http://ton.vote/EQCb8dxevgHhBnsTodJKXaCrafplHzAHf1V2Adj0GVlhA5xI/proposal/EQA5eyWDAAegbL5Ay1CfelGG3yY9Ow7bgpfocTV6KDt9zeIl). This initiative is a gamified incentive program where users earn tokens and experience points that can be exchanged for Toncoin. The program aims to onboard and engage Telegram users using community-led mini-apps and participatory governance.
- **TON Society:** The ecosystem’s new on-chain, decentralized social network, [TON Society](https://society.ton.org/), will be supported by The Open League’s incentive structure. It is integrated with Telegram through Wallet and uses transparent P2P transactions, providing users with digital identity, reputation, and ownership.
- **Community Incentives:** A new community incentives program specifically designed to secure long-term liquidity by offering more recycling options within the ecosystem. It will allocate $25 million in strategic funding to support critical protocols with a focus on emerging verticals, including SocialFi, DeFi, and GameFi.
- **APAC Initiative:** A new strategic direction for TON with a strong focus on the growing Asian market. This approach includes partnering with prominent local entities, including MEXC and Alibaba Cloud. The objective is to empower Asian Web3 developers to engage with global businesses through Telegram Mini Apps and TON Ecosystem solutions.
- **TON Gaming Alliance:** The official launch of the [TON Gaming Alliance](https://ton.org/gamefi), a program designed to revitalize Web3 gaming and make it mainstream using TON-Telegram infrastructure. This initiative will offer developers comprehensive support throughout all stages of game creation, including technical guidance and financial assistance, enabling them to optimize their games by leveraging Telegram.
- **Accelerator Program:** In collaboration with [Hashkey](https://twitter.com/hashkeygroup?lang=en), TON Foundation has unveiled a new Accelerator and Incubation Program aimed at helping entrepreneurs build strong on-chain businesses. This program will offer a range of support services, including mentorship, product and marketing guidance, community-building strategies, security auditing, and funding.
- **Kucoin Grant Program:** In collaboration with TON Foundation, KuCoin has announced the start of a grants program designed to help Web3 developer teams build products for the Telegram Web3 SuperApp.

## **Product Announcements**
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/4_Y5_A8751_53c4efacea/4_Y5_A8751_53c4efacea.jpg) 

A key priority for TON is to ensure that both the blockchain and the SuperApp provide practical use cases for Web2 users. This involves a dedicated focus on creating tangible products that meet user needs. At The Gateway, several important new product launches were unveiled: 

- **Wallet x Telegram:** [The Open Platform (TOP)](https://twitter.com/topdotco) announced the global rollout of Wallet and TON Space within the Telegram settings menu. This update will make Wallet available for all Telegram users, regardless of their previous registration with Wallet, and is set to achieve worldwide coverage by Q2 2024. This rollout positions Wallet as an essential tool for Web3 developers and will be accompanied by significant advancements in Wallet Pay and TON Connect technology.
- **TON Scan:** Gunnar Grimnes, CEO of [Bakken & Bæck](https://twitter.com/bakkenbaeck), officially announced the launch of [TON Scan](https://tonscan.com/), offering a comprehensive index of TON from its inception to the present. This tool allows users to explore transactions, jettons, and NFTs across the network.
- **TON Lending Protocol:** The launch of a new TON-collateralized lending product was announced by Issa Zhang, Investment Manager at [MEXC](https://twitter.com/MEXC_Official), that will allow users to borrow up to 300K USDT using $1M worth of TON as collateral.
- **TON Market Makers:** [Tal Kol](https://twitter.com/koltal) from [Orbs](https://twitter.com/orbs_network) announced a new initiative with [STON.fi](https://twitter.com/ston_fi) aimed at enhancing users' token-buying experience and transaction processes. This program intends to connect Telegram users with various TON projects and attract market makers from EVM platforms to the TON Ecosystem.
- **TON Diamonds:** Building on their record-setting achievements in NFT sales and volumes, [TON Diamonds](https://twitter.com/TonDiamonds) is focused on becoming the premier ecosystem NFT marketplace.

