💎Key Investments by TVM Ventures: DeFi and SocialFi on TON

TVM Ventures continues to strengthen the TON ecosystem by supporting key projects in DeFi and SocialFi.

Recent investment rounds for Torch Finance, Factorial Finance, and Memes Lab have collectively raised $5.75 million, highlighting TON's commitment to scaling its financial and social solutions.

Torch Finance, TON's leading Stable Swap protocol, secured $1.5 million in its pre-seed round by TVM Ventures, with strategic partners including Michael Egorov (Curve Finance) and other angel investors.

Torch Finance has proved itself by winning the Stable Swap competition hosted by TON Foundation and Curve Finance and becoming an official TVM partner of Curve Finance.

Key Development Factors:
- Integration with Curve Finance and CrossCurve, enabling the migration of $2 billion in liquidity from EVM to TON
- Launching Stable Swap V2 and a decentralized stablecoin backed by TON assets
- Introducing Simple Earn, a passive income tool for Telegram users

Michael Egorov, Founder of Curve Finance:
“Working with an expert team on a different network makes sense because it creates the potential for high liquidity density for yield-bearing tokens on TON.”

Factorial Finance, which is developing modular DeFi lending on TON, raised $1.8 million in a seed funding round. Investors include B-Harvest, VistaLabs, TVM Ventures, SingularV, and others.

Core Protocol Elements:
- Isolated Pools: enables independent risk management in each pool
- Pool Factory: a tool for creating custom liquidity pools
- Vault System: automated management of yield strategies and risk mitigation

Justin Hyun, Co-Founder of Factorial Finance (and an old-time friend):
"Our goal is to simplify access to DeFi while maintaining high functionality and security. Integrating TON with Telegram unlocks unique opportunities for mass adoption.”

Factorial is also launching user incentive programs:
- Incentive Farming: reduces interest rates for borrowers via TON rewards
- Point Farming: a loyalty program for active platform users

Memes Lab, a SocialFi and meme coin project, raised $2.45 million in a seed round led by Lemniscap.

Key Project Features:
- Integration with Telegram Stars, enabling nearly 1 billion Telegram users to buy meme coins without crypto wallets
- Automated Telegram group creation when launching meme coins, ensuring instant community engagement
- Tap-to-Earn gaming model, which has already attracted 17 million users.

Vova Sadkov, Co-Founder of Memes Lab:
“Meme coins are all about community. We aim to create an environment where users can easily launch and spread their meme coins while staying engaged.”

Roderik van der Graaf, Lemniscap:
“Memes Lab showcases how SocialFi and meme coins can build a new economy in Telegram by leveraging its unique engagement mechanics.”

TVM Ventures and its partners are scaling up TON in DeFi and SocialFi:
- Deep integration with Curve Finance and institutional liquidity
- Developing Telegram Stars as a tool for DeFi interaction
- Creating user-friendly Web2-to-Web3 transition solutions

These investments reinforce TON's long-term strategy - building a universal financial and social platform fully integrated with Telegram.

Your strategy @TonPost

🥳TON Ecosystem Expands Beyond TOP and the Monopoly of Large Projects

For a long time, the TON ecosystem revolved around a limited circle of major projects. However, new solutions from emerging players are now challenging the dominance of TOP and other big shots, offering alternative products with more flexible and efficient approaches.

🔘STON.fi → DeDust: nothing more to add, you already know the story

🔘Tonstakers → KTON: Though Tonstakers was a key staking platform for a long time, KTON introduces a modernized solution, making stake earnings more transparent and flexible

🔘EVAA Protocol → Factorial Finance: While EVAA Protocol offers traditional DeFi solutions, Factorial Finance introduces modular lending, creating a new model for liquidity and risk management

🔘Getgems → Tonnel Network ? (Mr.Freeman): An independent developer managed to build a faster and more popular solution than the entire large team at Getgems. Tonnel Network by Mr.Freeman has become a popular alternative for gift purchases, proving that even a solo developer can outcompete major structures.

