TON Network TVL Exceeds $760 Million – Is That Big for TON Value?
TonCoin (Ton) is the native coin of the Layer-1 open network originally developed by the Telegram messaging app. Ton's ecosystem is largely driven by Telegram's 900 million active users.
Although relatively new to the decentralized applications (DApps) ecosystem, the Ton Network has surpassed Optimism to become the tenth largest blockchain in terms of Total Value Locked (TVL).
Upcoming plans include Bitcoin Bridge and EVM compatibility
On June 26, crypto exchange Bitget and Singapore-based investment firm Foresight Ventures announced a 20 million ton ecosystem fund to support early-stage projects and ton-based applications. Previously, the exchange launched an official Telegram Signal trading advice bot that allowed group owners to integrate this functionality at no cost.
Further contributing to Ton's success is expected to be the launch of the Ton Applications chain, a layer-2 network on top of Ton. Announced on July 9 and supported by The Open Platform, this project uses Polygon's technology and offers compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enabling developers to port DApps to the new Ton layer-2 solution.
The Ton Foundation has partnered with 1inch and Register to launch a Web3 startup accelerator called Triangle. Announced on July 10, the initiative follows the successful launch of Telegram-based game NotCoin and focuses on play-to-earn mini-games. Additionally, the OKX exchange announced on July 17 that it has joined the Ton Network into its separate Web3 wallet, which will allow users to manage and exchange assets using the TonCoin blockchain.
Recently, on July 18th, the Ton Foundation announced a Teleport Bitcoin (BTC) bridge that enables integration with Ton ecosystem DApps, including decentralized exchanges (DEX) and lending platforms. Blockchain bridges facilitate the transfer of tokens or data between different networks. To secure this bridge, Ton Network uses measures such as a trustless architecture and a “simple payment verification client”.
The ton network is shrinking and air is falling
TON Network's most successful decentralized applications (DApps) by total value locked (TVL) decentralized exchanges DeDust and Ston Fi, hold $383 million and $301 million in deposits, respectively. Although it seems to be successful, when we take a closer look at the network activity, some of the major DApps are struggling to maintain the scale and the user growth is mostly driven by a few airdrops.
In the year In the week ending July 19, the two largest Tonnet dapps experienced a significant drop in activity. DeDust experienced a 63% drop in volume, while Stone Fi saw a 38% drop. The growth of unique active addresses, a proxy for the number of users engaging with the network's DApps, has largely been driven by the anticipated climate for mini-games, including CaizenAI and Yescoin.
In addition to showing excitement for newly launched DApps targeting the play-to-earn market, decentralized finance apps like DeDust had 19% fewer weekly users, while Stone Fi saw a 4% increase in active addresses over the same period. Additionally, there has been criticism regarding the allocation of tokens in recent projects including Pixelverse.
Related: Telegram to get mini app store by end of July – Pavel Durov
User MB complained on social network X about how Pixelverse Token users created accounts and started bots that incentivize them to connect to social networks. In addition, the analysis highlighted the lack of data to provide, high allocation to influencers (KOLs), which increases sales pressure.
Although the open network does not have a direct impact on the projects launched on the blockchain, the demand for tons depends largely on the development of the DApps ecosystem. This development directly affects how tokens are managed on the Ton network. Assessing the sustainability of these airdrops and token launches seems premature as this ecosystem is still in its infancy.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
