Quick take: The Open Network (TON) Foundation says venture capital firms have pumped over $404 million into its native token Toncoin (TON).

The Open Network (TON) Foundation says venture capital firms have pumped over $400 million into its native token Toncoin (TON).

The Open Network (TON) Foundation says venture capital firms have pumped over $400 million into its native token Toncoin (TON).

Speaking to Blockworks, the Foundation said the likes of Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark and Kingsway are among the leading VCs that have invested in the token.

“These venture capital firms have invested over $400 million in Toncoin,” a TON Foundation spokesperson said. “The funding is provided in the form of Toncoin, rather than traditional equity or cash.”

TON momentarily spiked 5.8% to $3.81 after the news before trimming the session gains to $3.72 by 08:18 ET (12:18 GMT Thursday).

The TON blockchain, the layer-1 network that built its strategy around the social networking platform Telegram, has grown rapidly over the last few years amid the rapid adoption of Telegram-based crypto mini-apps.

Commenting on the announcement, “Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire said in a statement: “The TON team is the best in the world at the intersection of consumer product thinking and crypto infrastructure. When you combine this with the global distribution of Telegram, we’re very excited to see where they go.”

According to a Dune dashboard by Whale_Hunter, the blockchain’s lifetime users have since surpassed 42 million, while lifetime transactions crossed 2.4 billion.

Other investors in Toncoin include Vy Capital, Draper Associates, Libertus Capital, CoinFund, Hypersphere, SkyBridge, and Karatage.

According to the TON Foundation spokesperson, the VCs “are placing their bets on the future success and utility of the TON blockchain, its growing ecosystem,” given “its potential to provide real-world utility for crypto holdings, especially within Telegram.”