🔘Blum → Memes Lab: Whereas Blum positions itself as the most prominent meme launchpad in the ecosystem, Memes Lab enters the scene with a different approach - integrating Telegram Stars and SocialFi mechanics, merging meme coins and community engagement.

The TON ecosystem is becoming more open and competitive. Developers and users are no longer dependent on a few monopolies; they can now choose solutions that truly work more effectively.

Your competing @TonPost

🔒TRM Labs Launches a Comprehensive Blockchain Analysis Tool for TON

TRM Labs, a leading blockchain analytics provider, has launched a comprehensive monitoring service for TON. Now, financial institutions, crypto companies, and law enforcement agencies will have powerful tools to assess risks, detect fraudulent activities, and ensure regulatory compliance.

TON is built on a multi-blockchain architecture with dynamic sharding, allowing it to process millions of transactions per second. Such scalability requires advanced monitoring solutions to prevent illegal activities.

TRM Labs' system helps to:
- Analyze wallets for sanction violations and suspicious activity
- Track fraudulent transactions and identify financial crimes
- Ensure regulatory compliance
- Respond promptly to threats and obtain incident-related data

Through integration with Chainabuse, the largest fraud detection platform in the crypto industry, TON will now receive real-time alerts on scams and fraudulent schemes in Telegram. This will help quickly block dangerous addresses and prevent financial crimes.

"Innovation and security must go hand in hand. By expanding our coverage to TON, we’re giving compliance teams and law enforcement the intelligence they need to navigate regulatory requirements, detect illicit activity, and support the safe growth of one of the world’s most dynamic blockchain networks" said Rahul Raina, CTO of TRM Labs.

"One of the things we’re most committed to ensuring at TON is that we deliver security alongside speed and scalability. Our partnership with TRM Labs underscores and strengthens this commitment by providing best-in-class intelligence capabilities that help safeguard our ecosystem. With TRM’s advanced blockchain intelligence, we are now able to proactively detect and prevent illegal activities, ensuring a secure environment for developers, [] and our millions of global users", emphasized Manuel Stotz, President of the TON Foundation.

TRM Labs covers 77 blockchains, including 32 with extended support, providing industry-leading solutions for tracking cryptocurrency transactions and detecting violations.

Scammers - GAME OVER?

Your detector @TonPost

🌎Believers.ton Has Been Irretrievably Lost

On July 25, 2023, we transferred the TON DNS believers.ton to the wallet address of TON Foundation. However, on July 26, 2024, TF did not renew the domain 😅, resulting in its permanent loss. It has since been acquired by a new owner, though it is still pointing to the correct contract.

🔗Links to the TON Believers Fund contract must be accessed through its direct address only.

Let's take a look at what TON Believers Fund is and what it does. It is a non-profit fund created by the TON community for the long-term development of its ecosystem. Its operations are secured by a smart contract developed by the TON Core team specifically for this purpose.

The contract allowed any TON holder to lock their tokens for 5 years:
- 2 years of full lock-up (until October 2025)
- 3 years of vesting (until October 2028)

The fund aimed to gather large projects and holders willing to support the TON ecosystem by reducing circulating supply and encouraging long-term growth.

Current Fund Statistics:
- Total balance: 1,317,379,088 TON (~$4.87 billion)
- Deposited into the fund: 1,033,647,045 TON
- Allocated to the reward pool: 283,731,850 TON

Key Dates:
- October 2, 2025: Start of the 3-year vesting period for TON Believers Fund
- October 2028: Full release of funds to contributors

We deeply appreciate everyone who supported this initiative and entrusted their assets to the TON Believers Fund. This achievement reflects the strength and long-term commitment of the TON community.

