TON Foundation Raises Over $400 Million From Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark and Other Venture Firms

The Open Network Foundation, also known as TON Foundation, said several venture capital firms invested more than $400 million in the TON blockchain

The Open Network Foundation, also known as TON Foundation, said several venture capital firms invested more than $400 million in the TON blockchain, purchasing Toncoin TONUSD and signaling growing interest in the Telegram messaging ecosystem.

Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark, Draper Associates, Kingsway, Vy Capital, Libertus Capital, CoinFund, SkyBridge, Hypersphere and Karatage participated in the investment.

The investments will help expand the TON ecosystem, the Foundation said, though it did not disclose further details on the partnerships or the timing of the investments.

The TON blockchain is a decentralized network that supports the development of Mini Apps for the Telegram ecosystem. While TON was initially developed by Telegram's founders, it now operates as an independent chain.

The TON blockchain has seen significant growth over the past year, with native accounts rising from 4 million to 41 million. The Foundation claims that the cryptocurrency has more than 121 million unique holders.

According to the announcement, the Foundation seeks to onboard 30% of active Telegram users to the blockchain in the next three years.

"We believe that in the next 3-5 years, we'll see a new generation of foundational, multi-billion user technology companies emerge, and they'll be built on Web3 primitives. We're excited to be investing alongside the stellar team at the Open Network Foundation in this next wave of innovation," said Benchmark partner Peter Fenton.

"We're huge fans of the Telegram ecosystem and the incredible community that's already built on TON. We're looking forward to seeing what the future holds," said Greg Bevis, co-founder and managing partner at Libertus Capital.

"The Open Network is already home to some of the most interesting DeFi protocols and Web3 applications, and we're excited to continue supporting the development of the ecosystem," said Chainlink co-founder and CoinFund partner Antoine Monsegur.

Venture capital funding continues to pour into blockchain projects as the industry gains newfound legitimacy in the United States and other markets.

According to Simon Wu, partner at the San Francisco-based venture firm Cathay Innovation, crypto and blockchain projects "are gaining traction as viable solutions, especially in financial sectors like asset management, transactions, and tokenization."

As legitimacy grows, capital follows.

reported earlier this month that February saw crypto venture capital deals hit $1.1 billion amid renewed interest in decentralized finance services.

The latest Cointelegraph VC Roundup also showcased growing venture capital interest in decentralized physical infrastructure networks and real-world assets.