Compiled by | Wu Talks about Blockchain

The interviewee is Jack Booth, Marketing Director of TON Foundation. The audio-to-text conversion uses GPT, so there may be errors.

Listen to the full podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asshoaJyCYs

Was Notcoin developed by your team? Why is it listed on both OKX and Binance?

Notcoin was not developed by our team. It was created by an independent community team. Yesterday's launch was very successful, the whole community is very excited, and the pre-launch buildup is amazing. The feedback from everyone has been very good.

We did encounter some issues. Even Bybit went down due to the high traffic from the Notcoin launch. The wallet on Telegram also encountered some issues, and the claim function did not work properly.

As for why it is listed on both OKX and Binance, it is because this is the largest web3 game launch ever. No web3 game has ever grown to 35 million users in just three months. Consider Axie Infinity, which was once considered the largest web3 game, but only had 2 million daily active users at its peak. In comparison, Notcoin had 6 million daily active users during its mining phase and 600,000 users playing online at the same time. This is an amazing milestone for the ecosystem, proving that projects that aim to scale and attract millions of users can do so on a platform like Telegram.

Exchanges want to be part of this momentous occasion. OKX, Binance, Bybit, and other exchanges have endorsed Notcoin’s vision of “maybe nothing”. The slogan “maybe nothing” is because Notcoin has never claimed to be something important, or even suggested that users might waste their time. But on the contrary, it has proven itself to be quite important.

What are the main applications in the TON ecosystem?

Telegram is an important part of the TON ecosystem. One of the first major use cases of the TON blockchain is Fragment.com, an app developed by Telegram itself. Fragment.com allows you to buy your Telegram username as an NFT. This is a groundbreaking feature because it allows you to own your social media username, which is a first in the history of social media. This concept is similar to owning valuable real estate on the blockchain. For example, there is only one username "@crypto" on the entire Telegram platform, and you can associate a small application with this username.

I liken this to buying land in central London in 1920. At the time, you could build various buildings to increase its value. Similarly, having a valuable username on Telegram can attract traffic and increase visibility for your project because Telegram users interact with it every day. This makes Fragment.com a game changer and one of the main applications in the TON ecosystem, with a total transaction volume of about $300 million since launch.

Another important application is @wallet. This is the main wallet within Telegram, allowing users to send and receive USDT, Bitcoin, TONcoin, and now Notcoin directly within Telegram private messages. This facilitates instant and borderless payments. For example, I can send any amount of money from London to Asia seamlessly. The goal of this wallet is to make global payments almost free and instant, potentially enabling fiat-to-fiat transactions within Telegram without users having to know they are using blockchain technology. This could revolutionize the way people send money across borders, making it extremely convenient.

Notcoin is another important application that has recently launched and has reached 35 million users. It has now entered a phase where project owners can purchase Notcoin and use it as a reward for completing on-chain tasks. In the initial stage, Notcoin's mining game was very successful and attracted thousands of users overnight. This proven model will continue to drive traffic and incentivize user participation in the TON ecosystem.

Are Telegram’s founders the real backers behind TON?

Telegram was indeed the original creator of the TON (The Open Network) blockchain and developed the underlying whitepaper and technology. However, due to regulatory issues with the SEC during the ICO, Telegram had to cease its direct involvement, return ICO funds to investors and pay a fine. At this point, Telegram handed over all development rights and control of the project to the community.

Community developers, now part of the TON Foundation where I work, took over the project from there. They had to develop and launch it from a relatively unusable state to where it is today before there was even a mainnet. This community-driven approach has been critical in advancing the current capabilities of the TON blockchain.

While Telegram is no longer developing the TON blockchain directly, it remains a key supporter and partner. Telegram has built applications on the TON blockchain, such as Fragment.com and the upcoming NFT stickers. They have also integrated TON blockchain features into Telegram, such as wallet integration in the settings menu. This partnership is critical because it provides an on-ramp to blockchain technology for millions of Telegram users.

Telegram's Mini Apps platform is open, allowing anyone to build Mini Apps, not just TON-based apps. However, TON has a unique integration with Telegram through TON Connect, enabling seamless blockchain interactions within Telegram. This integration is designed to make blockchain apps easy to use without leaving the Telegram app.

The collaboration between the TON Foundation and Telegram is beneficial to both parties. For Telegram, it drives new user growth and attracts developers to build applications on its platform. For TON, it provides a broad user base and a valuable digital environment for blockchain applications. This collaboration aims to leverage Telegram's broad influence and TON's blockchain capabilities to create the first web3 global super application.

