The team behind Welcome to Whale, one of the TON blockchain’s standout NFT collections, is preparing for a fair launch of their highly anticipated token. As part of this roadmap, token distribution has already begun through Wheel of Whales, a play-to-earn miniapp on Telegram.

The Whale Story

When Welcome to Whale launched in November 2023, it was expected to be just another pfp NFT free mint without any increase in value expectations. After 12 months, Welcome to Whale collection floor price is around 4TON, having over 28 000 transactions and keeping the price especially through the utility provided by Wheel of Whales minigame. 

The Road to Token Generation

As part of its carefully structured roadmap, the Whale team released Wheel of Whales, a Telegram-based mini-game that has over 5 million users. The miniapp offers multiple fun games, simple tasks with rewards, and play-to-earn mechanics. To date, more than 60 billion tokens have been collected through the game, underscoring its rapid growth and adoption.

A Unique Approach to Tokenomics

The Whale project is taking a community-first approach to its token launch. Unlike many crypto projects, it has opted not to raise money from VCs via private sales. This decision reflects the team’s commitment to reducing post-launch sell pressure and avoiding the inflationary risks when large stakeholders are onboarded.

“We believe that a fair launch is the best way to empower our community,” a company spokesperson explained. “With deflationary mechanisms embedded in the token’s design, we’re confident that we have found the best way to share wealth with the community. Involving VCs (read: crypto “whales”) would compromise these principles by inflating the target market cap at TGE.”

What’s Next for Whale?

As Q1 2025 approaches, anticipation builds around the next major update to Wheel of Whales. It aims to streamline token earning mechanisms and attract a wider audience.

Whale’s focus on community-driven growth and transparent tokenomics represents a shift in the norms of blockchain gaming and crypto tokens. As the team continues to innovate and prioritize its user base, they are setting a new benchmark for fairness and sustainability in the space.

The seas of blockchain gaming are crowded, they are proving that when you put your community first, you don’t just float — you rise to the top like a true whale.