By Howard Peng, Director of Asia Development Relations at TON
Compiled by: Zen, PANews
TL;DR
In the first and second quarters of 2024, the number of developers on the TON blockchain increased rapidly. This influx of talent is only the first step. In the future, high-quality projects will emerge and the ecosystem will prosper. Developers bring high-quality projects, which in turn attract more funds to the TON blockchain. It is expected that the prosperity of the ecosystem will be apparent in one or two quarters.
Many excellent and experienced teams are working in various fields, not just DeFi, DEXs, yield farms or lending products, but also practical DApps. On top of that, Telegram Stars plays a key role and expands on some ideas in The Open League Hackathon / DoraHacks.
There are already some interesting projects emerging. I think TON’s path to success may not follow past experience. While DeFi is still relevant, TON’s killer app may be a combination of “games + finance”. From what I saw at the DoraHacks hackathon, there are many interesting projects with great talent in smart contract coding. I expect to see more innovation in the near future.
I am very surprised by the number of DeFi projects that have emerged. Currently, many people believe that TON is in a "Cretaceous period" with countless opportunities and projects emerging. TON may provide the "most unfair" advantage for projects built on this ecosystem.
As I mentioned before, I think this is a great opportunity for talented developers in Asia. In addition, Telegram Stars could become the most successful fiat on-ramp in the crypto industry. Given the recent global environment and supportive news, I believe the second half of 2024 will be very exciting.
1️⃣ The number of developers is growing
Based on my experience with BSC (limited to the ETHDeFi Summer of 2020 and the BSC boom in early 2021), there is usually a time lag between developers entering the ecosystem, creating products and content, and attracting a large number of users.
We could attribute this growth of Ton to Notcoin being listed on Binance or Hamster Combat bringing in users from outside of Web3. However, looking at it objectively, we can evaluate the growth in the number of developers through the following data points. To evaluate the number of developers from a data perspective, we can use the following method:
Number of development teams in developer Telegram chats;
TonConnect SDK call data;
Electric Capital’s Q2 2024 Developer Report
Number of developer communities in TG Chat
According to the latest data, our developer community is growing so far. The total number of people is growing, and the proportion of CN developer community members is also growing.
This also means that, as mentioned before, Asia should be the most important market for TON. Not only does this region have a large number of developers, but these developers have extensive experience in creating and managing mini-programs, which is critical to developing innovative solutions and driving the growth of the ecosystem. In addition, Asia's rapid adoption of new technologies and the region's large and tech-savvy population make it an ideal market for TON to expand its influence. By focusing on Asia, we can leverage the unique strengths and expertise of local developers, ultimately contributing to the overall success and adoption of the TON blockchain.
TonConnect SDK Download Data
On the other hand, the download volume of TonConnect is growing rapidly. This shows that the number of DApps on TON is increasing, which is a very positive sign.
Additionally, more and more people are coming to the TON blockchain to integrate TON support in their wallet systems. This is a great sign of the health of the ecosystem and its potential for future growth. The growing adoption of TonConnect by developers shows their strong interest in building on the TON platform. This growth in SDK downloads not only reflects the expanding developer community, but also highlights the ease of use and functionality of the TonConnect SDK, making it a top choice for developers. The growing support for TON by wallet systems is another key factor. This demonstrates trust and recognition from the broader crypto community, making it easier for users to interact with DApps and manage assets securely. As more wallets support TON, user confidence will increase, leading to higher adoption and a more active ecosystem. Overall, these trends indicate a bright future for TON, driven by a strong developer community and increasing user engagement.
Electric Capital’s Q2 2024 Developer Report
According to Electric Capital’s developer report, we can see significant trends in industry development. “Other L1s are stagnating and the developer ecosystem is slowing down.” This supports the idea that there is a correlation between the number of developers and Web3 price trends. In addition, TON still has great potential and room for growth that has not yet been fully realized. Beyond that, I'd like to highlight the unique aspects of TON relative to other L1s. TON has a lot of advanced technologies to learn, making it more of a Web2.5 path than pure Web3.
Instead, developers should leverage their Web2 experience to expand their strategies, think of it as leveraging strategies in WeChat and other traffic-driving products. Once again, I believe TON provides a more diverse and flexible environment that can attract a large number of Web2 developers. With rich Web2 development experience, developers do not need to start with smart contracts. Thanks to Telegram Stars, you can first test your business in the market and achieve great success.
2️⃣ Many excellent teams are pouring in
The big question is, where can we find these high-quality teams and guide them in the right direction? Based on my time reviewing projects on DoraHacks over the past few weeks, I can say there are a lot. Generally speaking, the projects I see fall into a few categories: DeFi, DEXs, LSD-LSTs, Yield Optimizers, Games, User Acquisition Tools, etc.
Current issues with Telegram games
In the months since Notcoin launched, I have seen many projects building the exact same product. Our evaluation criteria have become fatigued, and user engagement and willingness to play has declined significantly. Although my previous article mentioned that games like Hamster, Blum, Catizen, and Yescoin increase Telegram user activity, similar games ultimately detract from the overall experience.
The main question now is, “Apart from the points and token rewards, is your game still attractive for users to play?” This is the core question.
What kind of games can be developed?
I see some interesting projects that already have established resources and are able to attract a large number of users. For example, some large companies related to Chinese live broadcast platforms have approached us. I believe this may be the next scenario for Telegram mini apps and the TON ecosystem. We will wait and see.