Your Believer @TonPost

💎News Index for February 2025

🔹TVM Ventures Launches a $100M Fund to Develop TON
🔹TON Core Updates for December 2024 – January 2025
🔹Steve Yun on CNBC: his vision for the future of DeFi in Telegram
🔹First Mid-Core Web3 Game on TON
🔹Mini Apps Support Program
🔹Recent Notcoin products and news
🔹LayerZero Launches its USDT Bridge
🔹Key Investments by TVM Ventures: DeFi and SocialFi on TON
🔹TON Ecosystem Expands Beyond TOP and the Monopoly of Large Projects
🔹TRM Labs Launches a Comprehensive Blockchain Analysis Tool for TON
🔹Believers.ton Has Been Irretrievably Lost

Join us at:
DeepTon / Chat RU / TonPost / Chat ENG

🎁Bitcoin Suisse now supports for TON

Bitcoin Suisse, a leading Swiss cryptocurrency platform, now supports The Open Network for trading and secure storage.

Bitcoin Suisse is a Swiss company offering financial services for cryptocurrencies. Founded in 2013 by Niklas Nikolajsen, the company is based in Zug, also known as the "Crypto Valley" due to the high concentration of blockchain companies in the region.

Since its inception, Bitcoin Suisse played a key role in the development of Switzerland's cryptocurrency industry, actively contributing to infrastructure creation and promoting the adoption of digital currencies in the country.

The platform is known for its high security standards and rigorous asset selection. Therefore, TON integration on Bitcoin Suisse opens doors to major investors.

TON can be traded 24/7 via Bitcoin Suisse Online or stored in Bitcoin Suisse Vault, one of the most secure storage solutions on the market.

Your Swiss @TonPost

⚙️TON Core - Accelerator Upgrade

Recently, Telegram, in collaboration with TON Core, held a large-scale Blockchain Contest, where developers competed in optimizing blockchain validation and creating a Trustless Bridge.

The main goal of the contest was to push TON network forward. The best optimization solutions were integrated into the main network, helping to improve the performance and scalability of the ecosystem.

After the contest, the TON Core team introduced the Accelerator update, increasing network’s throughput to a record 100,000 TPS (transactions per second) and stabilizing block time. Now, the technology is being integrated into the main network, with the next goal being to reduce End-to-End latency, improving transaction response time.

Alongside Accelerator, TON Core is actively developing TONTVM Sidechains - parallel blockchains that run on the TON virtual machine.

Sidechains will:
- Reduce the load on the main network, increasing its scalability
- Create custom solutions for unique project requirements
- Maintain compatibility with existing TON tools

Developers can launch their own sidechains, experiment with new solutions, and take advantage of the TON ecosystem. The ability to integrate the best solutions from the contest creates a unique environment for project growth and development.

For more details on TONTVM Sidechains, check out the official overview and the TON Core developer repository.

Your integrator @TonPost

💎Tungsten Custody approved to store TON in ADGM

Tungsten Custody Solutions has received approval from the FSRA in Abu Dhabi Global Market to provide custody for Toncoin (TON).

Now, institutional investors can securely store TON while remaining in full compliance with regulatory requirements.

“Securing regulatory approval to provide custody for Toncoin is a significant milestone for Tungsten. With ADGM emerging as a key hub for blockchain innovation, we are proud to be at the forefront” said Jose Aguinaga, Senior Executive Officer of Tungsten Custody.

Tungsten Custody's approval for TON storage provides transparency and security for major investors, allows startups to save on sending verification codes via Telegram Gateway 2.0, and simplifies the withdrawal of Telegram stars through Fragment.

Toncoin DLT Foundation already has headquarters in Abu Dhabi, highlighting the region’s growing interest in TON. Previously, Tether announced its stablecoin pegged to the UAE dirham on the TON network.

Your custodian @TonPost

💎TON is now available on Bitso!

Starting today, Bitso users can buy, sell, and use TON, as announced by their devs on X (Twitter).

