TON Year in Review: 2024 Market & Ecosystem Trends

Executive Summary

In 2024, TON Network experienced substantial growth, driven mainly by the expansion of its ecosystem. Active wallets surged 30x, reaching 35.4 million by December, while the number of deployed applications doubled to 1,000, highlighting increased developer engagement. The gaming sector remained dominant, with Notcoin, PAWS, BLUM, and Hamster Kombat leveraging Telegram’s user base to scale rapidly. The launch of USDt-TON in April 2024 further accelerated adoption, processing $39.6 billion in transactions and becoming the fastest-growing Tether asset.

TON’s DeFi ecosystem grew substantially, with TVL peaking at $776 million. This growth was driven by incentives such as The Open League, which distributed $26 million in rewards to developers and users. Despite its strong momentum, TON faces challenges, including liquidity constraints, competition from Solana and NEAR, and user retention issues. This report analyzes TON’s key developments, growth drivers, and strategic considerations for sustained success.

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1. TON Blockchain: Key Developments in 2024

In 2024, TON continued growing as a key player in the blockchain space, building on its strong foundation and expanding its ecosystem. The network experienced substantial growth, with a rapid increase in user adoption and the number of decentralized applications (dApps) developed on its platform. Key developments in 2024 included technological advancements, strategic partnerships, and the expansion of the TON ecosystem through Telegram Mini Apps (TMA). These initiatives contributed to increased user adoption and a broader developer ecosystem, reinforcing TON’s role in the blockchain and Web3 space.

Figure 1: Distribution of projects built on TON

1.1 Ecosystem Growth and Adoption

In 2024, the TON ecosystem experienced significant expansion, with over 1,000 applications deployed, doubling from 500 in 2023. This rapid growth reflects increased developer engagement and a broadening range of use cases within the network.

The distribution of projects on TON highlights its versatility. Gaming remains the dominant sector, accounting for 37.4% of all applications. This underscores the growing demand for blockchain-based gaming solutions and TON’s ability to cater to this fast-growing industry.

Channels & Chats emerged as another significant category, representing 15.4% of all applications. These platforms drive community engagement, decentralized communication, and interactive social experiences within the TON ecosystem. Serving as hubs for discussions, content sharing, and integrated services, these applications play a critical role in user retention and engagement.

Utility applications followed closely, making up 10.7% of the ecosystem. These applications focus on streamlining tasks, data analysis, and asset management, helping users optimize blockchain interactions. Examples include portfolio tracking tools, analytics platforms, automation services, and digital identity solutions designed to enhance efficiency and usability within the TON ecosystem.

Other notable categories include:

• NFTs (8.7%): This growing sector within TON facilitates digital ownership, trading, and collectibles, driving engagement in decentralized art, gaming assets, and tokenized experiences.
• Gambling (6.9%): Applications leveraging TON’s blockchain for provably fair gaming and betting, benefiting from the network’s low fees and fast transactions.
• Exchanges (6.5%): A mix of centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) platforms, facilitating asset trading, liquidity provision, and interoperability within the broader TON financial infrastructure.
• Wallets (4.4%): Secure solutions that enable users to store, manage, and stake TON-based assets efficiently, often integrating with fiat on/off ramps for broader accessibility.
• SocialFi (2.5%): The intersection of social networking and decentralized finance, allowing users to monetize content, engage in Web3 communities, and participate in tokenized incentive models.

The distribution of projects reflects TON’s growing ecosystem and its ability to support innovative and diverse applications, establishing it as a versatile and scalable blockchain platform.

1.2 Key Performance Metrics in 2024

Figure 2: TON Network DAU and MAU

The TON network experienced strong user growth in 2024, though retention remains a challenge.

• Daily Active Wallets (DAU): Peaked at 1,815,319 in September, driven mainly by incentivized campaigns, airdrops, and significant project launches within the TON ecosystem. However, engagement declined and stabilized at 321,207 by December, indicating that a substantial portion of activity was short-term and fueled by promotional efforts. This highlights the challenge of long-term user retention and the need for sustainable engagement strategies beyond initial incentives.
• Monthly Active Wallets (MAU): Climbed from 346,553 in January to 6,426,488 in December, showing that TON has built a stable recurring user base. However, the contrast between DAU and MAU trends suggests that while many users remain connected to the ecosystem, fewer engage daily.

