Telegram’s Crypto Arm TON Foundation Secures $400 Million from Top Venture Firms
The TON Foundation announced today that major venture capital firms have invested over $400 million in Toncoin, the native cryptocurrency of The Open Network.
Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark, and Kingsway led the investment, joined by Vy Capital, Draper Associates, Libertus Capital, CoinFund, Hypersphere, SkyBridge, and Karatage.
These firms purchased Toncoin directly rather than making traditional equity investments. The move demonstrates strong institutional confidence in the blockchain project originally conceived by Telegram founders.
TON’s growth accelerated dramatically after becoming Telegram‘s exclusive blockchain partner in January 2025. This partnership made Toncoin the only cryptocurrency accepted for non-fiat payments across Telegram’s ecosystem, including Premium subscriptions, Stars rewards, and advertising services.
The blockchain has experienced remarkable user expansion, growing from 4 million to 41 million active accounts within a year. Toncoin now boasts 121 million unique holders, surpassing the number of Bitcoin wallet owners according to the foundation.
Telegram’s user base recently reached 1 billion monthly active users, providing TON with unprecedented access to mainstream adoption. Benchmark partner Peter Fenton expects Telegram to reach 1.5 billion users by 2030.
TON Foundation’s Bold Vision for 2025
The TON Foundation plans to use this investment to drive further integration with Telegram. The messaging platform will tokenize digital assets like emojis and stickers exclusively as NFTs on the TON blockchain.
“TON is now ready for explosive growth in 2025,” said Manuel Stotz, President of TON Foundation. “The renewed partnership with Telegram represents a crucial step in our journey.”
The foundation aims to onboard 450 million users by 2028, targeting approximately 30% of Telegram’s projected user base. This ambitious goal would make TON one of the most widely adopted blockchains globally.
TON offers developers significant incentives to build on its platform, including promotional support, advertising credits worth up to $50,000, technical assistance, and exclusive marketing opportunities.
The investment highlights growing institutional interest in cryptocurrency projects with clear utility and mainstream potential, particularly those integrated with widely-used communication platforms like Telegram.
Live Market IntelligenceCrypto — Live Market Board
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Crypto — Live Market Board
+0.35%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | 64,350 | +0.35% | -32.65% | 64,128 | 65,289 | 62,094 | 51,071,803,392 |
| ETH | 1,792 | +1.29% | -43.41% | 1,769 | 1,825 | 1,714 | 21,304,424,448 |
| SOL | 70.40 | +0.32% | -49.54% | 70.18 | 71.84 | 67.58 | 5,301,194,240 |
| XRP | 0.96 | +4.94% | -57.14% | 0.91 | 0.98 | 0.90 | 4,626,398,208 |
| BNB | 590.45 | +1.56% | -36.63% | 581.38 | 596.70 | 568.20 | 2,117,877,376 |
| ADA | 0.15 | +1.50% | -70.25% | 0.15 | 0.15 | 0.14 | 561,984,512 |
| DOGE | 0.06 | +0.97% | -64.53% | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 1,245,296,640 |
| AVAX | 7.22 | +1.76% | -53.52% | 7.09 | 7.25 | 6.78 | 427,832,448 |
| LINK | 9.09 | +2.43% | -35.64% | 8.87 | 9.15 | 8.67 | 448,037,888 |
| DOT | 0.72 | +1.70% | -74.67% | 0.71 | 0.73 | 0.69 | 133,675,344 |
| LTC | 44.62 | +0.54% | -56.15% | 44.39 | 44.98 | 42.89 | 358,515,616 |
| BCH | 204.43 | +1.75% | -59.33% | 200.91 | 207.64 | 196.80 | 195,208,416 |
| TRX | 0.31 | +0.21% | +4.37% | 0.31 | 0.31 | 0.30 | 595,032,320 |
| XLM | 0.14 | +1.48% | -47.18% | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 304,459,424 |
| HBAR | 0.06 | +2.12% | -62.92% | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 94,733,024 |
| NEAR | 3.13 | +3.57% | +30.14% | 3.02 | 3.15 | 2.94 | 914,788,416 |
| ATOM | 1.28 | +1.96% | -55.06% | 1.26 | 1.30 | 1.23 | 34,239,832 |
| AAVE | 105.72 | +5.18% | -40.77% | 100.51 | 106.07 | 97.15 | 300,918,368 |
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