LBank exclusive interview with TON Asia-Pacific ecological growth leader: Wanlei Frost Day competition is free, TON is not just the financial effect of assets

From the crazy Notcoin, to the popular Tap to earn game mode in the crypto circle, the TON ecosystem has quickly grown from obscurity to a super public chain worth billions. Without adding extra user migration costs, TON uses the existing social web of Telegram to rebuild the business model of Web2 in a Web3 manner.

In this interview, LBank Labs invited Kenny, the Asia-Pacific ecosystem growth leader of TON, to discuss the development expectations, support plans, token controversies, etc., to interpret the current status of the TON ecosystem and answer market questions, helping users better understand the current market status of TON.

The following is an interview transcript compiled by LBank:

**LBank: First of all, welcome Kenny, the Asia-Pacific ecosystem growth leader of TON, to LBank for our exclusive interview. Now Notcoin is very hot. Since its launch, it has risen by 329.6% and has a market cap of 2466M, ranking 54 in market capitalization, igniting unprecedented expectations for the TON ecosystem. Does the development of notcoin meet your expectations?

Kenny: Basically met expectations. Although there were some technical hiccups throughout the process, the overall goal has been achieved, marking a breakthrough for the ecological project. Of course, notcoin’s journey is far from over, and the subsequent development actions are equally anticipated. In recent public shares, notcoin’s founder Sasha also made some disclosures on the roadmap.

LBank: May I ask how is the ecological development of TON now, and what are the main applications? Please share with us.

Kenny: ‘Ten thousand kinds compete for freedom in the frosty sky.’ The current overall ecological situation, as well as on-chain data including TVL, has seen a significant multiple-level rise, and there have been many public articles that have conducted research on this, so I won’t repeat the sharing.

It is worth mentioning that the vision and goal of the TON Foundation – “By 2028, 30% of TG users will hold and trade virtual assets” – for sharing. Holding and trading, in my personal understanding, are two independent and progressively related actions.

For TG users who are not web3 native, how to make them realize this path of transformation, the answer is Wallet and Apps (Mini Programs). The wallet is the carrier of transformation power, and this transformation power is backed by various self-growing applications in the TG ecosystem, which often have strong web2 attributes, user-friendly, have a certain level of fun, and have practical value, such as mini-games, tools, entertainment, etc., allowing these users to start holding virtual assets through interaction (the simplest being tap to earn). This not only provides opportunities for 2C applications, but also for 2B applications.

Next, how to enable users holding virtual assets (including not only those converted from web2, but also web3 natives) to start trading virtual assets, we need to rely on the basic ecology of our TON chain, the construction and development of various DeFi, cross-chain bridges, CEX, NFT trading, Meme, and other fields together to promote the distribution and liquidity of assets.

LBank: With the support of 1 billion Telegram users, what are the highly accepted tools or innovative applications for seamless transition from web2 to web3? Can you please provide a detailed introduction to the efforts and support plans of the TON Foundation in this regard?

Kenny: Regarding which tools or innovative applications have high acceptance, everyone in this circle is actually very good at information collection, and some third-party platforms and public articles can also refer to it (for details, please see LBank Research Institute: TON “fission” moment|code the future traffic entrance from the trend) The efforts and support made at the foundation level are already very powerful in terms of quantity and strength, including advertising incentives, grants, investments, etc.

Here it is emphasized that the most important ecological support plan for the foundation this year, The Open league, will airdrop a total of $1.5 billion worth of TON tokens to the participating projects as a reward this year. It can be understood as setting the stage for performances. The foundation sets the stage, and various project parties compete in performances. We will set up several tracks, such as defi, mini-programs, etc., and determine the comprehensive score of the project party through a series of data indicators. Those with high rankings will receive more airdrops. Interestingly, originally we planned for a season every 3 months, but the speed of ecological development has compressed the cycle to one season per month, and recently it has been compressed to one season every half a month.

LBank: Currently, there are many ecosystems being built on TON, especially mini-games such as Notcoin. However, we have also noticed that there are still few basic financial products, such as DEX and lending, which can absorb large amounts of funds, and even the top ones lack attractiveness. Moreover, the number of developers is much lower than that on other public chains. Regarding this situation, what could be the reasons for TON TVL being in an embarrassing situation? Does the TON Foundation have any practical ecological plans to solve the current dilemma?

Kenny: First of all, we cannot judge TON based on traditional public chain value standards. TON is a unique public chain, not just about the financial impact of assets. The core value of TON lies in its close integration with Telegram, which provides TON with unique user entry points and application scenarios. Therefore, we prefer to measure the success of the ecosystem based on user base, transaction volume, and protocol revenue from DApps.

Secondly, due to the fact that TON is still in a relatively early stage of development compared to other mature public chains (previously delayed for a long time due to litigation with the SEC), the maturity of the developer community and financial products is also gradually being established. Recently, we have also been in contact with many projects planning to deploy in this direction.

In addition, through the many actions at the foundation level that I mentioned earlier, we have also achieved good performance in TVL, with a monthly growth rate of 85%. I believe we are on a good momentum.

LBank: At this year’s dubai TOKEN2049 conference, TON announced the issuance of USDT on TON by Tether. What does this mean for the entire ecosystem?

Kenny: First, the integration of native USDT will simplify the trading process for users on the TON chain, improve the liquidity and ease of use of funds. Compared to USDT or TRC-20 assets that were previously cross-chained through the ETH network, native USDT avoids complex cross-chain steps and potential security risks, enhancing transaction efficiency and security.

In addition, the access to native USDT is expected to attract more trading and developers to join the TON ecosystem. As a widely accepted stablecoin, its direct support on TON can lower the entry barriers for users and developers. At the same time, the TON Foundation collaborates with exchanges to launch a zero-cost interactive mode, further promoting the circulation and acceptance of USDT on TON.

This deep integration not only enhances the functionality of the TON blockchain, but it may also be a key factor in driving its widespread adoption. It provides stable currency support for various applications and services on the on-chain TON, enhancing the vitality and attractiveness of the entire ecosystem. The data achievements since its launch have exceeded expectations from both parties, which is also obvious.

LBank: In the TON token economic model, it increases at a rate of about 0.6% per year (about 3 million coins), and most of the early TON tokens were held by miners, which has raised many questions about decentralization. What measures have the TON team and foundation taken to manage this situation?

Kenny: It should be noted that the TON Foundation is a non-profit organization aimed at promoting and supporting TON community initiatives for the practicality and ecosystem of the TON blockchain. We are not the original issuer of the token, and we rely on publicly available on-chain data for analysis.

Regarding this issue, first of all, based on decentralized community voting, the wallets of about 21% of inactive miners have been locked until 2027. In addition, the community has initiated the TON Believers Fund, and approximately 26% of the total supply of tokens are currently staked in the Fund.

Finally, The Open League project aims to promote decentralization of supply by distributing Toncoin to community members and projects. From the perspective of web2, another initiative is Telegram’s advertising platform, which rewards channel owners with advertising revenue in the form of Toncoin. Through these measures, including but not limited to the above, nearly 47% of the total supply has been locked, making a positive contribution to improving the decentralization of TON and promoting the healthy development of the ecosystem.