Several Venture Capital Firms Invested Over $400 Million into The Open Network (TON) Blockchain

The TON Foundation confirmed the investment and clarified that the token sale was not directed at the foundation itself.

Several venture capital firms invested a total of more than $400 million into The Open Network (TON) blockchain, further expanding its role within the Telegram ecosystem.

Venture Capital Firms Invest in Toncoin

The funding round saw the participation of major VC firms, including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark, Draper Associates, Kingsway, Vy Capital, Libertus Capital, CoinFund, SkyBridge, Hypersphere, and Karatage. These firms made purchases of Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency of TON blockchain.

The TON Foundation confirmed the investment and clarified that the token sale was not directed at the foundation itself. Instead, these purchases signify strategic partnerships to expand the TON ecosystem further.

The TON Foundation described these purchases as follows:

“These firms have made strategic partnerships and invested in expanding the ecosystem further. Several venture capital firms completed purchases of Toncoin. Among them are: Benchmark, Draper Associates, Kingsway, Vy Capital, and Libertus Capital. These investments will be used to develop new Mini Apps and expand the TON ecosystem.”

The role of the TON blockchain is to support Mini Apps within the Telegram messaging app. Initially developed by Telegram founders, the network now operates independently. Toncoin is the only cryptocurrency accepted for app services within the Telegram ecosystem.

The foundation also provided an update on the progress of the TON blockchain, noting an increase in the number of accounts from 4 million to 41 million over the past year. It also claimed that Toncoin now has over 121 million unique holders.

According to the announcement, the foundation aims to onboard 30% of active Telegram users onto the TON blockchain over the next three years.

Telegram’s User Base

By March 2024, Telegram reached 1 billion monthly active users, having doubled its user base in less than three years, according to Demandsage.

Benchmark partner Peter Fenton projected that Telegram’s users could reach 1.5 billion by 2030, considering the platform's rapid growth trajectory.

Venture Capital Funding in Blockchain Projects

The investment in TON blockchain is part of a broader trend of venture capital interest in blockchain projects.

Simon Wu, partner at Cathay Innovation, stated that crypto and blockchain are gaining acceptance, particularly in areas like asset management, transactions, and tokenization.

In February 2024, crypto venture capital deals topped $1.1 billion, with increasing interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) services. Notably, according to The TIE, most of this funding went to business services and DeFi projects.