TON Ecosystem Update: January – February 2025

The first two months of 2025 have been a whirlwind for the TON ecosystem, marked by explosive growth, strategic moves, and major milestones. With new leadership in place, key partnerships secured, and notable progress across DeFi, GameFi, and payments, TON is continuing to establish itself as one of the most dynamic and rapidly expanding ecosystems in the blockchain space.

Key Metrics (January – February 2025):

• 3.1 million new wallets activated
• 170K–590K daily active wallets
• 3M–5M monthly active wallets
• $500M–$700M in monthly trading volume
• 20M–30M weekly transactions, placing TON among the top 8 blockchains
• 790 new developers in January (+15% growth)
• 906 active developers (+40% growth)

New Leadership, Big Ambitions

In a significant move, the TON Foundation welcomed Manuel “Manny” Stotz as its new president. Stotz, who has been on the board since 2023, brings a wealth of experience from his previous role as the founder of Kingsway Capital, where he managed billions in assets and supported over 50 blockchain projects. His leadership marks a new chapter for TON, with a focused expansion into the US market, forging strategic partnerships, and driving the growth of the ecosystem.

Telegram & TON: A Fully Integrated Partnership

TON has officially become the exclusive blockchain for Telegram Mini Apps, a groundbreaking development for both the blockchain and social media industries. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov confirmed that TON would serve as the blockchain infrastructure for tokenization, payouts, and mini app integrations. This partnership ensures a more consistent, secure, and streamlined experience for Telegram’s massive user base, which is crucial for reducing scams and increasing trust in the ecosystem.

Notable projects like TapSwap (5.2M monthly active users) and Tomarket (2.8M MAU) have already migrated to TON, while TON’s marketing grant program has provided essential support for a smooth transition for developers.

Unlocking Cross-Chain Liquidity with LayerZero

In a bid to eliminate clunky bridges and prohibitively high fees, TON has integrated with LayerZero, enabling seamless USDT transfers across Ethereum, TRON, and Arbitrum, with over 100 chains to be added soon. Additionally, the upcoming launch of the OFT (Omnichain Fungible Token) standard will feature Ethena, a top-4 stablecoin with a $5.6 billion total value locked (TVL), as the first adopter.

$100M Investment in DeFi and PayFi on TON

TVM Ventures has made a massive $100M commitment to fund the next generation of DeFi, PayFi, and infrastructure projects on TON. With Steve Yun leading the charge, the investment is expected to fuel innovation, bringing fresh partners and enabling the launch of new, exciting financial services. The team is also working closely with top security experts to ensure robust audits, offering institutional-grade trust for every transaction.

Behind the Scenes: Major Infrastructure and Developer Upgrades

TON’s development team has been hard at work enhancing the network’s speed, security, and scalability. Key updates include:

• TON Core’s upcoming upgrades, which will make the network faster, smoother, and more secure.
• The launch of a Layer 2 payment network (beta), offering instant, low-fee transfers for DeFi and gaming applications.
• Tact smart contracts are now 5-10% more gas-efficient than FunC, with a Trail of Bits audit confirming zero high-severity vulnerabilities.
• Integrations with Nansen and Pyth provide deep analytics and real-time price feeds.

Tremendous Growth Across Sectors

TON is experiencing robust growth across a range of sectors, including DeFi, GameFi, and social applications:

• EVAA saw its TVL hit an all-time high of $84M.
• Storm Trade nearly doubled its TVL from $15M to $26M.
• Memecoins now account for 30-40% of trading volume on TON.
• The Telegram NFT ecosystem is thriving, with projects like Durov Caps reaching 14.4M users and Duckygram attracting 580K users and generating $1M in transactions.
• Popular Asian gaming studios have also made their mark, with WeChat IPs like Cattea and Bombie reaching 6M MAU and generating $13.7M in revenue.

Conclusion

The first two months of 2025 have set the tone for an exciting year ahead for the TON ecosystem. With strong leadership, deeper integrations, and increased investment, TON is rapidly becoming one of the most exciting ecosystems in the blockchain space.

As the ecosystem grows, TON remains focused on enhancing infrastructure, empowering developers, and building real-world applications that drive meaningful use cases. With its expanding user base, liquidity, and cross-chain capabilities, TON is positioned for even greater success in the coming months and years.