Bitso is Mexico's first cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2014.
It was a pioneer in letting users exchange fiat money for cryptocurrency in Mexican pesos, drastically expanding the local crypto market.

Users can easily buy and sell TON through a convenient mobile app or the web version of the exchange, making cryptocurrency transactions much simpler.

And while this is just an entry into the Latin American market, as they say, taking the first step is already half the battle.

Your pioneer @TonPost

🤑NFT Gifts Now on Fragment!

The Gifts section on Fragment is now live, unlocking new opportunities for trading NFTs on Telegram. The platform comes equipped with all the features for easy selection and purchase of virtual gifts.

Users can browse a wide array of gifts and filter them by models, icons, and backgrounds - all with clear visuals, making it easier to find the perfect item.

The gift selection includes popular collectibles and unique offerings, such as the stylish Durov’s Caps, quirky Plush Pepe, and vibrant Perfume Bottles.

Unlike Fragment, the marketplace by Mr. Freeman does not require KYC verification or a 14–21 day wait after upgrading a gift. This makes it especially convenient for those who value speed, anonymity (if you believe in it), and simplicity.

However, the downside is that sellers can initiate a refund (in stars) after receiving TON, potentially leaving buyers without both their tokens and the gift.

Your generous @TonPost

🪙QuickNode now supports TON!

QuickNode has officially added support for TON, providing powerful infrastructure for your projects!

QuickNode is a leading provider of blockchain infrastructure that helps developers quickly deploy and scale Web3 applications. It offers APIs, nodes, and analytical tools to work with blockchains without the need to set up your own servers.

What does this mean?
- Instant access to the TON network through high-performance RPC endpoints
- Easy integration with various services and tools for faster development
- Efficient loading and processing of blockchain data for analytics and monitoring
- Reliability and scalability for projects of any size

Your developer @TonPost

🟧Meet the Liquidity Aggregator on DeDust

DeDust continues to evolve, making asset swaps in the TON ecosystem even more profitable and convenient. The new liquidity pool router, launched today, provides access to trading on DeDust pools and on other decentralized platforms.

The transaction-splitting technology automatically routes large orders through multiple pools, using the best conditions available. This way users get better exchange rates effortlessly.

In its efforts to offer the best prices, the team has done away with referral rewards for swaps via third-party DEXs. Even if this isn't necessarily good for the platform, its the end user that has the priority.

The new liquidity aggregator can be integrated into various products: Telegram bots, wallets, and DeFi applications. There is documentation available to everyone interested in creating breakthrough financial tools in the TON ecosystem.

DeDust invites developers, traders, and enthusiasts to build the new era of TON DeFi together. The future is already here - it's time to join DeDust!

Your aggregator @TonPost

🚨Did Pavel Durov Leave France?

Rumors are circulating online that Telegram founder Pavel Durov has received permission from the courts and left for Dubai. AFP were the first to report this, and later, screenshots of articles with the headline "Pavel Durov Allowed to Leave France" started showing up.

A close friend of Durov confirmed his departure to Dubai, and Telegram's head of design also highlighted this on his channel.

Another source has said that an investigating judge allowed him to leave France for a few weeks.

As a reminder, in August 2024, Durov was detained at Le Bourget Airport (France). He was later released on bail of €5 million but was required to check in with the police twice a week and was prohibited from leaving the country.

What do you think: could Durov have really left France? 🤔

Your detective @TonPost

⚖️How Competitors Are Bringing Users to Telegram and TON

Pavel Durov recently returned from France, and Telegram officially became a social media giant, with over 1 billion monthly active users. People open the messenger an average of 21 times per day, spending a total of 41 minutes in the app. The company itself has become profitable, recording $547 million in revenue in 2024.

Last year, Telegram launched Gateway - a tool that allows services to send verification codes to users via @VerificationCodes instead of expensive and unreliable SMS. As a result, Facebook, Google, Amazon, Coinbase, TikTok, PSN, and even Tinder 🥹 have started using Telegram for user verification.