## **Development Announcements**
 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Gh497_f39d7d3db9/Gh497_f39d7d3db9.jpg) 

At The Gateway, speakers highlighted TON Ecosystem’s unique appeal to Web3 developers, offering exclusive access to Telegram’s 800-million-user audience. Currently, the TON developer community on Telegram has over 11,000 members, with 180 active developers on GitHub and a portfolio of more than 230 active projects on the network. Significant announcements related to the development community included:

- **TON Stablecoin Toolkit:** A new suite for developing TON-based stablecoins.
- **Gasless Transactions:** A feature allowing users to execute transactions without incurring gas fees. 
- **Updated FunC & Tact Languages:** Enhanced versions of TON’s programming languages for improved smart contract development and execution.
- **TON Teleport:** A new cross-chain technology that eliminates intermediaries and private keys.
- **TON Bridge:** Upcoming expansions to TON Bridge that will include support for Jettons, Ether, and other new coins and networks.
- **TON Payments:** Instant and zero-fee microtransactions as a Layer 2 payment network.
- **TON Proxy:** A garlic routing technology designed to provide TON users with privacy while browsing the web.
- **TON Storage:** A full-fledged file storage service within the TON Ecosystem.
- **TON Browser:** A complete TON-based web browser scheduled for release in 2024.
- **TonTech Audit Program:** A professional smart contract audit service examining solution codes to ensure their security, functionality, and efficiency.
- **Bug Bounty Program:** An initiative offering rewards of up to $100,000 in Toncoin for identifying critical vulnerabilities in TON Blockchain’s code, main services, and smart contracts.
- **Telegram Ads Program:** A program offering funding to promising projects funding and access to Telegram's advertising services.

The Gateway represented a significant milestone for the TON Community, emphasizing its dedication to promoting crypto mass adoption and ensuring real digital ownership on TON Blockchain. 

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Gh256_e94d8d55ba/Gh256_e94d8d55ba.jpg) 

Looking ahead, our community’s objectives are straightforward: attract developers to the ecosystem with TON’s infrastructure and Telegram’s distribution network and continue building the Telegram Web3 SuperApp.



The Gateway Rewind

[Anton Trunov](https://github.com/anton-trunov), a prominent blockchain developer recognized for his work on blockchain-oriented programming languages, is joining the TON Foundation to focus on [TON's Tact language](https://blog.ton.org/why-tact-is-ton-s-next-big-breakthrough). Trunov is not just another hire; it's a strategic move signaling a new era for Tact, TON's innovative smart contract development language.

In the past, Anton worked on Zilliqa and Fuel ecosystems, where he played a key role in shaping the Scilla and Sway smart contract languages. His expertise and work reflect a deep understanding of blockchain technology and innovative programming languages. Anton also has a strong academic background and has co-authored several papers on language design and verification.

We welcome Anton to the team and believe that his contributions will shape the development of [TON ](https://ton.org/)and provide developers building on Tact with unparalleled ease of use and robustness, making it a go-to language for blockchain developers. Anton's joining marks a milestone for the TON Foundation and the Tact language. His track record promises an exciting future for Tact, solidifying TON's position as a leader in the Web3 market. 

As we welcome Anton, we also want to extend our deepest gratitude to the initial creators of Tact, [Oleg Andreev](https://github.com/oleganza), [Steve Korshakov](https://github.com/ex3ndr), [Tal Kol](https://github.com/talkol), and [Kirill Emelyanenko](https://github.com/EmelyanenkoK). Their vision and efforts have been fundamental in bringing Tact to where it is today, and their legacy continues with Anton's fresh perspective and expertise.

## **Tact: The Next Frontier**
Tact, accessible at [tact-lang.org](https://tact-lang.org/), represents the next generation of smart contract languages. It's designed to be at the forefront of the blockchain revolution, and with Anton's addition to the team, Tact is poised to become the industry's most user-friendly smart contract language.

Under Anton's guidance, Tact comes with a new development roadmap. This roadmap is not just a plan but also an invitation for collaboration. We encourage the TON community, developers, and enthusiasts to follow Tact's development and contribute to further refining it. Your voice matters, and you can make it heard at [Tact Language Roadmap](https://github.com/tact-lang/roadmap), where we welcome all your feedback.

## **The Tact Roadmap**
This is just a brief overview of the items on Anton’s new Tact Roadmap. Please see the link at the end of this article for a detailed view.

