TVM Ventures has launched a $100 million fund to promote the expansion of The Open Network's on-chain offerings — signaling a push to steer the network away from its reliance on L2s.
TVM said the goal of the fund is to equip startups and enterprises with capital and infrastructure to drive mass adoption of TON, a blockchain developed in concert with messaging app Telegram. The fund will do that by promoting development on the TON blockchain's base layer, rather than on its L2s or side chains.
If TON doesn't develop its own blockchain, it “will become yet another EVM L2 where people come to farm ‘new’ projects that copy and paste smart contracts written years ago in Ethereum,” TON Foundation board member Steve Yun told Decrypt.
Telegram Goes Exclusive With TON, Barring Other Networks From Apps and Games
Messaging platform Telegram is making things official with TON—again. On Tuesday, Telegram and The Open Network Foundation announced an exclusivity deal that will require Telegram mini apps (including games) with crypto integrations to use TON, with Telegram also providing various benefits to projects that utilize the network. “The integration of TON as the exclusive blockchain for Telegram mini apps is a strategic step forward, strengthening TON's status as one of the world's leading blockchain...
Allocations from the fund will go toward three investment pillars, the firm said: Decentralized finance infrastructure, cross-border payments and security on TON.
Under that investing framework, TVM Ventures plans to prioritize DeFi protocols that enable users to store and save their crypto and access other traditional banking-like services. Meanwhile, it will also allocate funds to accelerating projects that address “vast inefficiencies” in remittances and the broader cross-border payments space, according to Yun.
Telegram Will Let Users Convert Digital Gifts Into Tradable TON NFTs
Telegram announced this week that it will allow users to turn gifts into NFTs on The Open Network using Telegram Stars, its in-app currency that is linked to Toncoin (TON), the native token of the blockchain network. Gifts, unveiled by Telegram in October, are a collection of animated artworks and custom messages that can be given and then displayed on a user's profile in Telegram. The new feature is part of Telegram’s first update of 2025, and will allow users of its messaging app to upgrade...
On the security front, TVM Ventures said it will also support safety across its portfolio protocols, collaborating with advanced security auditors for the TON Virtual Machine.
TON launched in 2021, aiming to onboard at least 500 million users to Web3. It started as the brainchild of messaging app Telegram, which eventually passed the buck to an outside community of builders due to regulatory concerns.
Still, Telegram and TON have become increasingly enmeshed over the past two years, with several applications bringing in waves of Telegram users to the network. Those applications include TON Wallet, an application launched on Telegram to facilitate tap-to-earn crypto games such as Hamster Combast, Notcoin and Catizen. The games have managed to attract hundreds of millions of players.
Telegram Game 'Farm Frens' Airdrop Delayed as Devs Call TON 'The Closed Network'
Telegram game Farm Frens is delaying its FREN token airdrop on the Base layer-2 network until February, citing important roadmap adjustments as a result of “unreasonable deadlines” from Telegram and The Open Network. The game sounded off about “heavy-handed restrictions” that stem from the recent announcement that all Telegram mini apps with crypto integrations would need to utilize The Open Network (TON) moving forward. “Mini app devs (like our team) were given no prior warning, and the heavy...
However, Yun envisions a world in which the TON community is focused on its own chain, rather than side chains and L2s.
Building on a Layer 1 enables users to have a more decentralized and secure experience than building on Layer-2 networks, which typically sacrifice security for speed. It also prevents the fragmentation of liquidity, he said.
“TON is at a crossroads,” Yun said. “It can either pursue the path of reliance on L2s and side-chains or dedicate itself to its own chain. We choose the latter.”
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
