TON Innovators: TADA Mini

Today, we’re excited to release the next installment in our ‘TON Innovators’ series. This time, the spotlight is on TADA mini, a ride-hailing application that improves how people book rides by offering an intuitive, blockchain-powered experience directly within Telegram.

TADA Mini connects its network of approximately 300,000 drivers to the Telegram platform. Toncoin users can easily book rides through Tonkeeper and receive instant refunds for cancellations or other app-related inconveniences. The service was introduced in Singapore at the beginning of September, perfectly timed to provide convenient transportation for the much-awaited Token 2049 event. TADA organized a referral event to mark the launch, giving away token rewards for users engaging with chatbots, following social media channels, and inviting friends.

TADA Mini offers real-time ride-hailing and mission features, all easily accessible through this link: https://t.me/TADA_Ride_Bot.

Now, let’s get to the 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: TADA Mini

Welcome to TON Innovators, TADA. You released TADA mini just in time for the Token-2049 event. Was it your plan to launch it during TOKEN2049?

When TADA first launched in 2018, we used token rewards to attract drivers and build a strong driver community on Telegram. Today, we have established a platform that supports the livelihoods of over 300,000 drivers.

However, on the rider side, it was challenging at the time to educate Web2 riders about blockchain wallets and encourage them to use tokens for rides. As a result, it was difficult to introduce utility for token use during rides.

Therefore, we shifted our focus from educating regular passengers to targeting users already familiar with Web3. We eventually envisioned building a separate Web3 version of TADA's ride-hailing service.

With the introduction of wallet functionality in Telegram in 2024, we realized that a robust infrastructure had been created, allowing many users to easily use tokens. Since many Web3 users use Telegram, we thought we could bring TADA into the TON ecosystem. As a result, over the past four months, we rapidly developed TADA Mini, targeting Token2049, where many global Web3 users participate.

TADA is a global ride-hailing platform operating in Southeast Asia. What drove you to launch TADA Mini as a Telegram app, and how did you see the potential of this platform for such a project?

First of all, by leveraging the Telegram platform, we can connect with its 1 billion user base, which holds potential as a source of trip demand. Geographically, this also aligns well with TADA’s drivers who operate in the SEA region.

From a user experience perspective, it’s incredibly convenient that anyone can simply connect the mini app in the chat window and easily request a vehicle whenever needed. we found this UX structure to be very user-friendly.

Moreover, we believe that TADA Mini aligns with TON Foundation's vision of “putting crypto in every pocket.” As more people start holding crypto in their pocket, we believe more Web3 users will use their tokens via TADA Mini when traveling.

Tell us more about the team behind TADA Mini. What are their backgrounds and expertise that contribute to the project's success?

MVL Group, the parent company of TADA, started in 2018 with the vision of revolutionizing the mobility scene with blockchain.

It was initially a small team, but thanks to the growth of TADA and others, it now has about 300 talented people from various fields in 7 countries worldwide. Looking at their background, they are active in mobility services, vehicle manufacturing, energy, and data, and in particular, they all work together with a single mission in blockchain projects.

In the blockchain sector, they have mainly focused on work for driver Web3 onboarding. These include multi-chain wallets and DeFI products for drivers, DePIN data maps that provide better routes through data analysis, and Vehicle RWA, which provides reasonably priced vehicles to drivers.

Although various products have been developed, they were mainly products for the 300,000 TADA drivers active in our ecosystem, not those used by the general public.

However, the newly launched TADA Mini targets all global Web3 users and can provide a new token utility in the real world to all Web3 projects. I think this is a very powerful feature that only TADA, which has a real business, can provide. Therefore, in the future, we plan to be more active in the blockchain scene based on TADA Mini.

What sets TADA Mini apart from other projects in the TON and Telegram space? What unique features or benefits does it offer to users?

The current blockchain scene is growing rapidly in areas the public can easily access online, such as games and memes. However, we believe that various services that combine real life and crypto should be launched in the future.

In this regard, TADA Mini differentiates itself from other projects because it can use ride-sharing services in real life. In the future, TADA Mini will provide powerful functions as real-life utility to various Web3 projects and numerous users in the TON ecosystem.