Turns out, the very same giants that spent years trying to hinder Telegram's growth (by banning links, blocking channels, and even lobbying against the messenger) are now leading their own audience into Durov’s ecosystem.

All because Telegram Gateway is simply cheaper. Sending a verification code costs $0.01, whereas SMS can cost up to $0.50 - not to mention potential delays and failures.

Now, here is a question:
If users are already receiving their verification codes in Telegram, could they stay in the ecosystem and continue enjoying it?

The answer is simple:
When users regularly open Telegram for notifications and verification codes, they get used to it. Some start messaging, others discover channels, and some try out bots and mini-apps.

Then, we get naturally: Mini Apps → Payments → TON

Since TON is Telegram’s native blockchain, it naturally attracts new users who explore the ecosystem’s possibilities. They create crypto wallets, try P2P exchanges, join gaming projects, and use decentralized services - all within a familiar environment.

The Ironic Reality:
- Telegram gains new users thanks to its convenience and low costs
- TON gains new users due to Telegram integration
- Competitors pay Telegram to introduce their audience to its ecosystem

Now, if Telegram has become the most convenient tool for verification, what’s stopping it from becoming the standard for subscriptions, logins, and transactions?

WhatsApp has spent years trying to catch up with Telegram but remains a "watered-down copy" of it. Their recent attempts to introduce payments and bot platforms feel like a rushed response to what Telegram has already perfected. The same goes for LINE, KakaoTalk, and other messengers trying to copy Telegram’s model (blockchain + mini apps).

Now imagine what happens when millions of users fully explore TON’s blockchain, decentralized apps, and the ability to earn money directly within Telegram. Meanwhile, as competitors pay for Telegram’s convenience, it simply keeps moving forward, building a platform where everything—from communication to finance—is in one place.

In a few years, we might look back and laugh at how Facebook, Google, and Amazon unintentionally helped build the world’s largest crypto ecosystem.

Your long-term @TonPost

🙂TON is now available on Blockchain.com

TON is now available in the Blockchain.com wallet - one of the oldest and most respected platforms in the crypto world. This new listing is also an important signal (not an investment one): the TON ecosystem is steadily gaining momentum on a global scale.

Now users around the world, including the US, can buy, sell, and exchange TON directly through Blockchain.com. This encourages entry into the ecosystem, especially for those who haven't interacted with Telegram Mini Apps or Wallet before. All of these things are now just a few clicks away, with no strings attached or third-party wallets.

"Now you can buy, sell, and exchange TON on Blockchain.com—welcome to the open internet", said Manuel Stotz, president of TON Foundation on X.

Entering the US market is one of the most important milestones for our ecosystem. This region has the most active user base and some of the strictest regulations.

Overcoming this barrier shows maturity and trust from the industry. Trust is quite important: Blockchain.com, as a pioneer of the crypto industry, doesn’t take on partners lightly. Supporting TON means acknowledging its technological strength and potential.

Looking at projects like Solana or Avalanche, we notice that their growth would have been impossible without support from major platforms like Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and others.

Infrastructure support is the key to expansion. TON is following the same path, but with a unique advantage: it is integrated with Telegram - a messenger with a billion active users. This gives it favorable conditions to spread naturally, not only through exchanges but also through real-life everyday usage.

Listing on Blockchain.com is just the beginning of a new wave of integrations and partnerships. The easier users enter the ecosystem, the faster it will grow. And considering the already established Telegram Mini Apps, GameFi, SocialFi, and DeFi, we can expect explosive growth in the next 1–2 years.

Crypto is moving fast. TON is moving even faster 😎

Your fast @TonPost

🤔Is NFT Meta in TON Predictably Making a Comeback?

Cyclicality is part of any market, whether it’s fashion, cryptocurrency, or trends in blockchain ecosystems. Let’s recall the 2021/ 2022 period when the trend for NFTs in TON was just emerging. After TON mining ended, NFT collections enjoyed tremendous activity.