- **Security Audit:** Collaborating with experts to ensure Tact's security, particularly addressing FunC's security as Tact transpiles into it. This includes resolving code execution issues and thorough penetration testing.
- **Language Enhancements:**
    - Introduction of typed tuples and enums for more expressive smart contracts.
    - Arrays implementation, improving upon the current workaround using maps.
    - Enhanced handling of low-level constructs like Slice and Cell.
    - Local type inference and improved support for nullable types.
    - Advanced map functionalities, including traversals and better deletion syntax.
    - New stateful operators and syntactic sugar for smoother coding.
    - Improved error reporting for both syntactic and semantic errors.
- **Contract Upgradeability:** Implementing a standardized mechanism for contract and family upgrades.
- **Gas Optimization:** Aiming to reduce gas consumption for both user-written code and the Tact runtime.
- **Development Tooling:** Focusing primarily on the VS Code plugin and developing a standalone LSP server for broader editor compatibility.
- **Documentation Enhancement:** Expanding Tact documentation with chapters for beginners, best practices, and common issues. Community contributions are encouraged and facilitated by our Grants and Bounties program.
- **Security Audit Tools:** Developing automated tools for security audits, including static analyzers and tools for model checking and symbolic execution. Community input is sought for these tools, focusing on the unique challenges of the actor model in TON.

To dive deep into the details, please visit [The Tact Roadmap on GitHub](https://github.com/tact-lang/roadmap).



Anton Trunov Joins TON Foundation and Presents a New Tact Roadmap

The [TON Accelerator Mentorship Program](https://ton.org/accelerator) is designed to guide and support builders and developers within the TON Ecosystem to help them build better products, attract audiences, and increase their profitability. It’s powered by a network of seasoned experts and innovators, and now you can become one of them. 

Our mentors offer their rich experience across diverse fields, voluntarily dedicate their time and expertise, and foster the growth of [TON](https://ton.org/) startups by offering a range of opportunities. 

## **Unparalleled support for early-stage projects**
As a mentor, you decide in what shape or form you will help projects grow, but we’re mainly looking for mentors who can provide: 

- **Expert guidance** based on personal experience and deep industry knowledge, offering valuable advice tailored to the challenges faced by individual projects
- **New connections**, facilitated through networking, help projects form beneficial relationships and connections within the industry
- **Deep industry insights** to provide a comprehensive understanding of market trends, challenges, and opportunities to ensure projects are well-equipped to navigate the Web3 landscape. 

<button href="https://society.ton.org/become-a-ton-accelerator-mentor" passutmsource="true">
  Apply Now
</button >
<br/>


## **Our Goal: Fostering Ecosystem Growth**
Our mission is to curate a diverse group of experts committed to driving the [TON Ecosystem](https://ton.org/) forward. This mentorship program is designed to leverage these professionals' collective knowledge and experience to provide startups with unmatched guidance and support. By helping them navigate challenges, optimize growth, and achieve their potential, we aim to solidify TON's position as a hub of innovation and success.

Help us by becoming a part of the program and applying now. We carefully review each application and process them as fast as possible. The onboarding process couldn’t be any simpler, and our team will ensure you’re fully briefed on everything you need to know. 

If you apply and receive the invitation to join the program, you will be invited to a Mentor Induction Session, where the team gives you a comprehensive introduction to the program’s processes, goals, and roles. You will then have the opportunity to choose your preferred mode of interaction and meet with other mentors and the program team regularly to discuss feedback, interests, and learnings. 


## **Benefits of being a TON mentor**
Being a mentor in the [TON Accelerator Program](https://ton.org/accelerator) is not just about giving. In return, the team behind the accelerator will help you grow your knowledge and connections. 

- **Networking & Growth:** You will gain access to an expansive network of professionals, founders, investors, and innovators. This allows you to refine and expand the power of your network and meet interesting people, including potential future business partners. 
- **Visibility:** As a TON Mentor, you will gain exposure to the entire TON community through partnerships, AMAs, and promotions highlighting your valued contributions. 
- **Exclusive Events:** You will enjoy invitations to exclusive events from TON Foundation and its partners, private seminars and gatherings, along with potential paid opportunities to monetize your expertise. 

- **Other Benefits & Perks**


**Are you ready to help us build the biggest Web3 ecosystem in the world?**

<button href="https://society.ton.org/become-a-ton-accelerator-mentor" passutmsource="true">
  Apply Now
</button >
<br/>

Become a Mentor for the TON Accelerator Mentorship Program

In a Web3 realm, The Open Network (TON) emerges as a fertile ground for innovators, developers, and dreamers united by a common quest: to redefine the boundaries of what's possible in the decentralized world. The heartbeat of this thriving ecosystem is our community, a collective force driving projects that reimagine how we interact with technology and each other. As the narrative of innovation unfolds, the spotlight often shines on the end products, leaving the remarkable journeys and the minds behind them in the shadows.

But no more.

