Ton blockchain ecosystem Q1/2024: Accelerated initial steps
Although it has encountered many obstacles in the past, the blockchain developed by Telegram is gradually making many moves to promote development.
Gist:
- Ton blockchain is supported by Telegram and products from the Ton ecosystem can be used directly on Telegram.
- Ton blockchain is promoting developer attraction with a goal of attracting 30% of Telegram users to use Ton's services within 3 to 5 years.
- There have been many projects appearing on the Ton ecosystem. However, there are still many project groups missing and the indicators are still modest compared to other ecosystems.
- Telegram apps & bots are the unique advantages of Ton blockchain when compared to other ecosystems and Ton is focusing on this advantage.
As a social network focused on freedom and privacy, Telegram has achieved much success and is the third most downloaded application in the world. Telegram has an estimated total user base of over 1 billion with 196 million daily users by 2023.
In 2018, Telegram raised capital through ICO and raised 1.7 billion USD. Telegram then launched the whitepaper for Telegram Open Network with the GRAM token and quickly became one of the projects of particular interest to the crypto community.
In March 2020, Telegram Open Network was preparing to call for ICO capital when it was banned from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Telegram then announced its withdrawal from the project and offered refund options to investors. The Telegram Open Network project was transferred to the community and renamed The Open Network.
From 2023 to the present, the relationship between Telegram and Ton has been "warmed up" again with a series of cooperation announcements and grant programs to attract development in the ecosystem. Ton blockchain is supported by Telegram with statements from senior personnel and products from the Ton ecosystem are being integrated and can be used directly on Telegram.
Highlights of Ton blockchain
Similar to most current blockchains, Ton blockchain uses the Proof of Stake consensus mechanism. As of now, the network has 293 validators located in 28 countries with more than 435 million $TON staked.
Although it can reach a processing speed of more than 100,000 transactions/second in testing, currently TON only processes about 2-3 million transactions/day with about 15-30 transactions processed per second.
The highlight of Ton blockchain lies in its deep cooperation with Telegram. Ton was chosen as the payment network on Telegram with the Ton wallet integrated as a convenient Telegram Bot for users. 
Similar to Google Play or App Store, Telegram has tApps Center, which acts as a store for users to install applications and Telegram Bot.
Ton blockchain has toolkits that make it easier for developers to create applications that run directly on Telegram. Ton also continuously runs grant programs to support projects that want to develop on Ton. Projects developed on the Ton blockchain will also be given priority to run ads through Telegram Ads.
With those efforts, Ton blockchain aims to attract 30% of Telegram users to use Ton's services within 3 to 5 years.
Ton blockchain ecosystem
Dapp
The push to attract developers has helped the Telegram ecosystem appear many new projects. The first project branches include:
- Staking *
- DEX/NFT marketplace
- Wallets
- Launchpad
- Game
- Explorer tools
Although there are many new projects, Ton blockchain still lacks many project groups when compared to other ecosystems. For example, in the DeFi branch, the Ton system still lacks lending or aggregation projects,...
Although the total value of locked assets on TON has grown in recent months, it is still small at 80 million USD.
*Note: TVL from depositing tokens back and forth through liquid staking protocols is subtracted from total TVL.
1/ AMM
The current trading volume on Ton is quite stable compared to the locked asset value. With the emergence of many projects with tokens, AMMs will benefit as tools for circulating assets across the ecosystem. However, there is a large difference between TVL and diluted capitalization of AMMs on the current Ton blockchain.
With projects still in the development stage and the general meme wave of the market, the tokens that receive the first cash flow on the TON blockchain are mostly meme coins.
With the increasing cash flow in the ecosystem and relatively small capitalization, it is likely that the above meme coins will still be the focus of attention until the TON system has many quality products launching tokens. However, users need to pay special attention to the properties of meme coins. Token creation is currently very easy and the majority of meme coins will become worthless over time.
2/ Liquid Staking Staking
$TON on liquid staking protocols is also relatively developed. The current yield level ranges from 4-5% APY, the leading liquid staking protocols have not yet released tokens, some projects even run a point program to motivate users to stake $TON.
Current users, in addition to holding LST, can swap LST tokens back to $TON and deposit to other liquid staking protocols to increase their chances of receiving the airdrop. However, you should note related risks such as rug pulling, hacking,...
The majority of current tokens on the TON blockchain are launched directly by creating liquidity pools on AMMs. Leading launchpad projects like Tonstarter also only stop at collaborating with the project and organizing tasks such as liking, following, testing products, etc. to receive points. The tokens will then be allocated proportionally to the user's points.
However, with the increasing number of projects appearing, it is entirely possible that launchpad projects will issue tokens and organize more IDOs on Ton blockchain.
4/ NFTs
NFTs on Ton blockchain are gradually growing. From the top collections belonging to service segments such as Telegram usernames, domains or imitating famous collections in other ecosystems such as Ton Rock, Ton Punks. Now the top collections in terms of trading volume have gradually taken on their own identities. There will likely be a collection that kicks off the NFT trend on Ton if the system continues to attract community and cash flow.
Telegram apps & bots
Telegram apps & bots are the unique advantages of Ton blockchain when compared to other ecosystems. Users can use the dapp directly on the Telegram application without having to log in on an external browser. With a huge number of available users, this is Ton's source of potential customers.
It can be seen that the top apps on Ton blockchain currently all have Telegram app versions. Ton itself and projects on Ton have been organizing many programs to encourage users to use the Telegram app to receive daily rewards. Telegram wallet also helps manage the user's seed pharse, users just need to learn how to transfer $TON to the wallet to use services on the Ton blockchain.
Apps are gradually appearing that are only available on the Telegram app and not on other browsers, especially game projects. Although the quality of the games is not too high, it is quite suitable for social network games like we often see on Facebook. Combined with monetization features, games on Telegram are attracting many users to participate every day.
Perspective and projection
Ton blockchain is one of the few ecosystems that stands out compared to the many chains on the market today. The advantage of the user file and the unique features of being integrated with the Telegram application help Ton blockchain have good growth potential.
With the current rate of development, we will see the missing pieces of the TON ecosystem gradually appear. Most meme coins will gradually be replaced by tokens of projects with quality products in the ecosystem.
The high community nature of PFP NFT will be very suitable for social networks like Telegram, one or several PFP collections with strong community and high value will appear.
It's likely that the most prominent projects will be those that have both browser and Telegram App versions, or even just the Telegram App. Projects that want to stand out on Ton Blockchain should know to aim for Ton Blockchain's advantages.
Summary
Ton blockchain is currently in the process of accelerating with many programs attracting developers and users to the ecosystem. With a huge number of potential customers from Telegram, Ton blockchain has many growth opportunities if it can further optimize the user experience along with product development in the ecosystem.
