Telegram and TON: A blockchain for 1 billion users

Telegram has opened a new chapter in its development, driven by the conviction that its future lies in crypto. By officially becoming the primary validator of The Open Network (TON) in early May - a position previously held by the TON Foundation - the encrypted messaging platform has reached a historic milestone: it is the first company of such scale (with nearly 1 billion active users) to operate its own blockchain. 

Before it, Meta, Reddit, and X had all explored this possibility before eventually throwing in the towel for various reasons. As for the World project, co-founded by Sam Altman, it remains a distinct initiative from OpenAI and is far from rivalling the scale and ambition of Telegram’s TON project.

This takeover is part of a broader effort to relaunch the project under a program dubbed  “MTONGA” (Make Ton Great Again), structured around seven key steps. The first focused on boosting blockchain performance: a major update, "Catchain 2.0," now enables near-instant transaction processing. The second targeted transaction fees, bringing them down to 0.00039 TON per transaction. The third was Telegram taking the wheel, while the remaining four had yet to be announced at the time of writing.

A major evolution for TON

With this move, Telegram has considerably increased room for maneuver the evolution of TON. Its leader, Pavel Durov, will finally be able to develop the project he originally envisioned when he launched the blockchain in 2018 with his brother, Nikolai. He was subsequently forced to distance himself following Telegram’s legal battles with the SEC, while the network's development was taken over by the community via the TON Foundation - though Telegram always maintained a central role in the ecosystem.

As the primary decision-maker for the infrastructure's future, Telegram is now free to deepen the integration of TON mini-apps, crypto wallets, and on-chain payments. The roadmaps for TON and Telegram are now fully aligned, and the speed of execution is expected to improve significantly.

However, this evolution entails a significant trade-off: heightened centralization. Such a shift strikes at the heart of the decentralized crypto ethos, raising concerns over potential state interference or censorship. Given the founders' intricate history with Russia, the prospect of state-level influence looms large, as Telegram’s lead validator role effectively provides a centralized door for authorities to knock on.

The billion-dollar question is how TON’s new governance will actually function. Specifically, what leverage do independent validators still hold? The network now resembles a parliamentary system in which Telegram holds dominant influence: while it has the weight to steer TON’s direction as the largest validator and primary driving force behind the ecosystem, it must still balance the interests of other validators, developers, and stakeholders to avoid a backlash. For TON to thrive long term, Telegram will need to prove it can act as a steward of the protocol rather than a centralized power within it.

Another major shift concerns tokenomics. Faster block creation mechanically leads to higher inflation, with the annual rate rising from 0.6% to 3.6%. While this favors staking and validators, it could penalize investors seeking a passive "store of value." This represents a true paradigm shift: TON is moving from a scarcity-based model to a utility-driven infrastructure, where technical efficiency is now the priority.

With great power comes great responsibility - and Telegram knows it

Telegram is entering a new dimension. Once a messaging platform, it is now becoming a full-fledged infrastructure provider, with all the responsibilities that come with that status. The financial stakes are immense: TON is deeply integrated into Telegram's advertising ecosystem - advertisers pay for campaigns in Toncoin, while channel owners receive their revenue share in TON via Telegram's monetization infrastructure. Consequently, the blockchain must remain operational 24/7, as Telegram's entire suite of services (Ad Platform, Wallet, Fragment) now relies on it. In this sense, Telegram's role is becoming increasingly similar to that of cloud providers like AWS.

As the primary stakeholder in TON, Telegram is also exposed to its price fluctuations. This is especially true since it accepts TON for advertising, thereby managing massive on-chain flows. While this constitutes a corporate risk, it also provides a guarantee to investors: they know that Telegram has every incentive to ensure the token's price remains stable or increases.

Finally, the lead validator role implies a community management responsibility. This involves creating a welcoming ecosystem for developers. Telegram will need to offer grant programs, organize hackathons, and facilitate Mini-App integration - tasks previously managed by the TON Foundation. Telegram has already announced improved developer tools, including TON Factory, which automates service deployment, and Tolk, a new, more intuitive programming language.

A large-scale test for crypto

Telegram and TON will be closely watched by the crypto ecosystem and beyond in the coming months. Success would prove that it is both possible and relevant to run a mainstream application of Telegram's scale on a fully integrated blockchain.

The company hopes to succeed where other tech giants have struggled. If successful, this could not only inspire other operators but also challenge the current model of Layer-1 blockchains. While most players present their infrastructure as neutral, this would prove the efficiency of having an owner with increased powers to steer development.

Given the technical complexity and regulatory stakes of this new ecosystem, European investors seeking regulated exposure to TON with fixed interest rates can turn to structured solutions such as CTON.