Introduction to TON’s Financial Ambition
The TON blockchain has been making waves in the crypto world, particularly with the rise of viral tap-to-earn games on Telegram. Games like Hamster Kombat and Notcoin drew in millions of players overnight, pushing daily active wallets to nearly 2 million by September 2024. This surge in activity has proven that the TON blockchain can match the pace of only a few other blockchains, with on-board channels seeing a significant increase in user engagement.
However, this hype-oriented acceptance also revealed its fragility, as many players left when incentives ended, and speculative capital followed suit. While games have shown promise, they should not be the basis of a financial revolution. As Slavik Baranov, CEO at Ston.fi, notes, the true transformation will only come if TON develops from a hype burner into a robust financial ecosystem.
The Lasting Impact of the Hype Cycle
The aftermath of the gaming boom was not a breakdown, but rather a reset. In January 2024, before the gaming boom, the TON blockchain had an average of 26,000 daily active users. After the dust settled, activity stabilized to 100,000 to 200,000, a multiple of its pre-hype basis. Moreover, developer and user inflows have sown the growth of the entire ecosystem, with the number of DeFi protocols on TON rising from 35 to 67, a 91% increase in 2024.
This expansion reflects a gradual shift in focus from short-lived advertising campaigns to permanent financial infrastructure. The TON blockchain is now home to a growing DeFi sector, with token swaps, staking, and lending protocols. For instance, Evaa started as the first loan protocol in early 2024, and by late summer, the AMM protocol Ston.fi had achieved a liquidity of almost $400 million.
Building a Sound DeFi Landscape
The DeFi sector on TON now spans token swaps, staking, and lending. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols related to TON reached a peak of $1.1 billion in July 2024, but when incentive programs ended, TVL fell back to around $600 million until the beginning of 2025 and is now close to $400 million. These movements suggest that part of TON’s liquidity was influenced by short-term market dynamics.
By the end of 2024, TON had almost 38 million addresses, but new address creation fell to only 33,000 per day in early 2025. Meanwhile, staking has become a safe haven, with around 790 million TON currently staked and concentrated liquidity in protocols with lower risk. As Baranov notes, the basics are available, with a growing developer base, improving infrastructure, and unprecedented distribution via Telegram.
Why the Revolution Has Not Yet Happened
Compared to Ethereum or Solana, TON’s liquidity depth and product range are still developing. Part of this difference is based on its underlying design, with the TON architecture created with massive scalability in mind, leading to technically elegant but more complex infrastructures for developers. Intelligent contracts on TON use a low-level language, and many core components require building from scratch, which may have contributed to a gradual pace of DeFi development in the first few years.
However, this compromise can create more efficient, resilient solutions over time. The core team of TON is actively reducing friction for builders and paving the way for faster growth. Another factor is TON’s dependence on Telegram, which enables direct access to over 1 billion users but also creates a single exposure point, with every disturbance in Telegram having an immediate effect on TON.
Unlocking TON’s DeFi Potential
The way forward is clear: expand beyond hype cycles and deliver financial services seamlessly into the Telegram experience for the mass market. This could mean smooth payments, everyday use, and barrier-free lending. If these applications are executed well, TON could be transformed from a viral gaming phenomenon into a primary interface for global crypto adoption.
Institutional investments already confirm TON’s potential, with significant actors such as Sequoia Capital, Draper Associates, and Ribbit Capital investing in TONcoin. In January 2025, the Zodia Custody (a subsidiary of Standard Chartered) announced support for the TON token standard, enabling banks and large investors to hold and manage TON assets. In July 2025, the Open Platform, a developer of protocols and apps on a Telegram basis, received $28.5 million with a valuation of $1 billion from leading funds Ribbit Capital and Pantera Capital.
Conclusion: From Potential to Reality
The explosive growth of 2024 has shown that the pairing of Telegram and blockchain skills can move markets. However, the true transformation will only come if TON develops from a hype burner into a robust financial ecosystem. With a growing developer base, improving infrastructure, and unprecedented distribution via Telegram, TON has the potential to lead a true financial revolution. As Baranov notes, if the DeFi sector on TON can simplify the user experience and deliver essential services where users already are, it will not only participate in the future of digital finances but define it. For more information, visit https://cryptoslate.com/is-tons-defi-ready-to-lead-a-true-financial-revolution/
