Telegram Bets on TON for Web3 Ecosystem, President Steve Yun Defends Decision

Telegram's decision to exclusively support The Open Network (TON) for its in-app Web3 ecosystem has sparked debate within the community. TON Foundation president Steve Yun, however, maintains that this move is not a limitation but a necessity, given TON's unique features that enable it to serve a mass audience.

Yun highlighted TON's high network capacity, which suits Telegram's demand for a blockchain that can handle the transactions of its 950 million users. He noted that TON was designed for mass adoption and has implemented sharding since its birth, making it scalable and secure. Yun also addressed security concerns, stating that using an unscalable blockchain could lead to compromises in product security.

Despite concerns about Telegram's blockchain centralization, Yun emphasized that the TON blockchain remains permissionless and open to everyone. He clarified that Telegram bots will continue to support multiple blockchains, while Mini Apps will exclusively use TON. Yun compared this approach to a freemium model, where building on the bot ecosystem is open to all blockchains, but using TON is required for a web interface.

Yun believes that TON's exclusive partnership with Telegram is an absolute bullish sign for the TON network. As the Telegram ecosystem matures, more teams will want access to its user base, leading to more builders and use cases for TON. However, Yun acknowledged the recent market decline of Toncoin (TON), the blockchain's native cryptocurrency, and the decrease in total value locked in the TON ecosystem.

To support growth on TON, Yun launched TVM Ventures, a $100 million fund to promote the building of decentralized finance and payment finance applications. With this fund, Yun expects to distribute about $25 million in the next 12 months. He emphasized the importance of focusing on building scalable decentralized products and attracting more capital by increasing the number of products and services on TON.