Why hasn’t Binance launched TON yet? Has there been any communication about this? Is it possible to launch it in the future?

Due to confidentiality agreements, I am unable to comment on ongoing discussions. These confidentiality clauses prevent us from revealing any details of current or potential communications regarding Binance listing TON.

While I understand your curiosity, we must respect these confidentiality agreements and cannot provide specific information on this matter at this time.

Is there any interesting story about the cooperation between TON and USDT? How was this cooperation achieved and what are the future goals?

The partnership between TON and USDT is a major milestone for both platforms. The launch of USDT on TON was announced by Pavel Durov at the Token 2049 conference in Dubai in April. The partnership is a strategic fit, bringing together the world’s largest stablecoin with a highly scalable blockchain and a massive messaging platform like Telegram. The goal is to provide financial services to the unbanked and provide a stable currency to emerging markets that fights inflation.

An interesting story about the genesis of this partnership involves Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether (USDT). He was introduced to TON by community members at a restaurant. They explained how TON would be Telegram's main blockchain partner and suggested that USDT could use this partnership to reach Telegram's large user base. This initial introduction led to further discussions, and Paolo Ardoino pushed for the integration of USDT on TON and Telegram. He realized that through Telegram's messaging platform, USDT could reach unbanked populations that are difficult to reach through traditional marketing channels, thereby expanding USDT's market share.

Since its launch, TON has achieved tremendous success. Since its announcement in April, the circulating supply of USDT on TON has reached $275 million, with approximately 75,000 users holding USDT on the blockchain. This growth has far exceeded initial expectations, with the first-year goal of $100 million circulating supply surpassed three times in just four weeks.

Future goals include continuing to leverage Telegram’s influence to expand USDT’s user base, especially in emerging markets. By integrating USDT into the TON ecosystem, this collaboration aims to provide seamless, borderless financial services to a wider audience, making stablecoins more convenient and practical for everyday use.

This collaboration is an example of how blockchain technology and stablecoins can work together to solve real-world financial challenges, especially for the underbanked. This growing momentum is encouraging, and this collaboration is expected to achieve greater success in the future.

Is TON more focused on the Asian market? Are there any regulatory restrictions in the European and American markets?

We do focus more on markets where mini-app developers have a strong presence, especially in Asia and the CIS. These markets are very familiar with super apps, which are popular and widely used in these regions. For example, Line and KakaoTalk in Asia and VK in Russia have established the super app model. Developers and users in these regions understand the concept of integrating multiple services into a single messaging app, which makes it easier for us to introduce and scale our solution.

Our strategy is to leverage this familiarity by enabling blockchain capabilities for existing mini-app developers. These developers can significantly increase their revenue and user engagement while gaining access to Telegram’s broad user base by integrating with the TON blockchain.

We recently participated in the Hong Kong Web3 Festival, validating our approach. The feedback was very positive, and developers showed great interest in our technical roadmap and market support. Especially in Asia, developers are enthusiastic and understanding about participating in the global Web3 super app movement through Telegram.

Regarding regulatory restrictions in the European and US markets, we are very cautious about the different regulatory environments. While I cannot comment on specific restrictions, it is clear that these regions have stricter regulatory frameworks for blockchain and cryptocurrency projects. This is also why our focus remains on regions that have a more favorable and understanding attitude towards blockchain innovation.

Momentum is growing in Asia and Eastern Europe, where developers are keen to build and scale applications on the TON Blockchain. While we are still in the early stages of the ecosystem's development, with only a few hundred applications and no single killer app with over 100 million users, our strategy and narrative are solid. As we continue to grow and validate our approach, we expect further expansion and success in these key markets.

Regarding the inequality between Eastern and Western developers, this is indeed an important issue, Eastern developers generally do not have access to the same funding as Western developers. Most venture capital happens in the West, which puts Eastern developers at a disadvantage. This is why we focus on Eastern Europe and Asia. We provide a platform to attract users, so that any venture capital will be interested in applications with a large number of users, such as 10 million or 20 million users. Building on platforms like TON and Telegram can give these developers the opportunity to reach the same stage as their Western counterparts.

We have a project called Open League, which is our ecosystem growth strategy. This project has exceeded my expectations. Open League is an ecosystem-wide competition where projects compete based on their performance metrics such as total locked value (TVL) and growth in user base. Successful projects will receive TON Coin as rewards.