In addition, we are considering a direction to cooperate more closely with trendy features such as games and memes. For example, during the approximately 30 minutes that a passenger sits in a taxi and rides, the idea of ​​users simply accessing a mini-game and receiving game coin rewards or ride discounts can be realized.

If we make these types of ideas more concrete, we can introduce various win-win functions for both the project and the users.

How have users responded to TADA Mini so far? What are some of the most common feedback or suggestions you've received?

Many users are enthusiastic about the fact that riding is more accessible than expected on Telegram.

In the case of the pre-ride event for the first 4,000 users, it went viral on the Token2049 site on Tuesday the 17th, and all of them were sold out by the evening of Wednesday the 18th. Considering that an average of 2 to 3 people ride in one vehicle, this TADA mini provided a new experience to about 10,000 people.

This is because the user's first experience is the most important when introducing a product, and unlike existing Ride-Haliing web2 apps, it has the advantage of simplifying cumbersome procedures such as app downloads, card registration, and KYC as much as possible, allowing anyone to try riding very quickly.

However, the development process was tight because it had to be launched during this Token2049 period. Therefore, some of the functional implementations were somewhat insufficient. In particular, we have received feedback that there is room for further improvement in functions, such as moving to a chat room in a mini-app structure and clearly distinguishing between blockchain transaction and boarding waiting times.

Are there any other community-driven initiatives or events in the pipeline?

During the event, various missions were carried out for TADA Mini subscribers, which are similar to what other projects in the TON ecosystem are already doing.

In addition, information about the TADA mini ride-sharing event at the TON Foundation and TON Society was also very helpful in attracting users and promoting it, and we focused on distributing various promotional leaflets at the Token2049 site so that they could be used by actual users.

In addition, the unique feature that only we could do was the taxi-related function.

The fun features like banner ads and events before and after trips can attract users from other projects to join TADA mini. Additionally, games while riding can keep users engaged and spread the word about the platform to others, especially at events like Token2049. This can help TADA mini continuously attract new users and grow its community.

What other strategies are you implementing to encourage wider adoption of TADA Mini and promote its use among the general public?

Originally, TADA was a popular service with 100,000 daily trips on the Web2 app. However, since these Web2-only apps are services for the general public, most users do not necessarily use cards or cash and do not necessarily purchase crypto to use them.

Therefore, through this event, we minimized exposure to the general public and conducted limited online marketing targeting Web3 users first. This allowed us to obtain various behavioral data, such as whether Web3 users actually use crypto to ride and what barriers exist to further activate this.

Currently, we understand that various exchanges, wallet partners, and other projects are also implementing different strategies for crypto mass adoption. Accordingly, TADA Mini will continue actively collaborating with them based on the experience and data accumulated from this event.

If we can onboard users from other project ecosystems to TADA mini one by one, we believe we will be able to lead the popularization of crypto in the future.

What future developments and enhancements can users expect from TADA mini?

TADA Mini is still in its early stages. Within the limited time, we have focused on implementing the actual operation of Crypto Ride-Hailing via Telegram and TON. Therefore, we will also focus on implementing a better user experience and creating a more aesthetically pleasing product in the future. We have also received feedback from major projects within the TON ecosystem, such as Blum, regarding the UX/UI aspect, so we plan to actively utilize their advice.

Accordingly, we will continue to improve features so that more projects' tokens can be used in TADA mini in the long term.

One of our main operations tasks is gradually increasing the driver pool currently connected on TADA mini to several countries worldwide. Currently, this can only be done in Singapore, but within this year, TADA mini will be sequentially opened in four countries, including Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, where the actual TADA service is being provided.

In addition, we are continuously considering ways to expand the service to more countries, such as Hong Kong, and quickly gather a global driver pool.

What an excellent session with James Yang (CIO of MVL/TADA)

We leave you with this:

TADA mini is transforming ride-hailing with a sleek integration into Telegram. Users can book rides directly through Telegram, skipping extra apps and complex sign-ups. With a network of nearly 300,000 drivers, TADA mini offers real-time communication and quick, reliable rides.

Learn more about TADA mini on the following social platforms.

Website | Facebook | Telegram

Downloads

iOS | Android