The next is a visitor publish and opinion from Slavik Baranov, CEO at STON.fi Dev.
From Gaming Phenomenon to Monetary Ambition
In 2024, the TON blockchain turned one of the crucial talked-about ecosystems in crypto — not due to a groundbreaking DeFi protocol, however due to the meteoric rise of viral tap-to-earn video games on Telegram. Titles like Hamster Kombat and Notcoin drew hundreds of thousands just about in a single day, pushing each day energetic wallets to just about 2 million by September.
The surge proved TON can onboard customers at a tempo few blockchains can match. However it additionally uncovered the fragility of hype-driven adoption: many gamers got here for fast rewards and left when incentives ended. Speculative capital — fluid and opportunistic by nature — adopted the identical path.
Video games confirmed TON’s attain. However they had been by no means meant to be the muse of a monetary revolution.
The Lasting Impression of the Hype Cycle
The post-game cooldown wasn’t a collapse; it was a reset. In January 2024, earlier than the gaming growth, TON averaged 26,000 each day energetic wallets. After the mud settled, exercise stabilized at 100,000–200,000 — a a number of of its pre-hype base.
Much more importantly, developer and consumer inflows seeded development throughout the ecosystem. The variety of DeFi protocols on TON rose from 35 to 67 in 2024 — a 91% improve. This growth displays a gradual shift in focus from short-lived promotions to enduring monetary infrastructure.
Constructing TON’s DeFi Panorama
TON’s DeFi sector now spans token swaps, staking, and lending. In early 2024, EVAA launched as the primary lending protocol. By late summer time, AMM protocol STON.fi had reached practically $400 million in liquidity. At this time, the leaders by complete worth locked (TVL) are the liquid staking protocol Tonstakers and the swap protocol STON.fi, reflecting consumer choice for core, high-liquidity companies.
Fueled by gaming-related pleasure, complete worth locked (TVL) throughout the community peaked at $1.1 billion in July 2024. However as incentive packages ended, TVL declined to round $600 million by early 2025 and now stands close to $400 million.
These actions recommend that a part of TON’s liquidity was influenced by short-term market dynamics. Funds tended to movement in during times of enticing yields and step by step taper off as these alternatives diminished.
By the tip of 2024, TON had practically 38 million addresses, but new pockets creation fell sharply — from 724,000 each day in autumn to only 33,000 in early 2025. In the meantime, staking emerged as a secure haven: round 790 million TON are at the moment staked, concentrating liquidity in lower-risk, base-layer protocols.
Why the Revolution Hasn’t Occurred But
In contrast with Ethereum or Solana, TON’s liquidity depth and vary of merchandise are nonetheless growing. A part of this distinction stems from its underlying design. TON’s structure was created with large scalability in thoughts, resulting in technically elegant however extra complicated infrastructure for builders.
Sensible contracts on TON use a low-level language, and plenty of core elements require constructing from the bottom up, which can have contributed to a extra gradual tempo of DeFi improvement in its early years.
The trade-off? Low-level improvement can produce extra environment friendly, resilient options over time. TON’s core group is actively lowering friction for builders, paving the best way for sooner development.
One other issue is ecosystem dependence on Telegram. On one hand, this integration offers TON direct entry to over 1 billion customers and tangible utility — since 2024, Telegram channel house owners have been capable of obtain advert income payouts in TON. Alternatively, it creates a single level of publicity: any disruption in Telegram immediately impacts TON.
For now, many common customers nonetheless see Telegram mini-apps as informal video games relatively than monetary instruments. With out broadening past leisure use circumstances, TON’s attraction to institutional capital stays constrained.
Unlocking TON’s DeFi Potential
The trail ahead is evident: develop past hype cycles and ship mass-market monetary companies seamlessly built-in into the Telegram expertise.
This might imply:
- Frictionless funds — sending crypto in a Telegram chat as simply as a textual content message.
- On a regular basis utility — paying for items, companies, or restaurant payments in TON-based tokens.
- Accessible lending — providing microloans and credit score options in areas underserved by banks.
If executed nicely, these use circumstances might rework TON from a viral gaming phenomenon right into a major interface for international crypto adoption.
Alerts of Institutional Confidence
Institutional funding is already validating TON’s potential. In March 2024, main gamers together with Sequoia Capital, Draper Associates, Kingsway, CoinFund, Ribbit, and Skybridge invested in Toncoin.
In January 2025, Zodia Custody (a subsidiary of Normal Chartered) introduced assist for TON’s Jetton token commonplace, enabling banks and huge traders to securely maintain and handle TON belongings. And in July 2025, The Open Platform — a developer of Telegram-based protocols and apps constructed on TON — secured $28.5 million at a $1 billion valuation from main funds Ribbit Capital and Pantera Capital.
Conclusion: From Potential to Actuality
The explosive development of 2024 proved that pairing Telegram’s attain with blockchain’s capabilities can transfer markets. However true transformation will come solely when TON evolves from a hype-fueled onramp into a strong monetary ecosystem.
The basics are in place: a rising developer base, enhancing infrastructure, and unprecedented distribution by Telegram. If TON’s DeFi sector can simplify the consumer expertise and ship important, in-demand companies the place customers already are, it gained’t simply take part in the way forward for digital finance — it might assist outline it.
