As DeFi tokens have declined in value more than other popular crypto niches, TON could emerge as a saving grace.
Telegram-developed, open-source, decentralized blockchain TON could be the solution to getting the DeFi sector back up again, as it faces a hard time compared to other crypto verticals. According to data from Artemis, DeFi tokens were down 72% between January 2022 and September 2023, while memecoins were down 35%, and smart contract-related tokens fell 48%.
The TON blockchain is going viral in ways, thanks to its close association with the widely used global messaging platform Telegram. Its close to a billion users can access TON-based apps directly from the platform, making it a great tool for onboarding users to TON, which it has done.
“While most of the attention around TON has focused on applications in the gaming and social segments, we believe that the TON+Telegram ecosystem also offers great potential for DeFi to finally break beyond its primarily crypto-native audience in what amounts to a massive opportunity that hasn’t received due attention,” read the GSR report. It added, “Telegram has distribution in spades with its 950 million users, and its native integration with TON sidesteps many of the UX frictions that have plagued DeFi applications.”
TON Beats Ethereum in Monthly Active Wallet Count
TON’s virality has been manifesting as the number of monthly active wallets, which have surpassed those exhibited by Ethereum and almost all of the layer-2 chains in its ecosystem. The Ethereum ecosystem is considered the hub of development for everything blockchain, which makes this a highly impressive feat.
“Monthly active addresses on the network grew from around 100 thousand in September 2023 – when Telegram introduced its integrated wallet – to 9.9 million in September 2024,” the report mentioned. By comparison, Ethereum had 5.5 million active wallets in the same month. Nevertheless, Solana and Ethereum layer-2 Base boast greater numbers in this regard.
Source: GSR
Still, TON’s numbers cannot be dismissed. A lot of its monthly active wallets are interacting with Telegram-based play-to-earn (P2E) games like Hamster Kombat. With only five months since its launch, the clicker game registered over 300 million users. That makes it the second most-played mobile game, falling behind the immensely popular Subway Surfers, which has seen 304 million downloads.
Source: GSR
The virality behind Hamster Kombat could also put it in the Guinness Book of World Records, as its YouTube channel became the first to surpass 10 million subscribers in a week.
