TON AppChain Mainnet Launches, Opening New Channels for Decentralized Finance Applications on Telegram

The TON AppChain (TAC) officially launched its Mainnet this Tuesday, aiming to enable Ethereum-compatible Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications to run within Telegram's vast user ecosystem.

With the activation of the TAC Mainnet, Ethereum DeFi protocols including Curve, Morpho, and Euler are now available for use on Telegram through this chain. The TAC token ($TAC) saw a short-term surge after its launch on the Mainnet, with an increase of over 50%, reaching a high of $0.0248, before falling back to around $0.026.

Technical Path: Bridging Ethereum DeFi and Telegram Users

TAC is built as a Layer 1 blockchain based on CosmosEVM. Its core design philosophy is to provide a "TON-specific cross-chain layer" aimed at connecting Ethereum DApps and developers with Telegram's over 1 billion monthly active users. This technological path aims to address the incompatibility of the TON blockchain with EVM itself, allowing EVM-based DApps to access Telegram's exclusive blockchain infrastructure through TAC.

The TAC ecosystem is also supported by strong infrastructure partners, including LayerZero, RedStone, Blockscout, and Babylon. These collaborations will provide TAC with cross-chain messaging and oracle data flow services, ensuring the smooth operation and data accuracy of DeFi applications in the Telegram environment.

Currently, well-known Ethereum DeFi protocols such as Curve Finance, Morpho, and Euler have landed on Telegram through TAC to provide users with decentralized trading and lending services.

Distribution Strategy: Leveraging the User Scale Advantage of Telegram

In the field of Decentralized Finance, distribution channels are seen as a key element of success. The strategic core of TAC lies in gaining access to the TON ecosystem and reaching Telegram's vast user base through TON. It is said that users can use DeFi applications with "one click" to conduct transactions or engage in yield farming.

An industry executive stated that the launch of TAC's Mainnet is "an important step in bringing DeFi into the mainstream," aiming to provide "real utility" for over a billion users.

Telegram's ambitions are clearly not limited to this. In January of this year, this social giant reached an agreement with the TON Foundation, requiring all blockchain mini-programs to be developed based on TON. Subsequently, it launched a digital asset tokenization plan, with its founder mentioning the deep integration of social and finance, stating: "We want every chat window to become a financial gateway."

According to reports, the development team behind TAC recently completed a $28.5 million Series A+ financing in early July, with a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Sources revealed that among the investors is a sovereign fund from the Middle East. Therefore, compared to other Layer 1 projects, TAC has a unique advantage: it does not need to cultivate user habits from scratch, but rather stands directly on the shoulders of the giant Telegram.

TON Ecosystem: Opportunities and Challenges Coexist

However, whether the fervor of capital can translate into substantial ecological prosperity still requires an answer from the market. After securing impressive financing and resource support, TON's future development still faces real challenges. Looking back at 2024, it has been a tale of two extremes for the TON ecosystem; in the first half of the year, the total value locked (TVL) once surpassed 760 million USD, yet it encountered a drastic drop in August, currently standing at less than 150 million USD.

Currently, TAC faces three challenges: first is how to attract quality DApp developers to continue building in the context of the overall downturn of the TON ecosystem; second is to break through the dilemma of "getting praise without results," and truly activate the participation of Telegram's billion-level users; finally, it also has to deal with the regulatory environment, especially the relevant regulations concerning on-chain activities.

It's no easy task to suddenly have over a billion chat users engage with Decentralized Finance. How far this experiment connecting two major ecosystems can go will be answered by time.