[NEWS] Former TON Foundation Executive Establishes $40 Million Venture Fund

The TON Foundation, which supports the Telegram-based cryptocurrency TON (The Open Network), announced on the 14th the establishment of a $40 million venture capital fund called "TON Ventures".

The TON ecosystem is growing rapidly. TON has surpassed Ethereum (ETH) in the number of daily active users, and the total assets used on the platform have soared from $71 million (approximately 10.2 billion yen) at the beginning of the year to $1.14 billion (approximately 167 billion yen) in July.

Tap to earn games, which appeared in 2024, have also played a major role in this growth, drawing hundreds of millions of new users into the Web 3.0 gaming space. A prime example is the rapid growth of Notcoin. The game attracted 35 million players in just three months and distributed more than 90% of its token supply to the community.

Going forward, TON Ventures will invest in projects that contribute to the continued expansion of the TON ecosystem. 

The company will focus on supporting three types of projects: user applications based on Telegram, Telegram applets, and infrastructure and tools that developers can use to build popular applications. 

Selected projects will not only receive funding, but will also benefit from the team's global resources and experience, Telegram advertising, media, strategic cooperation, TON platform growth, and increased traffic.

In the past, Catizen, Gatto, and Tradoor were raised.

TON Ventures was founded by Ian W, former director of TON Accelerator, and Inal K, head of gaming at the TON Foundation.

Previously, Ian and Inal have successfully nurtured TON chain games Catizen and Gatto, as well as perpetual contract trading platform Tradoor.

Ian W said in a statement, "TON and Telegram have brought a paradigm shift to Web 3.0. Given our extensive experience with ecosystems, we believe that allocating capital to TON will have the greatest impact. Now we have a unique opportunity to share our knowledge and strategies for success in the unique design space that TON and Telegram have created, and empower a new generation of innovators and builders. By connecting visionary investors with cutting-edge projects, we aim to accelerate the growth of the TON ecosystem and promote breakthroughs in decentralized technology." 

Reference: TON Ventures
Image: Announcement

Related articles

USDC payments now possible with Apple Pay

Matsui Securities announces investment game "MONEY TRADE FIGHT by Matsui Securities" within Fornite