The first sales took place through pre-sale bots. Data was recorded in Excel spreadsheets before the appearance of smart contracts. The userbase grew rapidly: it started off with a few collections, then dozens emerged every week. NFTs gave TON a new wave of life, and now a similar process has started but on a larger scale.

The Telegram team has essentially created a ready-made NFT model with deep integration into the messenger ecosystem. Personalized collections, flexible theme selections, and global recognition make gifts the new standard for digital collectible assets.

But the key feature is emission control. If the issuance of gifts were limited, they would become exclusive assets, much like anonymous numbers. Currently, the market is still developing, and the flexible emission mechanics give it depth: there’s a need for both affordable gifts and exclusive collections with high entry barriers.

Unlike hyped NFT memes that skyrocket and then fade into oblivion, Telegram gifts have real utility. They are embedded in the messenger, supported by its infrastructure, and provide users with personalization mechanisms.

Let’s Look at the Numbers:
- Total trading volume of gifts in TON has already exceeded $29 million (~7.48M TON)
- Over 75,000 unique wallets have traded gifts

Top 3 Marketplaces by Sales Volume:
- TONNEL Marketplace (offchain): $20.6M (~5.58M TON), accounting for 71.2% of the total gift market
- OTC ELF (offchain): $4.56M (~913K TON)
- GetGems (onchain): **$1.79M (~491K TON)

→ Check out the Telegram gift dashboards

Meanwhile, the Notcoin devs enabled purchasing custom stickers, creating a new commerce within Telegram. Over 10 custom collections featuring various sticker sets have already been released, including blue-chip NFTs such as Pudgy Penguins and Bored Stickers. The Sticker Store is not willing to lose its top position among Telegram's highest-grossing apps.

These collections already have a significant userbase and demand on other blockchains, and the Sticker Store in Telegram could become their next point of expansion. With the potential for audience migration to TON, the custom sticker market could attract not only Telegram users but also major NFT collectors.

The next step is creating a transfer mechanism, which includes launching new OTC marketplaces, with new liquid markets and more trading volumes in TON.

But the most exciting part is yet to come. Official support for NFT stickers in Telegram, which Pavel Durov announced a year ago at TOKEN2049, will create a fully integrated ecosystem market for digital collectible assets. This takes TON NFTs to a new level, towards mass adoption using organic demand.

Launching a collection doesn't just end there, now we have universal digital assets that:
- Are pre-integrated into Telegram
- Can be personalized
- Have a liquid secondary market

As the market continues to evolve, let's keep an eye on emissions, explore new mechanics, and find opportunities within the ecosystem - just like Mr. Freeman did.

Think about it, @TonPost

💲FIVA x EVAA: Fixed Income and Leveraged Farming in TON

FIVA continues to expand by integrating with EVAA Protocol, the leading lending platform on TON. Now, users can lock in yields in USDT, farm points with leverage, and provide liquidity to the FIVA pool, earning additional rewards.

FIVA Protocol is yield management protocol that allows users to fix yields (PT), farm points with leverage (YT), and earn by providing liquidity

EVAA Protocol is a decentralized lending platform that connects depositors and borrowers. It generates returns through interest rate spreads and offers its rewards a points reward system.

What’s New with the USDT Market Launch?
- Fixed Yield in USDT: investors can use Principal Tokens (PT) to lock in earnings and protect investments from market fluctuations
- Accelerated Points Farming : use Yield Tokens (YT) to boost EVAA points accumulation by up to 100x before TGE
- Liquidity Pool Rewards: earn from interest rates, trading fees, and bonus points without liquidation risk

Ready to Start?

