TON blockchain expanded exponentially with successful projects like Hamster Kombat in 2024. Since January, its native cryptocurrency, Toncoin, has grown two-fold, and it has even reached the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap due to this surge, surpassing Bitcoin and Ether.
Another major impetus came from crypto exchange Bitget, which invested $30 million in T0N and gained control over its governance. Everything looked great. However, a report by Bitget caught the attention of weaknesses in TON’s ecosystem.
Concerns Over TON Future
“The development of TON is heavily reliant on the traffic generated by Telegram, and the deep integration of T0N with Telegram’s wallet and user base creates a significant dependency on the messaging platform. Consequently, the regulatory risks associated with Telegram loom over the T0N blockchain like a ‘Sword of Damocles.’”
While TON is one of the fastest-growing blockchains, there are several problems, according to the report of Bitget. Firstly, TON’s defi infrastructure is very weak. Unlike other main blockchains, TON does not have resources for building and developing thriving decentralized finance systems.
Of course, this fact can interfere with the project, but the key point is that T0N is very closely connected to Telegram. The messaging app is under heavy lawsuits against it, and its founder, Pavel Durov, has just been arrested. Hence, most people are worried that troubles at Telegram may involve TON, which risks damaging the latter’s destiny.
According to the report by Bitget, the success of TON will depend entirely on the traffic and user base generated through the platform of Telegram. That such integration exists between TON and Telegram means that any regulatory issues facing Telegram will hurt T0N’s global expansion and adoption. It has described this as a “Sword of Damocles” hanging over the blockchain.
A newly launched app named Wallet from Telegram, which allows users to send and receive Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, has been suspended in the UK. The operators of the app would like to go through the process of applying for permission at the FCA, which means they would continue to operate lawfully.
Meanwhile, the arrest of Durov led to a value hit on T0N, and experts speculated that it might need to “de-telegramize” itself to create distance from Telegram messaging. This would be dangerous, however. T0N probably wouldn’t survive for too long since it relies heavily on the user base from Telegram. According to the report, this separation would be challenging to achieve and could starve T0NS of users.
Where did TON come from?
A look into the past also gives insight into T0N’s future. In 2017, Telegram prepared to release its own blockchain, the Telegram Open Network, raising a total of $1.7 billion in a token sale for Grams. Its plans had to be put on hold, however, after losing a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, forcing it to cancel the project and repay investors.
The remnants of decentralized teams took where Telegram dropped off and built the T0N we have now, but in doing so, differences of opinion arose over what TON should be, giving rise to competing visions.
Enemies of TON Today
Ron Millow is a blockchain entrepreneur, and he was an early member of Free T0N, but he complains about what T0N has become. Free T0N later transformed into Everscale—another blockchain that attempted to decentralize development.
According to Millow, T0N lacked strong infrastructure in DeFi and was highly focused on branding. He is of the opinion that the Everscale and the T0N project should have collaborated initially by providing the much-needed DeFi infrastructure from Everscale. The two projects gained at each other’s expense, ending with Telegram eventually endorsing Toncoin.
Millow doesn’t believe TON can differentiate itself from Telegram. According to him, one thing has nothing to do with another in marketing or rebranding. He believes that the fix is for Toncoin and Everscale to become one project. Otherwise, he says, investors will avoid Toncoin because of the headaches Durov’s lawsuits are causing.
Supporters of TON’s Future
Not everyone has shared Millow’s despair about the future of TON. One of Free TON co-founders, Mitja Goroshevsky, is in great disagreement with the notion that T0N needs to depart itself from Telegram.
According to Goroshevsky, Telegram will successfully end all its lawsuits, and TON will only gain more through its relationship with the messenger. He claims that T0N’s own task of attracting a massive user base from Telegram has been a success.
TON has introduced millions of new users to the world of Web3, an adoption level that no other blockchain has achieved, except for Bitcoin. Its relation with Telegram brought T0N a considerable source—nearly one billion users in the Web3 community.
Growth and Adoption Potential
Even though Bitget has some downsides, its report is not entirely negative. There are signs that the T0N project may increase further as more developers and institutions start supporting it. New use cases might be opened, eventually leaving room for the proliferation of Bitcoin adoption.
The report also states that the large user base of T0N can add speed to the penetration of cryptocurrencies in the daily wallets of consumers. Even one or two meme tokens from the TON, which will return handsome gains for the investors, may come.
Response of Telegram to Legal Troubles
Pavel Durov, meanwhile, is on bail but not in France. So far, he has answered allegations of wrongdoing with a declaration to intensify efforts at moderation within Telegram. He has promised to crack down on illegal content and cooperate more closely with governments investigating app users.
While these moves may consolidate the position of Telegram on the legal side, the next few months are going to be crucial for both Telegram and T0N. Results will imply a long-term situation for the blockchain.
Conclusion
T0N is at a crossroads: This has been the fast-growing startup that attracted millions of users towards Web3 through the bridges built into its messaging platform, Telegram. But as a project, its dependence on the messaging platform is a massive risk factor, given the current legal problems that are being faced by Telegram.
Proposals for “de-telegramization” are being floated on the scene, but this would become too hazardous a step, ultimately depriving TON of the users it needs to survive. Some thought that TON should be united with Everscale in an attempt to make a greater blockchain; others think that Telegram will get out of its legal trouble, then TON will continue going up.
Ultimately, all will depend on whether TON can pass the regulatory challenges surrounding Telegram and create a more meaningful DeFi ecosystem. The direction the steps there will take is anybody’s guess, but it’s plain that for this promising blockchain, the next few months will be crucial.
