TON’s cross-ecological interconnection

Repost the original title:Reinterpret the cross-ecological interconnection of “unpopular public chain” TON

Introduction: Decoupling of the Classical Public Chain Concept

The data from DefiLlama and CoinMarketCap appears to clearly indicate that TON is a “large yet lesser-known public blockchain.” While its total market capitalization consistently ranks in the top 20, the 24-hour transaction volume consistently falls outside the top 100. The Total Value Locked (TVL) is currently at 53 million, which does not place it within the top 50 public blockchains. The MC/TVL valuation has surged to a remarkable 293, which is 33 times higher than that of Ethereum.

Source: DefiLlama, CoinMarketCap

Over the past few months, there has been a notable shift in the public chain concept originally defined by Ethereum due to the emergence of Rollup and modularity. The narrative surrounding blockchain technology has undergone a transformation, with a weakening focus on the traditional chain structure. The market has embraced Blast’s undeserved reputation and recognized AO’s utilization of network names for public chain operations.

This evolution has expedited the unveiling of TON’s potential within its unconventional positioning. The market’s perception of TON has transitioned from the conventional public chain narrative, moving away from Total Value Locked (TVL) metrics. Instead, attention is shifting towards daily and monthly active user metrics, which provide a more user-centric perspective.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Telegram founder Durov disclosed that Telegram has surpassed 900 million monthly active users, with a valuation exceeding $30 billion and potential plans for an IPO. In comparison to Meta’s 3 billion monthly active users and $1.3 trillion market capitalization, Telegram’s valuation stands at only 1/40th. Telegram’s user base is predominantly concentrated in Asia, Europe, South America, and the Middle East, characterized by strong retail presence and a high demand for peer-to-peer payments, positioning it as an ideal candidate for Web3 integration. Considering Telegram’s ongoing growth trajectory, if TON can attract 30% of Telegram’s user base over the next 3-5 years, it could significantly bolster its valuation and sustainability.

Source: DefiLlama, CoinMarketCap, Nansen, Token Terminal

New Paradigm of Web3 Creation: Content Packaging and Value Transfer Based on Telegram

Distribution model split, Telegram opens Web2 incremental market

In an article from last year, I delineated the three stages of the Web3 creator economy. The 1.0 stage adheres to the basic “blockchain +” logic and embraces the centralized content creation + Web3 distribution model (primarily through NFTs). This model remains predominant at present, although NFTs are increasingly being utilized more for speculative purposes before actual creative content.

Throughout this year, my journey through the TON ecosystem has led me to a growing realization that the function of encapsulating content/rights/governance in NFTs might be more seamlessly replaced by the “channel-advertising-payment” system rooted in the same attention-driven traffic flow. Friend.tech, a well-received platform, represents an intermediary embodiment of this concept by packaging group chats into assets. However, the challenge lies in the limited scalability of content and the sustainability of the economic model.

In contrast to numerous NFT and SocialFi projects grappling with identifying asset application scenarios, the TON ecosystem, leveraging Telegram, has established a product experience and value network that is particularly conducive to Web2 developers, creators, and users. Within existing social networks, the Web3 distribution model is segmented into Web2 business form + middleware wallet + Web3 settlement. This approach not only reduces the comprehension and operational barriers for creators and users but also enhances creators’ revenue streams through sources like advertising shares.

Source: Lydia @Mint Ventures

From content to services, Trading Bot helps Web3 stock conversion

WeChat, the prominent Web2 Super App, has expanded its ecosystem from content to services through the introduction of service accounts and mini programs. Similarly, Telegram has adopted a comparable approach and solidified its role as a mobile traffic gateway by introducing corporate accounts and service Bots. Notably, Trading Bots have gained popularity among cryptocurrency users.

The Trading Bot sector has experienced significant growth since 2023 and stands out as one of the few products with genuine demand and cash flow during bear markets. As the market turned bullish, the attractiveness of Trading Bots further intensified. Leading protocols like Banana Gun and Unibot are generating daily revenues surpassing $200,000. Presently, the majority of Trading Bots interact via Telegram, with only a few operating on web pages and Discord.