1. Go to the FIVA App
2. Connect your TON wallet
3. Choose a Strategy:
-Fixed Yield with PT
-Leveraged Farming with YT
-Liquidity Provision

FIVA Protocol Resources:
Website | App | TMA | Channel | Community | Twitter

Your fixed-income @TonPost

🛍NFT Stickers in Telegram: A New Stage for the TON Ecosystem?

Last April, at TOKEN2049, Pavel Durov announced the arrival of NFT-based stickers and emojis, where 95% of sales revenue will go to their creators. Since then, Telegram has been steadily moving toward this launch, where the Sticker Store will play a key element of this strategy.

While Telegram gifts were getting most of the hype, thanks to the success of Mr. Freeman's format, the Sticker Store is busy developing its own infrastructure. In the coming days, we expect to see a new NFT marketplace, where users will trade and transfer collectible stickers based on NFT mechanics.

As per the Dune dashboard:
- Total sticker sales: $6.2 million
- Released: 124 packs from 15 collections
- Top collections by volume: Pudgy Penguins ($1.91M) and Bored Stickers ($1.48M)
- Telegram Stars accounted for over 70% of purchases, with the rest in TON, USDT, PX, and NOT

Upcoming features from Telegram devs:
- Transfer of stickers between users
- A marketplace for trading and exchanging stickers
- Rarity attributes for some collections

From the beginning, stickers were functional by nature: the played a role in daily communication, personalization, and Telegram’s cultural identity. Unlike gifts, which required user engagement, stickers are already embedded in their behavior. NFT features will add liquidity and ownership rights, allowing users to own what they use to express themselves.

Could the Sticker Store become a bridge into Web3 for millions of users who have never interacted with crypto before?

Telegram is not chasing hype. It is quietly building an ecosystem based on familiar actions: gifts, stickers, and customization. This builds towards a shift to a new digital economy embedded in everyday communication within the legendary messenger.

Use cases, in-game integrations, rarity, and utility - all of this is shaping the future market, which is already knocking on Telegram’s door. The launch of NFT functionalities for stickers, rather than just another feature - could be the start of a new chapter in the evolution of Telegram.

Your Daily @TonPost

⭐️Telegram Stars Refunds: A Crisis of Trust That Affects Everyone

Starting this year, the Telegram ecosystem has been facing a big issue: thousands of users losing their Stars and purchased gifts disappearing. Meanwhile, Stars are getting sold at suspiciously low prices - only to be refunded through the App Store and Google Play.

How the scheme works:
- A scammer sells Stars below market price
- The user spends them on gifts or in a Telegram Mini App
- Upon request from the Store, Telegram forcibly returns funds
- Everyone involved, except the scammer, loses money and assets

Developers also end up losing: their funds earned in Stars disappear, leading to a rapid erosion of trust in the Telegram Mini Apps ecosystem.

A case that sparked widespread discussion on FunPay marketplace reached its expected outcome yesterday. A massive number of Stars were sold there at half their normal price, leading to widespread refunds on users. Estimates suggest total losses amount to $50,000.

How to avoid losing your funds:
Use only trusted sources:
- Fragment: official marketplace
- @PremiumBot: Telegram’s official bot
- SplitTg: alternative solution without KYC, purchases go through Fragment

All three methods bypass the App Store and Google Play, making refunds impossible.

The proper way to buy Gifts:
- The ideal option: on-chain gifts. Buy Telegram Gifts via Fragment or Getgems. They are issued as NFTs on TON, stored in your wallet, and cannot be refunded.

- If you're willing to take the risk: Tonnel Marketplace is an option, but:
• Pay attention to gift numbers
• They should be scattered, not minted sequentially
• This indicates that gifts were minted by different users, not a single account for cashing out
• This reduces (but doesn’t eliminate) the risk of refunds

This situation is a prime example of why blockchains are needed. When you own an asset on the blockchain, refunds, bugs, or third-party decisions cannot affect you.

NFT ≠ not a JPEG. Telegram Stars ≠ not just a messenger "perk". They are digital assets, and should be treated as such. Buying Stars "on the cheap" doesn’t save you money - it puts you at risk of loss.