Beyond that, I think more social games that help people meet new people and transition to real-life interactions, as well as AI-driven life simulation games that allow people to randomly meet and make new friends, will be essential to provide another path outside of DeFi. For example, Pokémon Go has had a lot of positive impact by allowing people to team up and make new friends. This is a good thing.
More projects, more momentum, more innovation
Whether it’s ecosystem feedback, questions people in the community have been asking lately, or projects approaching us (Ton Foundation), I can feel the quality and quantity growing.
Additionally, based on the feedback I received during my review of the DoraHacks project, unsurprisingly, I think a higher level of quality is being demonstrated in the space.
A core value for me and anyone at the Foundation has always been to consider which path is better for the community and the TON blockchain.
3️⃣ The Open League Hackathon in partnership with DoraHacks
Last week, we completed our two-part online presentation and announced the winning teams. Before revealing the winning projects, I want to highlight a few projects that impressed me. Due to limited bandwidth, I was unable to review all the projects in detail. Also, some hidden "gems" may not have been selected or showcased in the online presentation. But this does not mean that these projects are bad. There are various reasons for this, including different evaluators and criteria.
There were over 1,000 projects participating in this hackathon, and even with a 50% withdrawal rate, there were still over 500 projects, and I couldn't actually check them all; whether it was a demo video, a mini-app, or smart contract code (if any). Overall, I just wanted to reiterate and emphasize that I was impressed by the quality of the projects this time. This is not only because there were more DeFi projects, but also because I saw more talented teams with different backgrounds. Regardless of their language, race, or nationality, this is inspiring.
"Most importantly, I see many high-quality Telegram mini-app examples and products." As mentioned before, more solutions are emerging that are not just "on-chain" focused and closer to the general public. For example, e-commerce, live streaming on TON, products like Calendly, and any other usability products like Earn.com that increase user value and explore TON innovations. I think this is the beauty of TON and Telegram.
Some of the best projects I remember
Before pasting the list I have, I must say that these are my personal opinions and do not represent any entity or anyone, purely my personal taste. Maybe... some future potentials are positive and interesting to me. The judging criteria include the following elements:
Tracking quality (0-5): The future potential of the project, including business model, clear vision of future plans and monetization strategy. Whether it can bring more users to TON.
Team Structure (0-5): This rating assesses whether the team is well-structured. Although this is highly subjective, I think it is important. A hackathon project still requires a good proposal and a clear, concise video presentation. In addition, a high level of trust between co-founders can help a project overcome many problems and take the product to the next level.
TON Oriented (0-5): Evaluates whether the project is purely TON related and can help the TON blockchain (not just mini-apps). Projects that have not yet completed smart contracts (either FunC or Tact language) will generally not score high.
TApps Quality (0-5): The rating is for the Telegram mini app itself. It takes into account the UI/UX design and all the details when users start using it. Guiding users and providing detailed information to make it easy to get started is key.
Uniqueness (0-5): This rating determines whether the project is unique and distinctive. While some projects will inevitably be copycats (e.g., DEXs), it is important to stand out. However, gaming projects may not score very highly in this category because many people are doing the same thing.
Having explained my approach, I would like to emphasize a few points:
For the gaming category, it’s totally fine if the project is just “click to earn”. But it would be better if there is more innovation. For me, right now, opening the game and starting to invite my friends feels negative. But I’m still open to gaming, but feel that something different is needed. There are a lot of DeFi projects. Seeing some projects making more use of non-oracle topics, and also seeing the basic logic of DeFi lego built on top of STON.fi or DeDust.io. Very surprising and good to see this.
Curdle Protocol: This team has quite some experience with TON and is still young. I have known them since last year at a community meetup in Taiwan. Their project focuses on the exchange of stablecoins/LSDs assets, basically based on what we know as Curve AMMs. The hardest part was overcoming the FunC hurdle and making it a reality. The speed at which they delivered the project is impressive.
Beecon: This community tool is built by an Asian team. It is very similar to the WeChat tool I used before. Although it is not widely used yet, I really like this management tool for TG group owners, etc. It is worth trying and catching.
InOne: This is almost like Linktree, but in a Telegram mini-app. I particularly like that it could be monetized by allowing people to book calls. As a contact person for the foundation, I get a lot of messages a day suggesting "let's make a call." While I rarely respond or book calls, it would be nice to see more tools like this to fill more of that time and take advantage of Telegram Stars.
Swipy: This “swipe to earn” app is like a Telegram mini-app version of Tinder. While there are more business models to explore within it, I’m excited to see more people experimenting and innovating in this space. However, these types of social apps generally don’t rely on the TON blockchain yet. We’ll have to wait and see if they diversify and expand more on-chain activities to off-chain and TG records.
TON Hedge: This is a pool model for options products. Similar to what we have seen before in EVM, more like Hegic etc. The best part is its good and easy to use UI! I love seeing how good UX can convert Telegram users into the DeFi world.
See the notion page for a complete list.
4️⃣ Conclusion
Maybe it’s not “TON needs DeFi”, but “DeFi space needs TON”. I don’t see any other platform that could grow in the next 3-5 years other than TON. The most important insight for me is “The beauty of TON is that we are able to attract Web2 developers through Telegram modules, mini-program frameworks, and the convenience of people being able to easily try out products.”
Anyway, the TON blockchain and ecosystem are not what they used to be. We have a lot more projects now than we did six months ago, especially in the gaming space. The purpose of this post is to introduce some interesting projects from DoraHacks and highlight that the next six months for TON are full of potential.
