Toncoin and Telegram: 900 Million Users at the Gates of Crypto

Toncoin and Telegram: 900 Million Users at the Gates of Crypto

A Telegram – one of the world's most popular messaging applications – and the TON (The Open Network) blockchain's intertwining in 2024-2025 was one of the most significant developments in terms of cryptocurrency mass adoption 900 million+ users gained native access to the crypto world – directly within the messaging application.

A brief history of TON

• 2018: Telegram raised $1.7 billion with the Gram token ICO – one of the largest ICOs ever
• 2020: The SEC stopped the project – Telegram refunded investors and paid an $18.5 million fine
• 2020-2023: The open-source community took over development TON Foundation under the name
• 2024: Telegram officially integrated TON into the application

The Telegram + TON integration

Telegram Wallet

Telegram's built-in wallet enables:

• TON, USDT, BTC sending and receiving directly in chat
• Card purchase within the application
• P2P trading
• Using the wallet requires no external application or technical knowledge

Telegram Mini Apps

The biggest breakthrough is the Mini Apps (formerly Bot API) ecosystem:

• Running full web applications within Telegram
• DeFi, gaming, NFT marketplaces – as if they were native applications
• Tap-to-earn games: Hamster Kombat, Notcoin and others attracted hundreds of millions of users

The tap-to-earn phenomenon

Notcoin (NOT)

• Simple tap-to-earn game within Telegram
• 35+ million users played it
• The NOT token achieved a billion-dollar market cap after the airdrop
• The "tap and earn crypto" model is the lowest entry threshold to the crypto world

Hamster Kombat

• Crypto exchange simulation game
• 300+ million users – one of the fastest growing applications in history
• Its YouTube channel was the fastest growing in the platform's history

Criticisms of tap-to-earn

• Most users receive minimal value – airdrop token values are often just a few dollars
• The games aren't truly entertaining – they're more like "jobs" for the potential airdrop
• The token price typically starts with a crash after listing (selling pressure)

The TON ecosystem

DeFi

• STON.fi, DeDust: Decentralized exchanges on TON
• Evaa Protocol: Lending/borrowing
• TVL is growing dynamically, but is still far from Ethereum or Solana levels

Infrastructure

• TON DNS: Readable names instead of wallet addresses
• TON Storage: Decentralized file storage
• TON Sites: Censorship-resistant websites

Pavel Durov's arrest

In August 2024 Pavel Durovthe founder of Telegram, was arrested in France on charges including facilitating money laundering and promoting crime

• Temporarily the TON token price dropped 25% of the TON token price
• Raised questions about the future of Telegram and TON
• Telegram subsequently promised cooperation with authorities
• Durov was released on bail

Summary

The combination of TON and Telegram is the most promising experiment for crypto mass adoption. 900 million users, built-in wallet, Mini Apps – this is the lowest entry threshold the crypto world has ever

TON is not necessarily the best blockchain technologically. But with Telegram integration, it has something no other chain

⚠️ Legal disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. All investment decisions are made at your own risk.