Source: https://dune.com/whale_hunter/dex-trading-bot-wars

Currently, Trading Bot trading is largely independent of TON, primarily utilizing Telegram’s Bot module to interface with Ethereum and Solana. Nevertheless, the surge in Bot popularity has significantly enhanced market education and user engagement within the TON ecosystem. As cryptocurrency users adapt to innovative interaction methods like Bots, the psychological barriers to exploring other non-transactional products within the TON ecosystem are expected to diminish substantially. With the integration of a comprehensive on-chain identity system and payment module, TON has the potential to establish a self-contained system for content packaging and value transfer.

Exploration of the Market Model: TON’s Bot Universe and Mini App Store

Currently, numerous products within the TON ecosystem appear as basic Telegram Bot gateways combined with H5 web pages, accompanied by Telegram groups where users interact dynamically, creating a vibrant and bustling market atmosphere.

In the meme project Notcoin, players simply click on the gold coins displayed on the screen to earn points. They can also join celebrity teams (like Telegram founder Durov) or “send red envelopes” to friends to attract more traffic. With its straightforward gameplay and viral spread, Notcoin attracted 5 million players in just one week. Presently, the player count has exceeded 26 million, and X (Twitter) has 1 million followers. In early trading following its launch, the highest transaction volume reached was a purchase of 100 million points for 1100 TON (approximately 4521 U).

Farcaster’s Frames feature, which gained favor among crypto celebrities, was introduced in January 2024 and was lauded as a groundbreaking innovation. However, the functionality of this feature on mobile devices with denser traffic distribution has been underwhelming. While users can execute basic Swap and Mint operations, engaging in more intricate interactions, including simple mini-games, within a confined space occupying less than one-third of the mobile screen poses a significant visual challenge.

A less-discussed aspect in comparisons is that the integration of Telegram and TON has effectively achieved an almost seamless transition from a chat box to a semi-native application. The speed of accessing the application via Bot is even quicker than that of the WeChat mini-program.

Telegram introduced the Bot feature in June 2015 with limitations such as “inability to customize the interface style” and “client-server communication indirectness.” The Trading Bot developed using this feature is not a standalone application but an intermediary interface, resulting in constrained response speeds and challenges in conducting simultaneous multiple interactions.

In April 2022, Telegram introduced Mini App, enabling developers to have complete control over the user interface and enabling direct client-server communication. Mini App offers enhanced user interaction, improved composability, and seamless integration with infrastructure like wallets. It is well-suited for deploying a range of Web3 products and has the potential to replace all mobile web pages.

Following the introduction of Mini App, Bot did not fade into obscurity but rather functioned as a “transmission room,” acting as the initial point of user interaction to link multiple Mini Apps in succession.

Source：TON x Fans | TON Heart Fans

Source: Lydia

Deploying a Bot and Mini App at this point is straightforward. Users can easily create their own Bot through Q&A on the Telegram @BotFather channel. After setup completion on @DurgerKingBot, users can also enjoy the virtual ordering experience of the Mini App.

Differentiated on-chain experience: the highlight of TON ecology

Lightweight gaming

In a time of public chain overcapacity, playing a game on Ethereum L2, Solana, or BSC may not yield significantly different experiences. However, for games with pronounced social elements like chess, card games, or other group activities, the experience of instantly sharing a team on Telegram or engaging in random matches with strangers online can vary significantly.

Tap Fantasy originally started as an MMORPG game on Facebook. Transitioning to Web3, it attracted over 700,000 players on the BSC and Solana chains. In August 2023, as TonUP’s inaugural IDO project and the primary Launchpad of the TON ecosystem, Tap Fantasy’s token $MC sold out within 30 minutes. By November 2023, Tap Fantasy introduced a new version based on TON, released by the Web3 game incubation company Pluto. Within three months, the new version garnered over 600,000 players, with more than 16,000 players on the chain. The robust in-game economy led to a rise in the $MC token’s exchange rate against TON from 0.2 to 1.

Pluto’s new game, Catizen, is a metaverse cat-raising game that incorporates AI. It underwent beta testing on March 7, 2024, attracting over 160,000 players and 13,000 on-chain users within five days. Catizen has partnered with $FISH, a prominent meme token in the TON ecosystem, and plans to distribute airdrops to $FISH holders following the testing phase.