Welcome to "TON Innovators," a fresh new content series dedicated to celebrating the human essence and ingenious minds driving the evolution of the TON Ecosystem. Through interviews with project visionaries, developers, and other members of the TON community, we delve into the stories, challenges, and motivations that fuel the continuous cycle of creation and growth within the TON Ecosystem. 

Each episode of "TON Innovators" offers a unique lens through which we explore the impact and vision of those building on TON. Our conversations aim to bridge the space between the technical and the personal, providing a deeper understanding and appreciation of the human element at the heart of TON's technological progress.

Let's get to the premiere interview of TON Innovators without any further ado. Today, we're exploring the [EVAA Protocol](https://evaa.finance/), the first decentralized lending protocol on TON that lets users lend or borrow assets without going to a centralized intermediary.

# **TON Innovators - EVAA Protocol**
*This interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement, approval, or recommendation of the project. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TON Foundation. This is not an investment advice.*

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Firefox_Screenshot_2023_11_13_T15_25_07_890_Z_f04184fc6d/Firefox_Screenshot_2023_11_13_T15_25_07_890_Z_f04184fc6d.png) 

**Can you briefly explain EVAA protocol to us? What is your core product?**

The EVAA protocol is a pioneering decentralized lending platform on the TON blockchain. Our core product is a lending protocol that allows users to lend and borrow digital assets without the need for a central intermediary. It harnesses the power of smart contracts to offer secure, transparent, and accessible transactions.

The protocol is designed to work seamlessly within the TON ecosystem and offers an intuitive user experience through integration with Telegram Messenger.


**Please explain the idea behind decentralized lending. What does it mean, and what are the benefits?**

Decentralized lending is a concept where borrowing and lending of assets occur directly between parties without the involvement of traditional institutions. This approach leverages blockchain technology to create a trustless environment where smart contracts replace intermediaries.

The benefits are manifold: it ensures greater transparency, lower fees, faster transactions, and accessibility to a broader range of participants. This approach also expands the availability of various services to communities lacking traditional economic support, while diminishing the likelihood of censorship or domination by any single organization.

 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/ton-strapi/Screenshot_2023_11_13_at_16_25_15_Evaa_The_first_decentralized_lending_protocol_on_TON_856d17b61d/Screenshot_2023_11_13_at_16_25_15_Evaa_The_first_decentralized_lending_protocol_on_TON_856d17b61d.png) 

**Let’s talk about your team. Who are the founders, and what led you to create EVAA?**

The team behind [EVAA](https://evaa.finance/), comprising innovators and developers, recognized the need for a more flexible and transparent lending system in the DeFi space. Inspired by the capabilities of the TON blockchain, they set out to develop tools for more effective decentralized economic governance.

**Does your team have previous blockchain experience, or is this your first project?**

We have a solid foundation in blockchain technology and DeFi. The development of such a platform typically requires experience and a deep understanding of blockchain mechanics, security, and smart contract development.

**Out of curiosity, why the name EVAA?**

We like to say that we bring the opposite experience of AAVE. We bring the simplest and fastest experience in DeFi to Telegram. 

**Why should I choose EVAA and not one of its competitors?**

Choosing EVAA over competitors comes down to several key differentiators. First, our integration with the TON blockchain, known for its high-speed and eco-friendly transactions, allows for a more efficient and scalable DeFi experience.

Additionally, EVAA's user-centric design, which prioritizes simplicity and security, makes it accessible to both seasoned DeFi enthusiasts and newcomers. Moreover, our upcoming features, such as the release of our SDK, will enable even more innovative and flexible tools, keeping us at the cutting edge of DeFi.


**Now, let’s talk about TON. What led you to build on TON?**

TON's advanced blockchain technology offers unparalleled scalability and a user-friendly environment, which align perfectly with EVAA's mission to democratize economic empowerment for everyone. The network's capability to handle high transaction throughput means our users can enjoy a fast and smooth experience.

TON's commitment to sustainability and widespread adoption through Telegram also provide a solid foundation for reaching a broad and diverse user base.

**These days, it’s all about Telegram-integrated apps. Do you plan to integrate EVAA into Telegram?**

Absolutely, integration with Telegram is not just a plan—it's a cornerstone of our strategy. EVAA is designed to work hand in hand with Telegram through mini apps, which positions us at the forefront of user experience in the DeFi lending and borrowing sector. This integration allows users to manage their assets within the familiar interface of Telegram, simplifying the process and ensuring that the experience is smooth, accessible, and efficient.

We believe that by embedding EVAA within Telegram, we're not just following a trend; we're setting a new standard for convenience and user engagement in the DeFi world.


