Author: TechFlow
Although the founder of Telegram was caught up in the arrest controversy, the TON ecosystem project is still one of the few hot topics in recent times.
Previously, Binance Labs invested in Catizen's publishing platform Pluto Studio and Binance launched DOGS. Yesterday, Binance Labs announced that it had invested in five projects in the 7th phase of its own BNB Chain's MVB (Most Valuable Builder) incubation program.
This includes another Mini App in the TON ecosystem - Blum, founded by a former Binance executive.
As the industry's leading CEX, Binance's institutional investments often indicate the market's direction and optimism about narratives. After click-to-earn and Memes with unknown efficacy, what new ways of playing are worth paying attention to in Telegram mini-programs such as Blum?
Telegram is a one-stop shop for cryptocurrency trading for laymen
Public information shows that Blum is a hybrid exchange that provides universal token access through gamification in Telegram applets. Blum can access CEX and DEX tokens on one platform and supports more than 30 chains, including Ethereum, Solana, Binance Smart Chain, and Ton.
At the same time, the program also provides additional functions, including AI navigation, P2P trading, derivatives trading, etc.
Simply put, Blum allows you to trade different types of currencies in one place, directly through Telegram.
For players in the circle, the above functions can be achieved by using different Web3 wallets or CEX apps. Blum's approach is obviously homogenized and not innovative.
But for users outside the circle, things are not that simple.
Blum's founder Gleb Kostarev was previously the head of Binance's Eastern Europe and CIS region, and he obviously has his own understanding of user habits and needs.
In an interview with Cointelegraph at Korea Blockchain Week, he said that half of Blum’s current 50 million registered users are new to cryptocurrency:
“According to our data and community surveys, 50% of people said they had not interacted with Web3 before.”
So, for example, when a new meme token appears, if you want to buy it on a DEX without listing it on a CEX, you must navigate a complex user interface and potentially countless scams. Blum officials even called this purchasing process "traveling through the nine levels of hell" in their blog.
For a novice, buying coins through this process may require going through a series of 40 steps, which is extremely difficult.
Therefore, what Blum wants to do is to lower the threshold for laymen to buy coins. This is a correct narrative of Mass Adoption, and it is close to the trading demand, which can increase customer acquisition, so it is natural for Binance Labs to pay attention to it.
Specifically, Blum's approach is:
Hybrid model: combines off-chain order books with on-chain settlement, providing self-custody or MPC options.
Universal Token Access: Automatically list tokens with sufficient liquidity across various exchanges and protocols.
Trading via Telegram: Providing a mobile-first trading experience with integrated gaming mechanics.
Simple Derivatives: User-friendly perpetual futures and options, including NFTs and pre-market token futures.
P2P Fiat Currency Trading: Focus on local currencies and merchant integration to facilitate fiat currency transactions.
It can be said that it covers all the front, middle and back links of the transaction in one go, and everything only needs to be completed in a Mini App of Telegram; relying on the large number of Telegram users and the advantages of the built-in TON wallet, the experience will theoretically be smoother.
However, Blum’s trading function is still in the “for reference only” stage. The trading section in the Telegram applet has not yet been launched, and currently only the balance of the TON-connected wallet can be displayed.
Earn points before the product is used
Before this trading function was launched, Blum’s other gameplay was not idle.
Similar to popular mini-games such as Notcoin, Hamster Combat and Catizen, Blum is currently using simple click-to-earn points and teaching promotion methods to attract users to enter, attract new users and promote activation.
According to Blum’s official Twitter account, the number of users who have participated in earning points using the app has exceeded 60 million.
After finding the Blum app in Telegram (click here to access), the system will automatically record your login days, and your points will automatically increase from the time you log in, indicating that you are "Farming".
Users who are familiar with this type of gameplay will definitely know that the points given by the system are only the lower limit. If you want to increase the points, you need to complete more active actions.
The system will periodically give you the opportunity to play the Drop Game, and this game is also very simple --- click the "Home" sub-option in the applet, and then click the Play button as prompted in the picture above. After the game starts, catch the green stars falling on the screen. The more you catch in a unit of time, the higher the score you get.
At the same time, you can also increase your score by completing other social media tasks in the Earn menu, such as watching tutorial videos, following social media accounts, and other tasks; you can also invite friends (click here for the invitation code) to join so that both parties can increase their scores together and increase the number of times you play the dropped game.
According to the author's test, you don't necessarily have to finish watching the teaching video task. You can exit it immediately after clicking, and then enter a specific answer in the verification box to get extra points. Some tasks can be exited and re-entered in seconds, and you can get extra points without verification.
Currently, there are some newly added tasks. The verification answers are as shown in the figure below. Just enter them to get points.
In addition, there are already automatic idle score-boosting scripts for Blum on the market, and detailed tutorials have been given on X.
Interested players can check out this post (https://x.com/redkendl/status/1832034569060827268) for tutorials. However, it should be noted that you should not install various software at will. It is also unclear whether the official will crack down on such scripts. Please be careful when using and installing DYOR.
Overall, this method of earning points through mining is nothing new, but fortunately, you don’t have to click like crazy in Hamster Combat, you can just get points in fixed games.
Blum’s gameplay was actually launched in June, but there were too many similar competing products on TON at the time, or people did not pay enough attention to the ecosystem, which led to its recognition not being as high as more popular games such as Notcoin and Catizen.
With the investment of Binance Labs in the past two days and the experience of other tokens in the TON ecosystem, Blum's expectations have been raised. If you only play games to earn points, it is obviously a zero-cost game. The lack of a threshold also means that individuals may not get a particularly large return; but holding on to the expectation of a small pig's trotter meal may still be a good choice.
Apart from the model of earning points by clicking, under the great attention of the TON ecosystem, Blum is obviously using earning points as a hook, and the subsequent trading links are the big part; if it can undertake a large number of incremental users to use Blum to purchase tokens, a part of them will inevitably be diverted to major CEX and DEX. Attracting new users is an irresistible temptation for exchanges in the industry. With strong transaction attribute association, there may be more opportunities worth paying attention to when Blum trading products are officially launched.
If you want to experience the trading function, the only way currently is to fill in your email address on Blum’s official website to join the queue and wait for further product updates.
In short, in the current lack of market hotspots, the small games in the TON ecosystem may continue to be popular for a while.
As for how big a piece of cake you can get, sometimes choice is more important than hard work.