Source: Tap Fantasy TON version dashboard

Source: Catizen dashboard

Social Tokens and Memes

As a novel asset issuance approach that has surfaced in this cycle, the expansion of the BTC minting ecosystem across multiple chains represents an experimental trend. TON’s minting ecosystem development incorporates the Telegram front-end and a built-in wallet, enhancing interaction convenience while addressing security concerns effectively.

• $NANO: The inaugural TON20 token, introducing 20 million interactions and 36,000 distinct minting addresses to the TON ecosystem.
• $GRAM: Named in honor of the native Token of the Telegram Open Network, which was halted by the SEC. It utilized the Telegram mini-program interface for deployment, minting, and transfers for the first time.
• $TONOT: Surpassed $NANO’s record with 61,000 independent minting addresses and 57,000 holders. It facilitates inscription-to-NFT token conversions and includes plans for in-game currency, DID, and staking mining.

For a considerable period, meme assets have struggled to gain traction on the “unpopular public chain” TON, leaving crypto users without a prominent gateway to explore TON until the emergence of Notcoin.

• $NOT: Notcoin is set to distribute $NOT tokens by the end of March or early April, with pre-market trading underway on Getgems, the NFT trading platform in the TON ecosystem.
• $REDO: Inspired by Telegram founder Durov’s hand-drawn sketches during protests, $REDO is the most valuable meme asset in the TON ecosystem.
• $FISH: Ton Fish stands as the premier social meme in the TON ecosystem, boasting over 18,000 current holders.
• $TPET: Ton Pet, an ecological meme related to Ton Fish, will undergo a fair launch until March 26 and will serve as the primary token for the game Ton Pet: Tik Ton. Holders of $FISH and NFTs stand a chance to receive airdrops.

Multi-chain Liquidity Launchpad

XTON, the pioneering Launchpad in the TON ecosystem, is spearheading the integration of multi-chain liquidity with team members hailing from the TON Foundation. The mainnet launch and token sale for XTON are scheduled for Q1, with the first project slated for launch in Q2. Aligned with XTON’s vision, the TON ecosystem is poised to achieve seamless bilateral traffic integration between the Web2 social behemoth and the Web3 EVM realm.

Conclusion: Towards an interconnected future

Starting from March, various developments like Telegram’s decision to utilize TON for managing advertising revenue, Binance’s introduction of U-based contracts, and Telegram’s exploration of an IPO have sparked a surge in the price of the long-inactive TON cryptocurrency. This surge has seen a rapid two-level increase, accompanied by a notable uptick in on-chain activity.

Source: https://www.tonstat.com/

Reviewing TON’s journey since 2018, from Telegram’s inception to the community’s stewardship, and from the introduction of the initial cross-chain bridge to the ongoing enhancement of infrastructure, the resilience and dynamism of the TON ecosystem are truly remarkable. In 2024, TON’s strategic focus will center on stablecoins, cross-chain bridges, and expansion into the Asian market. Anticipating TON’s evolution into a genuinely open network facilitating connectivity across diverse regions, ecosystems, and applications, we eagerly await the realization of its potential. Each participant may catch a glimpse of the futuristic promises long associated with blockchain technology.

*All information in this article is accurate as of March 13, 2024.

References

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC5G2581M8s&ab_channel=TOKEN2049
2. https://decrypt.co/220711/telegram-game-notcoin-launches-pre-market-trading-ahead-airdrop
3. https://medium.com/@tonx_fans/tg-mini-app-dev-3aff329bf05a
4. https://ton.org/en/roadmap
5. https://www.techflowpost.com/article/detail_16072.html

Disclaimer:

This article is a reproduction of the original content from mintventures, originally titled “Reinterpret the cross-ecological interconnection of the “unpopular public chain” TON”. The copyright belongs to the original author Lydia Wu. If there are any concerns regarding the reprint, please contact Gate Learn Team for prompt resolution in accordance with relevant procedures.

Disclaimer: please note that the perspectives shared in this article are solely the author’s personal opinions and do not serve as investment advice. The article’s translations into other languages were done by the Gate Learn team and are not associated with Gate.io, distribution, or plagiarism of the translated content is prohibited.