1.3 Market Position and Growth Potential

Figure 3: TON’s Growth Potential: Converting Telegram’s Massive User Base into Blockchain Participants

Since its launch in 2013, Telegram has experienced exponential growth, reaching over 1 billion users by 2024. More than 50% of users actively engage with Telegram Mini Apps (TMA), providing TON with a unique user acquisition channel. As of December 2024, TON has 35.4 million users – just 7% of its ambitious goal to onboard 500 million users into its ecosystem by 2028.

In 2024, TON achieved an almost 30x increase in its user base, growing from 1.3 million active wallets in January 2024 to 35.4 million by December 2024. This surge was primarily driven by its integration with Telegram and incentive-driven user acquisition strategies. 

2. ​​Comparative Analysis with Other Blockchains

Figure 4: TON Network Compared to Other Blockchain Networks

2.1 Competitive Positioning & Growth Considerations

• Market Positioning: TON has gained traction in blockchain adoption, particularly in gaming and social applications. However, compared to mature ecosystems like Solana, its DeFi infrastructure and institutional adoption are still in the early stages.
• User Retention Beyond Initial Growth: While its network effects provide an onboarding advantage, retaining users beyond the initial adoption phase remains challenging. Sustained engagement strategies and value-driven applications are essential for long-term ecosystem stability.
• Liquidity and Institutional Participation: Expanding liquidity pools and attracting institutional investors will be crucial for scaling TON’s financial ecosystem. Competitive DeFi offerings and stable regulatory frameworks could enhance TON’s appeal to institutional participants.
• Strategic Partnerships & Cross-Chain Expansion: Collaborations with major blockchain projects and Web3 platforms can strengthen TON’s positioning in the industry. Ensuring seamless interoperability with Ethereum, Solana, and other networks will further establish its relevance in the broader blockchain landscape.

Compared to leading blockchain networks, TON remains in the early stages of its ecosystem development. While gaming and social applications have gained traction, its DeFi sector and broader developer adoption lag behind more mature ecosystems such as Ethereum and Solana. To sustain its growth, TON must focus on expanding liquidity, strengthening developer incentives, and improving cross-chain interoperability.

2.2 Developer Activity Comparison

Developer activity is a crucial indicator of blockchain ecosystem health, reflecting a network’s long-term sustainability and innovation potential. Below is a comparison of full-time and total developer counts across major blockchains:

Figure 5: Comparison of Developer Activity Across Different Chains

The data above highlights TON’s current gap in developer engagement compared to other leading ecosystems. While Ethereum and Solana dominate developer activity, emerging blockchains like Near, Aptos, and SUI maintain a significantly more substantial developer presence than TON. This suggests that TON must implement stronger developer onboarding initiatives, enhanced tooling, and better incentive structures to attract and retain high-quality development teams.

Furthermore, developer adoption is often correlated with ecosystem incentives, available documentation, and overall ease of building. TON’s introduction of Tact smart contract language has reduced onboarding friction, but further efforts are required to make it competitive with more established blockchain frameworks.

3. The Biggest Drivers Behind TON Exponential Growth

In 2024, TON experienced rapid growth, driven by several key factors, including the introduction of USDt-TON, the expansion of The Open League developer incentives program, the rise of social applications, improvements in the technology stack, and TON’s integration with Telegram. These factors fueled adoption, ecosystem expansion, and developer engagement.

This chapter explores the primary drivers behind TON’s expansion and how they have shaped its position within the evolving Web3 landscape.

3.1 USDt-TON: A Major Catalyst for Adoption

The launch of USDt-TON in April 2024 was pivotal for TON, enhancing its role in cross-border transactions and DeFi liquidity. By integrating with Binance, OKX, Copper, and MoonPay, USDt-TON provided users with a seamless stablecoin experience inside Telegram’s ecosystem. Several factors drove the rapid adoption:

• Widespread Exchange Support: USDt-TON was quickly integrated into over 100 platforms, making it accessible across major exchanges and wallets. This broad availability reduced entry barriers and allowed users to transact easily within the TON ecosystem.
• High Transaction Volume: USDt-TON processed 26 million transactions across 3.49 million wallets within eight months, showcasing its strong market demand. This high usage indicates that TON has positioned itself as a viable alternative to traditional blockchain networks for stablecoin transfers.
• Liquidity Initiatives: The TON Foundation allocated 11M Toncoin in incentives, including a $30M liquidity pool boost, attracting retail and institutional liquidity providers. These initiatives strengthened TON’s DeFi landscape, making it more competitive with established blockchain ecosystems.

This stablecoin’s rapid expansion positioned TON as a serious contender in the DeFi sector, enabling low-cost and efficient transactions within its growing ecosystem.