**Thank you for the interview. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers? Any major plans, new products, or events?**

We're thrilled to share that EVAA is continually evolving. Our roadmap includes expanding multi-asset collateral options and enhancing our risk assessment algorithms to provide even safer lending options. Keep an eye out for our community events and upcoming platform updates.

We're dedicated to empowering our users with the most advanced tools in DeFi and are excited about what the future holds with EVAA and the TON.


TON Innovators: EVAA Protocol

Blockchain technology has been a game-changer in the digital world, and [The Open Network (TON) has now set a new world record for the fastest blockchain](https://blog.ton.org/speed-of-tomorrow-ton-is-the-worlds-fastest-blockchain) with a speed of 104,715 transactions per second. We set this record during our live stream on October 31, which you can now [rewatch on our YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/live/jWWl1sLGY7s?si=gv40MCJWPJo57APc). 

This record-breaking achievement allows us to explore new opportunities where TON's speed could revolutionize various sectors. It’s no secret that the main challenge of Web3 is to provide real-world use cases and bridge the worlds of Web3 and Web2. With [TON](https://ton.org/) Blockchain technology, we have the infrastructure to do just that. 

In this article, we’ll explore six real-world use cases that showcase the transformative potential of the world's fastest blockchain.

## **SuperApp**
Imagine a single platform that hosts countless services — from instant messaging and social networking to decentralized finance (DeFi) and e-commerce. All are powered by TON's infinitely scalable blockchain infrastructure. The SuperApp would be the ultimate portal to Web3, enabling hundreds of millions of users to perform billions of transactions, all in a user-friendly and seamless Telegram environment. 

[TON’s architecture](https://blog.ton.org/the-architecture-behind-the-open-network) could support an entire digital economy, providing a seamless user experience akin to popular Web2 applications but with the added benefits of decentralization, actual digital ownership, and censorship resistance. 

## **Gaming**
The gaming industry can benefit from TON's speed to build in-game economies that rival the real world. Thanks to TON’s unique architecture, game developers can deploy their own customized workchains with minimum or no fees and allow their players to experience smooth gameplay without overloading other TON workchains. 

TON's capabilities allow developers to create more complex game designs and economic models, which can transform the gaming experience. 

## **Payment Infrastructure**
With TON, individuals and businesses can execute financial transactions globally with the assurance of speed and reduced costs. TON could redefine remittances, payroll processing, and e-commerce, ensuring that transactions, regardless of size, are completed in a fraction of the time and minimum fees taken by traditional financial systems. 

The speed and scalability of TON can promote financial inclusivity by enabling microtransactions for the unbanked population, thus democratizing access to the digital economy.

## **Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) & DeFi**
TON's transaction speed can kickstart a revolution in decentralized trading. High-frequency trading, a domain limited primarily to centralized exchanges due to technical constraints, can now thrive in a decentralized environment. 

This capability can significantly reduce slippage and ensure market stability, fostering an equitable trading environment that is accessible to all.

## **Supply Chain Management**
Developers can leverage TON’s infrastructure to create transparent and efficient supply chains. By enabling real-time tracking and immediate settlement of transactions, TON can reduce operational costs, prevent fraud, and ensure the authenticity of products. 

This use case is particularly relevant for industries that rely on complex logistics, such as pharmaceuticals, where tracking the route of goods is crucial.

## **IoT Networks**
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network where billions of devices communicate and transact autonomously. TON's immense transaction speed makes it the best candidate for managing these networks, allowing machine-to-machine communications to operate smoothly and reliably. 

This can lead to smarter cities, more responsive and stable energy grids, and a new level of interaction between digital services and the physical world.



# **TON's Blueprint for Web3**
TON’s groundbreaking transaction speed is not just an impressive technical achievement; it represents a leap towards a future where blockchain is a core component of our everyday digital lives. 

The use cases outlined above only scratch the surface of TON's possibilities, and there will be dozens of new use cases, some of them not even discovered yet. 

TON's commitment to growth, innovation, and community will remain the driving force behind its evolution. TON is well-positioned to lead widespread blockchain adoption. The potential of TON to unite not just blockchains but also Web2 into a cohesive, decentralized ecosystem is now closer than ever.

In conclusion, TON stands at the forefront of blockchain innovation, breaking barriers and setting new standards. Its proven capability to process transactions at the speed of light paves the way for a future where blockchain technology is not just a niche interest but a cornerstone of the global digital infrastructure. As we continue to build on this momentum, we eagerly anticipate the TON Community to explore new ways in which TON will shape the digital landscape of tomorrow.
