The first unicorn of the Telegram encryption ecosystem is born: TON developer TOP completes $28 million Series A financing, valued at $1 billion.

Focusing on the protocol and application developers of the Telegram Open Network (TON), The Open Platform(TOP) announced on Thursday that it has completed 28 million USD in Series A funding, with a valuation reaching 1 billion USD, becoming the first encryption unicorn in the Telegram Blockchain ecosystem.

Financing Leading Investment and Strategic Significance

• This round of financing is led by the well-known venture capital Ribbit Capital.
• TOP CEO Andrew Rogozov (Andrew Rogozov) told Decrypt: “TOP’s deep understanding of TON and Telegram, combined with our expertise and capital, makes us a key driver of this ecosystem.”
• This round of financing brings TOP’s total financing amount to over 70 million USD, and the funds will be used to accelerate its mission to promote the mainstream application of cryptocurrency, with a focus on supporting expansion into the European and American markets.

Core Business: Key Infrastructure of the TON Ecosystem

TOP has developed key infrastructure and tools in the TON ecosystem, including:

• Built-in encryption wallet in Telegram (Wallet in Telegram): The first native encryption wallet in Telegram.
• TON Connect protocol: Enables the use of external applications within Telegram.
• Getgems NFT Market.
• Token Swap Protocol STON[.]fi.

Market Expansion Strategy: Products, Compliance, and Infrastructure in Three Aspects

Rogozov emphasized that the company’s global compliance expansion (especially entering the US and European markets) will revolve around three core areas:

1. Product Localization: “On the product side, we will scale the development of deeply embedded consumer applications in Telegram, such as encryption payments, blockchain games, and creator tools, and localize them for the U.S., EU, and Asian markets.”
2. Legal Compliance: Collaborate with local partners to ensure that the business meets regional regulatory requirements.
3. Infrastructure Support: Provide support for Web3 developers and ecosystem builders in the region.

The Explosion of the TON Ecosystem and the Unique Advantage of Telegram

• The number of users on the TON network surged last year, partly due to the popularity of Hamster Kombat and Notcoin and other tap-to-earn games (Tap-to-earn).
• At the beginning of this year, Telegram announced an exclusive partnership with TON and prohibited the integration of all other Blockchains within its application.
• Rogozov believes that this move is beneficial for the entire TON ecosystem: “Telegram’s exclusive focus on TON has created a clearer ecosystem synergy, benefiting all builders. For TOP, this strengthens our strategy of customizing products specifically for the unique distribution capabilities of TON and Telegram.”

Key to Success in the Next 12 Months: Real User Adoption

Logozov pointed out that the core indicator for measuring the success of this strategy in the coming year is real user scale: “Our goal is to see millions of users directly using consumer-grade applications built on TON within Telegram.”