The Gateway, 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.

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, Head of Marketing at TON Foundation, has proposed launching The Open League. 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, 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, 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, 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

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) 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, officially announced the launch of TON Scan, 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, that will allow users to borrow up to 300K USDT using $1M worth of TON as collateral.
• TON Market Makers: Tal Kol from Orbs announced a new initiative with 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 is focused on becoming the premier ecosystem NFT marketplace.

Development Announcements

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.

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.