Steve Yun Remains Bullish on TON Despite Market Cap Drop

Yun supports Telegram’s decision to make TON the exclusive blockchain for its in-app Web3 ecosystem, emphasizing its security and scalability. “This isn’t a limitation but a necessity,” he told Cointelegraph, highlighting TON’s ability to serve a mass audience efficiently.

Telegram, which originally developed TON’s open-source blockchain, officially designated TON as the only supported network for Mini Apps in January. This move sparked mixed reactions, with some questioning decentralization and liquidity concerns.

Yun argues that TON is uniquely suited for Telegram’s 950 million users due to its high network capacity. “Blockchains without sharding can’t handle the transaction volume required for mass adoption,” he explained, adding that TON has incorporated sharding from the start.

Security was another factor in Telegram’s decision. Yun warned that relying on multiple blockchains could lead to security risks. “Projects using unscalable blockchains may resort to side-chains or even off-chain solutions, compromising security,” he said.

Despite concerns over centralization, Yun emphasized that TON remains permissionless and accessible to everyone. Telegram bots will continue supporting multiple blockchains, even as Mini Apps remain exclusive to TON.

“In discussions with Telegram, we pushed for full exclusivity, including bots,” Yun revealed. “However, Telegram declined to ensure builders have more flexibility.” He likened this approach to a “freemium model,” where bot-based projects can use any blockchain, but Mini Apps must run on TON.

Yun believes Telegram’s commitment to TON is a strong signal of growth. “As Telegram’s ecosystem matures, more builders will be drawn to TON, leading to more use cases and adoption,” he said.

Toncoin has faced a sharp decline, with its market cap falling from an all-time high of $25 billion in April 2024. The total value locked (TVL) in the TON ecosystem has also dropped 73% since its peak in July 2024, per DefiLlama.

To drive growth, Yun recently launched TVM Ventures, a $100 million fund dedicated to developing decentralized finance (DeFi) and payment applications on TON. The fund aims to allocate $25 million over the next year.

“We need to focus on building scalable decentralized products through TVM,” Yun stated. “With vision and execution, capital will follow.”