If we truly want to see the Telegram and TON ecosystems grow, we need conscious actions and protection mechanisms against such vulnerabilities.

Your starfall @TonPost

📈FIVA x Storm: New Yield Strategies in the TON Ecosystem

The FIVA project has joined forces with Storm Trade: TON's largest perpetual contracts platform.

Storm's pools annual yields range from 10% to 25%, generating profits through trading fees, liquidations, and protocol rewards. Thanks to integration with FIVA, users can now provide liquidity and flexibly manage their positions to convert volatile returns into fixed income.

What’s now possible with the integration:
- Fixing yields via PT (Principal Tokens)
- Accelerated farming of Storm rewards via YT (Yield Tokens)
- Gaining liquidity without closing positions
- Additional income from providing liquidity on FIVA’s DEX

Advantages:
- Protection from market volatility
- Farming with up to 65x leverage with no liquidation risk
- Instant access to future yield
- Multiple new income sources

Built-in protection mechanisms:
- Storm’s buffer system
- FIVA’s architecture with econometric analysis
- Future integration of the STORM token

FIVA continues its phased expansion through new protocols and strategies. Integration with Storm is another step toward building a more resilient and efficient yield-generating ecosystem on TON.

→ Check out FIVA
→ Partnership Details
→ FIVA Partnership x EVAA Protocol

Your strategic guide @TonPost

🗺What's the future of TON?

As TON ecosystem continues to evolve, its focus is gradually shifting. Today, increasing attention is being given to Social Trading: a combination of trading, social interaction, and community. At the same time, DeFi remains a key direction, capable of increasing the network's TVL (Total Value Locked) and transaction volume.

The GameFi sector, at this stage, feels more like an attempt to create a trend than a response to an existing demand. Even the most prominent projects like Hamster Kombat, Notcoin, or Catizen, despite their massive reach, aren't giving TON what it truly needs right now: transactional activity, a sustainable economy, and long-term value.

Telegram Stars refunds continue to be one of the biggest pain points. They affect users, developers, and marketplace owners like Tonnel. There's no clear timeline for refunds: some mention 7 days, others 21, and in extreme cases — 90 days. Without a transparent mechanism in place, it's hard to achieve any real stability.

TON projects often receive advertising credits for Telegram Ads. At first, this seems like a great opportunity. But in practice, due to Telegram Ads' limited functionality, especially the lack of proper targeting, the effectiveness of such campaigns is reduced. Most devs still rely on partnerships, organic growth, and viral mechanics to attract users.

Telegram continues to improve its advertising platform. Upcoming updates include:
- The ability to advertise in search
- Improved ad preview
- Indicators for ad placement and keywords
- Warnings about the inability to modify parameters after an ad is created

However, these changes don't solve the core issue: the lack of quality targeting by interests, age, location, and other important metrics.

Telegram Mini Apps are still limited in functionality. The last major update was in November of last year. Developers are left to invent and implement their own workarounds. By comparison, WeChat has long offered a robust toolkit for working with their mini-apps.

Yes, many challenges and tasks still lie ahead. And yes, competitors aren't slowing down, either. But TON is moving forward, bringing about some significant tech updates:
- TON Teleport: a decentralized bridge between TON and BTC
- L2 and sidechain solutions: new levels of scalability
- Increased activity, better usability, and liquidity influx

As with any large corporation, leadership changes means transformation. A striking example is Elon Musk's arrival at X (formerly Twitter), which triggered a wave of restructuring and strategic shifts.

Similar changes might be on the way for TON’s leadership. This will bring about a shift in focus, resource reallocation, and priority reshuffling. Meanwhile, we temporarily see lower activity across the network.

Our ecosystem faces some big work ahead. But this will lay the foundation for the future. It won’t be easy - but it will be exciting.

Your forward-looking @TonPost