3.2 The Open League: Developer and User Incentives

The Open League, launched in March 2024, was a key initiative designed to reward developers and users while driving ecosystem engagement. This program distributed $26 million across eight seasons, significantly boosting DeFi and gaming participation. The primary outcomes included:

• Sustained User Growth: Each season contributed to a 50% increase in new users, reinforcing TON’s expanding user base. The league structure incentivized continuous engagement, ensuring users remained active beyond initial rewards.
• Developer Expansion: The number of active development teams surged from 150 to 350, fostering new dApps and DeFi projects. The league’s structure provided financial incentives and exposure for new projects, helping them gain traction within the ecosystem.
• Increased Engagement: Over 2 million users participated in various challenges, staking events, and trading competitions. This surge in participation highlighted the effectiveness of a well-structured incentive program in driving user retention and ecosystem activity.

The Open League strengthened TON’s developer ecosystem through consistent incentives by attracting talent and fostering a steady pipeline of innovative applications.

3.3 The Rise of Social Games

Social gaming played a crucial role in TON’s adoption strategy, fueled by the massive success of Notcoin, which demonstrated the potential of gamified blockchain experiences. Notcoin succeeded due to its simple yet highly engaging tap-to-earn mechanics, encouraging users to interact with the app daily in exchange for token rewards. Its seamless integration with Telegram Mini Apps (TMA) also removed onboarding friction, making it easy for users to participate without prior blockchain knowledge.

The success of Notcoin set the stage for a wave of new social gaming projects that leveraged Telegram Mini Apps for user acquisition and engagement. This trend saw the emergence of other successful projects, such as PAWS, Blum, and Hamster Kombat, each bringing unique innovations to the TON ecosystem.

Figure 6: Comparison of Leading Social Games on TON

These Telegram Mini Apps (TMA) gained massive traction due to their incentive-driven user acquisition strategies, which, in particular, leveraged airdrops and token rewards to attract and retain users.

• Airdrop Incentives: Most projects distributed tokens through airdrops to drive user participation. This model proved effective in onboarding non-crypto users and encouraging long-term engagement.
• Integration with Telegram Mini Apps: By seamlessly embedding within Telegram, these games benefited from low onboarding friction, making it easy for users to participate without requiring extensive blockchain knowledge.
• Community-Driven Engagement: Reward-based mechanics and viral gamification techniques created high retention rates, ensuring users stayed active in the ecosystem.

The success of Notcoin and its successors showcased how blockchain gaming can serve as an entry point for mainstream adoption, converting casual users into Web3 participants. Many of these games relied on airdrops and incentives to attract users, making them highly effective in expanding the TON ecosystem.

3.4 Expanding Developer Ecosystem and Infrastructure

TON’s developer ecosystem experienced significant growth in 2024, supported by various incentives, improved tools, and a growing developer community. The network’s commitment to lowering barriers for developers has led to an influx of talent, fostering a more robust dApp ecosystem. Key factors behind this growth include:

• Incentive Programs: TON offers grants, hackathons, and funding opportunities to encourage developers to build on the platform. These financial support mechanisms have attracted a steady stream of builders, ensuring continuous innovation within the ecosystem.
• Developer-Friendly Tools: TON provides comprehensive SDKs, APIs, and development frameworks, simplifying the process of creating and deploying applications. This accessibility has made TON an attractive blockchain for experienced and new developers.
• Community and Collaboration: TON has fostered a thriving developer community, organizing networking events and collaborative initiatives to encourage knowledge-sharing. These efforts have helped developers create more sophisticated applications, strengthening the broader ecosystem.
• Tact Smart Contract Language: The introduction of Tact in 2024 revolutionized smart contract development, making it easier and more efficient for developers by simplifying the coding process, reducing errors, and enhancing overall productivity. Unlike its predecessor, FunC, Tact features a more intuitive syntax, reducing the learning curve and accelerating adoption. In 2024, over 36.3% of verified smart contracts deployed on TON were written in Tact, demonstrating its growing importance within the ecosystem.

3.5 Leveraging Telegram’s Ecosystem

TON’s access to Telegram’s vast user network provides a competitive advantage by embedding blockchain capabilities into a platform with over 1 billion active users. This integration has reshaped how mainstream audiences access and use blockchain technology.

