Report from Coin World:
From the crazy Notcoin to the popular Tap to earn game mode in the crypto circle, the TON ecosystem has rapidly grown from obscurity to a super-strong public chain worth billions. By utilizing Telegram’s existing social network without adding additional user migration costs, TON has reconstructed the business model of Web2 in a Web3 way.
In this exclusive interview, LBank Labs invited Kenny, the head of TON’s Asia-Pacific ecosystem growth, to delve into TON’s development expectations, support plans, token disputes, and to interpret the current status of the TON ecosystem and answer market questions, helping users better understand the current market situation of TON.
The following is the interview record, compiled by LBank:
LBank: First of all, welcome Kenny, head of TON’s Asia-Pacific ecosystem growth, to our exclusive interview at LBank. Notcoin is currently very hot, with a 329.6% increase since its launch and a market value of 2466M, ranking 54th, igniting unprecedented expectations for the TON ecosystem. Does the development of Notcoin meet your expectations?
Kenny: It basically meets expectations. Although there have been some minor technical hiccups throughout the process, the overall goal has been achieved, giving the ecosystem project a successful start. Notcoin’s journey is far from over, and the recent public shares by Notcoin’s founder, Sasha, have disclosed some roadmap plans.
LBank: What is the current development of the TON ecosystem and what are the main applications? Could you share some details with us?
Kenny: “A myriad of things vying for supremacy.” The overall ecosystem, including on-chain data such as TVL, has seen a significant multiplier-level growth. There have been many public articles analyzing this, so I won’t repeat the details.
One notable point is the vision and goal of the TON Foundation, which aims to “have 30% of TG users hold and trade virtual assets by 2028.” Holding and trading, in my personal understanding, are two independent but progressive actions.
For TG users who are not web3 native, the answer to how to achieve this conversion path is through wallets and applications (mini-programs). The wallet is the carrier of conversion motivation, and this motivation is backed by various self-growing applications within the TG ecosystem, which often have strong web2 attributes, user-friendliness, a certain level of interest, and practical value, such as games, tools, entertainment, etc., allowing users to start holding virtual assets through interaction (the simplest being tap to earn). This not only presents opportunities for 2C applications but also for 2B applications.
How to get this group of users holding virtual assets (including those converted from web2 and web3 natives) to start trading virtual assets requires the foundation of our TON chain’s ecosystem, the construction and development of various areas such as Defi, cross-chain bridges, CEX, NFT trading, Meme, etc., to promote the distribution and liquidity of assets.
LBank: With 1 billion Telegram users as a backing, in the seamless transition of web2 users to the web3 world, what tools or innovative applications have a relatively high acceptance rate? Could you please detail the efforts and support plans made by the TON Foundation in this regard?
Kenny: Regarding which tools or innovative applications have a relatively high acceptance rate, everyone in this circle is very good at gathering information, and some third-party platforms and public articles can also be referenced (details can be found in LBank Research Institute: TON “fission” moment | Coding the future traffic entry from the trend). The efforts and support made by the foundation at the level of quantity and strength are already powerful, including advertising incentives, grants, investments, etc.
I would like to emphasize the foundation’s most important ecological support plan this year, “The Open League.” This year, a total of $150 million worth of TON tokens will be airdropped as rewards to participating projects. It can be understood as setting the stage for a competition where various projects will compete, and we will set several tracks, such as defi, mini-programs, etc., and project scores will be determined through a series of data indicators. Those ranking high will receive more airdrops. Interestingly, we originally planned for a season every 3 months, but due to the rapid development of the ecosystem, we have compressed the cycle to one season per month, and recently even further to half a month per season.
LBank: Currently, a large number of ecosystems are being built on TON, especially mini-games dominated by Notcoin. However, we have also noticed that basic financial products such as DEX and lending, which can absorb a large amount of funds, are still scarce, and even the leading ones are not very attractive. Furthermore, the number of developers is significantly different from other public chains. What are the reasons for the somewhat embarrassing situation of TON TVL? Does the TON Foundation have practical ecological plans to address the current predicament?
Kenny: First, we cannot use traditional public chain value judgment standards to evaluate TON. TON is a very unique public chain, not just for the financial effects of assets.
The core value of TON lies in its close integration with Telegram, which provides TON with unique user entry points and application scenarios.
Therefore, we are more inclined to measure the success of the ecosystem from the user base, trading volume, and protocol revenue of DApps. Secondly, as TON is still in a relatively early stage of development compared to other mature public chains (previously delayed due to a long-running lawsuit with the SEC), the maturity of the developer community and financial products is also gradually being established. We have recently been in contact with many projects planning to deploy in this direction.
Furthermore, through the various actions at the foundation level that I mentioned earlier, we have achieved good performance in TVL, with a monthly growth rate of 85%. We believe we are on a good trajectory.
LBank: At this year’s Dubai TOKEN2049 conference, TON announced the issuance of USDT on TON by Tether. What does this mean for the entire ecosystem?
Kenny: First, the integration of native USDT will simplify the trading process for users on the TON chain, enhance the liquidity and convenience of fund usage. Compared to the previous cross-chain USDT or TRC-20 assets via the ETH network, native USDT avoids complex cross-chain steps and potential security risks, enhancing transaction efficiency and security.
In addition, the integration of native USDT is expected to attract more trading and developers to join the TON ecosystem. As a widely accepted stablecoin, its direct support on TON can lower the entry barriers for users and developers. At the same time, the TON Foundation collaborates with exchanges to launch a zero-cost interaction mode, further promoting the circulation and acceptance of USDT on TON.
This deep integration not only enhances the functionality of the TON blockchain but may also be a key factor in driving its widespread adoption, providing stable currency support for various applications and services on the TON chain, enhancing the vitality and attractiveness of the entire ecosystem, and achieving results that exceed the expectations of both parties since its launch.
LBank: In the TON token’s economic model, there is an annual growth rate of about 0.6% (about 3 million coins), and most of the early TON tokens are held by miners, leading to doubts about its decentralization. What measures has the TON team and foundation taken to manage this situation?
Kenny: It is important to note that the TON Foundation is a non-profit organization aimed at promoting and supporting the TON community’s initiatives for the practicality of the TON blockchain and its ecosystem, and is not the original issuer of the token. We also rely on publicly available on-chain data for analysis.
To address this issue, first, based on decentralized community voting, about 21% of inactive miners’ wallets have been locked until 2027. In addition, the community has initiated the TON Believers Fund, in which approximately 26% of the total supply of tokens is currently staked.
Finally, The Open League project aims to promote the decentralization of supply through the distribution of Toncoin to community members and projects. From a web2 perspective, another initiative is Telegram’s advertising platform, which rewards channel owners with Toncoin in the form of advertising revenue. Through these and other measures, nearly 47% of the total supply has been locked, making a positive contribution to improving TON’s decentralization and promoting the healthy development of the ecosystem.