Another benefit of the Open League is the LP enhancement provided by the TON Foundation, which improves the liquidity pool on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), making the tokens of participating projects more attractive. This increased liquidity stimulates interest and enthusiasm for these projects. Unlike traditional grants that are funded by the foundation, the Open League provides a transparent system with clear rules. Projects that follow these rules and perform well can win generous rewards. For example, in the recently concluded Season 2, the top project received a reward of $375,000. This approach is more fair and encourages continued development and community participation.

Additionally, we will be launching the Open League Summer Season, which will include 13 hackathons in 13 countries, including Hong Kong and Taipei. These events bring together people with ideas for building on TON to showcase and compete for a share of the $2 million prize pool. Successful participants will advance to the Open League, which will attract a large amount of user interest and participation.

Since the launch of Open League in March, the results have been very impressive. Daily active wallets have increased by 725%, DeFi TVL has increased by 800%, and liquidity providers have increased by 765%. Daily trading volume on our DEX has increased by 1,038%, and the number of token holders has grown to 1.6 million, an increase of 13%. These metrics demonstrate the effectiveness of the program in driving growth in the ecosystem. To date, we have announced a total of 30 million TON (~$200 million) in rewards to reward Open League projects and their users. Season 3 just launched two days ago, and we look forward to seeing continued growth and innovation.

How is the distribution of TON tokens? Do early miners hold a large number of tokens?

Since the TON Foundation is not the original issuer of TON Coin, we rely on public on-chain data to understand its distribution. According to Token Terminal, there are currently 17.11 million addresses holding TON Coin. Initially, most of the tokens were distributed to a few large holders. However, many of these holders are not actively circulating their tokens because they prefer to hold them for the long term.

To clarify the circulating supply, the community implemented two major initiatives. First, in early 2023, the community and validators conducted an on-chain vote to freeze the wallets of inactive miners. These wallets accounted for approximately 21% of the total supply, and now these tokens are locked until February 2027.

Second, the community launched the TON Believers Fund, which allowed TON holders to lock their tokens for five years — two years locked and three years vested. Users could choose to donate or deposit TON into a smart contract, and depositors would receive rewards from the donated TON. This initiative was very successful, resulting in another 26% of the supply being locked for five years.

Together, these initiatives lock up approximately 47% of the total supply. The Open League also helps address this issue by actively distributing TON Coin to community members and projects. This system encourages early holders to donate their TON Coins, thereby growing the ecosystem and distributing TON Coins to the most active and valuable participants.

Open League decentralizes supply over time, rewarding the most valuable projects and users. We expect this process to continue over the next two to three years, further decentralizing supply.

Another way to decentralize supply is through Telegram ads. Telegram’s ad platform shares 50% of ad revenue with channel owners in the form of TON Coins. Advertisers pay TON Coins, and creators are rewarded in TON Coins. This system distributes TON Coins to channel owners and further decentralizes supply over time.

While we need to figure out the best way to protect the ecosystem, initiatives like the Open League and Telegram ads are critical. With 47% of the supply locked up until 2027, we have a solid foundation for decentralizing and growing the TON ecosystem.

What important milestones has TON achieved this year?

I can share some of the key factors driving TON's growth. The first major milestone was the launch of Open League in March. Since then, our metrics have shown tremendous improvement. March 4th marked the start of Open League Season 1, a period of rapid progress for us.

Another important milestone was the implementation of wallet integration into Telegram settings. This brings us closer to seamless integration with Telegram. Also, Telegram’s announcement to build its advertising platform on the TON blockchain was a major development. This is a unique case of such a large-scale advertising platform being built on blockchain technology. Advertising is the dominant application of the internet, and major companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon make most of their revenue from advertising. Now, with Telegram’s blockchain-based advertising and a generous revenue sharing program (50% given to creators within Telegram), this is a groundbreaking development.

The launch of USDT on Token 2049 is another important event. It simplifies borderless payments using USDT, as the largest stablecoin, allowing free and instant transfers within Telegram. This is a use case with huge potential and I look forward to seeing its full impact.

Looking ahead, the launch of Telegram stickers on TON is an exciting development. Similar to the 2021 craze for NFT avatars, NFT stickers on TON and Telegram could revolutionize the ecosystem. These stickers have sentimental value and real utility, and users can display them in their daily messages. We are already working with major NFT projects to make this a reality.