The Explosive Growth of TON and Telegram and What It Means for the Future of Crypto Adoption

by
Victoria d’Este

Published: December 04, 2024 at 9:21 am Updated: December 04, 2024 at 9:21 am

by Ana

Edited and fact-checked:
December 04, 2024 at 9:21 am

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With the audacious objective of transferring 30% of Telegram’s user base into the TON blockchain ecosystem by 2028, the TON Foundation and Telegram formed a strategic alliance in September 2023, which is indicated in the recent report of Animoca Brands. 

Through the use of TON’s blockchain technology and Telegram’s extensive worldwide reach, our collaboration has accomplished noteworthy achievements in just one year. The partnership has benefited both platforms, as seen by the explosive development of crypto acceptance and the quick expansion of Telegram Mini Apps.

Creating the Groundwork for Achievement

The foundation of the collaboration was the smooth transition between the Web3 world and regular Web2 users by integrating Telegram’s Mini Apps with TON’s infrastructure. The main goals of this integration were to get consumers in, turn them into crypto adopters, and keep them in the blockchain ecosystem.

Photo: Animoca Brands Report

This approach had accomplished important goals by July 2024. With 500 million monthly active users (MAUs), Telegram’s Mini Apps accounted for more than half of the platform’s 950 million MAUs overall. Additionally, 30 million consumers adopted cryptocurrencies, which is an important move in the right direction.

Photo: Animoca Brands Report

The Three-Step Strategy: From Games to DeFi

The partnership’s growth strategy revolved around three key stages, each addressing a crucial aspect of user engagement.

Attracting Users Through Mini Apps and Social Games

When the cooperation first started, its main goal was to promote Telegram Mini Apps through entertaining tap-to-earn social games. Users were introduced to the larger ecosystem through these games in a comfortable and enjoyable way, acting as an entrance point. Among the early achievements were:

• Notcoin, a community-driven game, which was introduced in January 2024, attracted 35 million members prior to its token generation event (TGE).
• In the months after their March 2024 releases, Hamster Kombat and Catizen amassed 300 million and 39 million players, respectively.

Photo: Animoca Brands Report

Mini Apps are now used by more than half of Telegram’s user population, making them a key component of the TON-Telegram strategy.

Converting consumers into crypto adopters was the next difficulty once they were onboarded through Mini Apps.

• Notcoin made it possible for 11 million wallets to be activated within three months of the token’s introduction, tripling the total number of TON wallets to 8.5 million. 
• Over 5 million additional wallets were created by Hamster Kombat and Catizen combined, and wallet activations were further boosted by the introduction of the DOGS meme currency.

Photo: Animoca Brands Report

Telegram’s non-custodial wallet, TON Space, achieved 100 million registrations by October 2024, demonstrating how well the collaboration worked to shift users to the blockchain.

Retaining Users with DeFi and Incentives

As the TON ecosystem grew, retention became the next priority. Although initial engagement was fueled by GameFi projects, maintaining users necessitated a multifaceted strategy that included DeFi applications and community-driven projects. Among the developments were:

• Toncoin and other awards were distributed by The Open League, a performance-based reward scheme that provided incentives to users and developers based on quantifiable engagement measures.
• Initiatives such as the Degen Airdrop and the Normie Airdrop offered incentives to customers who participated in trade and investigated dApps.
• Meme coin community ecosystems like DOGS, which had 17 million holders by November 2024, were fostered by initiatives like the Memlandia support organization.

Photo: Animoca Brands Report

Tremendous Growth in Blockchain and App Metrics

With remarkable growth across key parameters, the collaboration between Telegram and the TON Foundation has greatly improved the TON blockchain. The number of active wallets increased 39-fold in only one year, from 0.8 million in September 2023 to an astounding 32 million by October 2024.

Photo: Animoca Brands Report

Among them, 22 million wallets had non-zero balances, indicating that users were actively using cryptocurrencies. Toncoin accounted for 60% of the monthly on-chain transactions, which increased significantly from less than 10 million to 220 million. The growth of liquid staking methods and decentralized exchanges propelled the ecosystem’s TVL to $726 million. 

Ethereum and Avalanche took far longer to reach the milestone of 30 million monthly transactions. However, TON’s adoption trajectory surpassed that of major Layer 1 blockchains in just five months.

Photo: Animoca Brands Report

The partnership has transformed Telegram from a straightforward messaging software to a multipurpose center that incorporates blockchain technology and promotes social engagement. Telegram Mini Apps have become a major force behind user engagement, boosting interaction and possible income. By the middle of 2024, 70% of the top 50 Telegram channels were focused on TON-related projects, demonstrating how essential Mini Apps had become to the platform.

For Telegram, this spike in user engagement resulted in an enormous spike in income. From one million customers in December 2022 to ten million by September 2024, premium subscriptions grew at an exponential rate, bringing in $285 million that year. To further diversify revenue sources, the ad platform and collectibles marketplace contributed a total of $276 million.

Telegram’s profits increased by an additional $225 million after Toncoin was integrated as an exclusive currency for business advertising. Together, these income sources put Telegram in a position to reach $1 billion in revenue annually by the end of 2024, turning a profit for the first time and providing a strong basis for its planned initial public offering (IPO) before 2026. This financial shift demonstrates how well the TON-Telegram collaboration has fueled economic expansion and technical innovation.

Decentralized Governance and Prospects for the Future

A decentralized governance approach has been progressively adopted by TON in recognition of the significance of community-driven growth. A more inclusive and flexible ecosystem is ensured by the creation of Society DAO in December 2024, which gives community members the authority to distribute funds and spur innovation.

The alliance has big plans for the future, such as onboarding 500 million people to the TON ecosystem by 2028. It will need consistent innovation, a variety of use cases, and ongoing cooperation between TON and Telegram to meet this goal.