Why TON Excels with Telegram:

1. Massive User Reach: TON dApps tap into Telegram’s unparalleled scale, providing direct access to a vast and engaged audience. Projects benefit from this exposure without needing extensive external marketing efforts.
2. Ease of Use: TON dApps leverage Telegram Mini Apps (TMA), offering a user-friendly and intuitive onboarding experience. This integration eliminates the complexity often associated with blockchain, making it accessible even to non-technical users.
3. Built-In Wallets: Telegram’s native wallet integration simplifies transactions, allowing users to seamlessly interact with TON dApps without leaving the app.
4. Rapid Scaling: TON’s ecosystem grows organically through Telegram’s built-in social features, such as group interactions and referrals, enabling projects to scale quickly.

4. Challenges and Opportunities

While TON’s ecosystem expanded significantly in 2024, certain challenges could impact its long-term growth and adoption. Addressing these issues will be crucial for sustaining momentum and ensuring the network’s scalability.

4.1 Key Challenges

• User Base Expansion: Despite the network’s rapid growth, TON needs to expand beyond its existing user base to achieve its target of 500 million active users by 2028. While Telegram provides an unparalleled entry point for users, reaching a broader Web3 audience outside of Telegram will require a multifaceted approach, including targeted marketing, strategic partnerships, and deeper integrations with external platforms to create a seamless transition into the TON ecosystem.
• Liquidity and TVL: Although TON’s TVL increased significantly in 2024, it remains lower than competitors like Solana and NEAR. Deepening liquidity is essential for supporting large-scale DeFi applications, institutional trading, and cross-chain integrations. Focusing on increasing capital inflows from institutional investors and refining liquidity incentives will be key to overcoming this challenge.
• Developer Community Growth: While TON’s developer ecosystem has expanded, it still lags behind larger ecosystems like Ethereum and Solana. To bridge this gap, TON must continue providing robust developer tools, comprehensive documentation, and lucrative grant programs that make it easier for new projects to build and launch on the network.

4.2 Strategic Opportunities

• Leveraging Telegram’s User Base: Telegram remains one of TON’s most significant strategic assets, offering direct access to nearly 1 billion users worldwide. However, long-term growth will depend on expanding beyond gaming and entertainment, focusing on utility-driven applications such as payment solutions, enterprise tools, and DeFi integrations that appeal to a more diverse audience.
• Attracting Institutional Investment: Institutional adoption will play a vital role in strengthening TON’s position in the blockchain space. To attract more institutional liquidity, TON should focus on establishing regulatory-compliant infrastructure, integrating with established financial platforms, and ensuring deeper DeFi liquidity pools to sustain large-scale operations.
• Expanding Developer Incentives: TON’s ability to foster an engaged developer community will be a decisive factor in its long-term success. While TON already offers grants, hackathons, and funding programs, further improvements are needed to create a developer-friendly ecosystem. Providing seamless onboarding, stronger SDKs, and mentorship programs will help attract more developers beyond just blockchain-native builders.

5. Conclusion and Future Outlook

In 2024, TON demonstrated significant growth, solidifying its position in the blockchain space. TON’s support for DeFi, gaming, and NFTs has fueled the expansion of its ecosystem. However, sustaining this growth will require continued efforts to maintain user engagement, strengthen liquidity, and attract institutional adoption.

TON’s position in the competitive blockchain landscape will be determined by its ability to differentiate itself from established networks like Ethereum and Solana. While Ethereum remains the dominant player in smart contracts and institutional adoption, and Solana continues to scale in high-performance applications, TON’s unique advantage lies in its seamless integration with Telegram. This provides an organic user base that few other chains can match, positioning TON as a leader in onboarding mainstream users into Web3.

The future of TON will largely depend on its ability to capitalize on this integration while expanding into DeFi and institutional finance. The introduction of USDt-TON and its liquidity incentives have already driven significant adoption, but sustaining this requires more profound engagement with institutional players. Additionally, TON’s continued focus on scalability and cost efficiency will be crucial as the blockchain space grows increasingly competitive.

The recent exclusivity agreement between TON and Telegram, making TON the sole blockchain infrastructure for Telegram Mini Apps, raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of its ecosystem. While this strategic move strengthens TON’s foothold within Telegram’s vast user base, it also limits developer choice, potentially driving projects away from the platform. The mandatory adoption of TON Connect for all blockchain-related functionalities within Telegram Mini Apps could deter developers who prefer multi-chain interoperability. While the full impact remains uncertain, many projects are likely to reconsider their commitment to TON due to these restrictions, which could weaken ecosystem diversity and slow long-term growth.

TON’s long-term trajectory will be shaped by its ability to balance ecosystem growth with maintaining developer and user engagement. While its exclusivity within Telegram offers significant advantages, sustaining adoption and ensuring flexibility for projects will be key. How TON addresses these dynamics will determine its position in the evolving blockchain landscape.