Introduction:
As the summer of 2024 approaches, the TON Network is experiencing unprecedented growth, with daily active addresses, transaction volume, and total value locked (TVL) reaching new highs. These achievements signify the beginning of a golden decade for the TON ecosystem. The CGV Research team delves into the internal innovations and external market factors that have propelled TON to become a leading blockchain platform.
TON’s Record-Breaking Achievements:
Every day in June 2024, TON has been setting new records in terms of users, transaction volume, and TVL:
– The number of daily active addresses on TON has surpassed that of Ethereum (ETH) for multiple days in a row.
– The TVL on TON has surpassed $600 million, a 1000-fold increase since 2024.
– Within 47 days, $450 million worth of USDT has been issued on TON.
– Steve, the Chairman of the TON Foundation, has proposed that the milestone of widespread crypto adoption has been achieved with the launch of the first TON mini-application, Hamster Kombat, which already has 100 million Telegram users.
Internal Drivers of TON’s Growth:
1. Wallet Innovations: In July 2023, TON introduced new wallet payment features, enhancing user experience. In September, TON launched TONSpace, a self-custodial wallet that allows users to manage their private keys and assets. In December, the Telegram app added a secondary entry point for wallets, enabling users to conveniently use the TON wallet within Telegram.
2. Token Locking Strategies: In early 2023, the TON community and validators voted to freeze the wallets of inactive miners, which accounted for approximately 21% of the total supply, until February 2027. In October, the community initiated the TON Believers Fund, a five-year locking plan that allows users to donate or store their tokens in smart contracts. This locks 26% of the supply, totaling around 47% of TON tokens locked for three to five years, effectively reducing the circulating supply in the market and promoting token price stability.
3. Deployment of TON Native USDT: In April 2024, Tether announced the introduction of USDT on the TON Network. This integration has provided TON with USDT-related transactions and financial activities, offering strong support for DeFi applications. The issuance of USDT on TON quickly surpassed that of Cosmos and Near, making it the fifth-largest network after Tron, Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche.
4. Breakthrough in Blockchain Performance: On October 31, 2023, TON achieved a peak of 104,715 transactions per second and processed a total of 107,652,545 transactions during a public performance stress test. This performance, verified by Certik, positions TON as one of the fastest and most scalable blockchains globally.
5. Market Promotion: In the spring of 2024, TON attracted a significant number of users and market attention through the launch of the #OpenLeague super league with a total prize pool of $150 million. Additionally, the dividend-sharing strategy implemented by the TON Foundation in collaboration with Telegram and the listing of Notcoin on major exchanges greatly enhanced its market performance and brand influence.
External Factors Impacting TON:
1. Pantera’s Large Investment: In May 2024, Pantera made the largest investment in TON Network to date, showcasing recognition of TON’s technological and market potential and potentially attracting more capital and market confidence in the TON ecosystem.
2. Global Competitive Environment and Market Demand: With Elon Musk’s X Application planning to introduce crypto payment functionality in mid-2024, TON faces pressure from global competitors. Additionally, the entire crypto market is in need of new market narratives and development directions, and TON’s innovative technology and applications inject new vitality into the market.
3. Demand for New Narratives: The crypto industry requires new narratives and directions, and TON’s growth in users and transaction volume through social virality and the flywheel effect brings new vitality to the market.
CGV Research Foresees Four Development Trends for the TON Ecosystem:
Trend 1: The Black Hole Effect of Telegram’s Full Ecosystem Expansion:
Telegram, originally an instant messaging tool, has evolved into a multi-functional platform integrating social, payment, subscription, and mini-application functions. With the integration of TON, Telegram is rapidly advancing along a similar trajectory.
– Upstream (Infrastructure and Development Platform): TON provides robust infrastructure and software development kits (SDKs), attracting developers to build and deploy decentralized applications (DApps), potentially weakening the development resources of other blockchain platforms.
– Midstream (Application Layer and Services): TON’s ecosystem offers customized stablecoin solutions, micro-payment systems, and seamless integration of mainstream crypto assets through official cross-chain bridges, providing users with an all-in-one asset management and trading platform.
– Downstream (User Adoption and Market Expansion): Telegram’s vast user base provides TON with market access points. By establishing relationships with financial institutions, media companies, and retailers, Telegram can incorporate crypto technology into a broader range of economic activities.
Trend 2: Unregulated Barrier-Free + Fastest Public Chain + Flywheel Effect, Enabling Limitless Potential for TON Ecosystem:
TON’s global service capabilities, unrestricted by specific country or regional financial regulations, combined with its high performance and user growth flywheel effect, indicate that the potential of the TON ecosystem may have no limits.
– Monetizing Traffic: Telegram’s traffic advantage brings significant monetization potential to TON, especially in decentralized markets like Fragment, which has already facilitated significant trading volume.
– NFT Market: The conversion of Telegram stickers into NFTs for trading on the TON blockchain signifies a massive emerging market.
– Revenue Generation for Web3 Projects: TON’s mini-apps have the potential to become high-income Web3 projects, leveraging its vast daily active user base.
Trend 3: Involvement of Global Financial Giants: Mainstream Recognition of the TON Ecosystem:
As the TON platform matures and cross-chain capabilities are implemented, it may attract the attention of traditional financial institutions, prompting them to explore blockchain technology and collaborate with TON.
– Financial Service Innovations: Financial institutions may migrate their services to TON or collaborate with TON, leveraging its low cost and high efficiency advantages.
– Stablecoins and Financial Products: Financial institutions may develop new loans, insurance, and investment products on TON, and even create stablecoins pegged to specific assets.
Trend 4: Shift in Investment Logic: The Non-Necessity of Token Economics:
The maturity of the TON ecosystem may change the investment logic in the primary market, making tokens no longer a mandatory requirement for crypto projects.
– Technology and Business Models: Projects may rely on mature technology and business models to attract users and investors, rather than solely relying on token economics.
– Regulatory Adaptability: Projects that do not issue tokens may find it easier to adapt to regulatory environments and avoid potential legal risks.
– Investment Analysis: Future assessments of TON ecosystem projects may focus more on actual user data and business performance, such as daily active users (DAU), user retention, and average revenue per user (ARPU), rather than just token unlocking and distribution.
Conclusion:
The rise of the TON ecosystem signifies the future direction of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. With deep integration into Telegram and innovative driving forces, a new ecosystem is forming, which will not only change our understanding of financial services, social interactions, and digital assets but also bring unprecedented convenience and opportunities to global users.
