TON Ventures has announced a new accelerator program. The scheme will invest $2.5 million in five startups building on the TON blockchain. The launch comes after the arrest of Telegram’s CEO sent Tokencoin down 22%.
TON Ventures has chosen an unusual time to launch its newest $2.5 million accelerator program.
Designed to attract developers on the $12 billion ton blockchain originally developed by messaging app Telegram, the cohort will last three months and include five startups.
The launch comes as the wider TON ecosystem is mired in turmoil.
The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France has seen Toncoin price down 22% from its August peak and the total value of TON locked up. 56% to $348 million From the beginning of August. On August 28, a French court charged Durov with failing to prevent criminals from using Telegram to commit crimes ranging from fraud to child sexual abuse to drug sales.
However, the VCs said News They’re not bailing on TonCoin, saying the basic case for TON is still “compelling” among CoinFund supporters.
Social media app Telegram originally developed the TON blockchain and its cryptocurrency TonCoin, but has since spun off as a separate entity. solution with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020.
The TON Foundation now oversees the development of blockchain, cryptocurrency and related projects. TON Ventures is a separate entity from and not affiliated with the TON Foundation, but is run by ex-TON Foundation executives, a spokesperson said. News.
950 million users
The entities may be different now, but Telegram is becoming a key growth lever for the TON network.
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“The growth of the TON Blockchain so far this year has only shown a small percentage of Telegram’s potential as a distribution channel,” Sofia Rusconi, head of the TON Accelerator, said in a statement. “Building projects on TON have an audience of 950 million people ready and waiting to engage with their product.”
TON has enjoyed several milestones recently.
On TuesdayIt has announced that it has reached 1 billion transactions. According to Matthew Graham, founder and CEO of crypto venture firm Rise Labs, TON accounts also crossed the 50 million mark for the first time in August.
Tap-to-earn games are key to that growth. Those games reward users for tapping on their screens to earn coins and upgrade gameplay. One of the most popular games is called Hamster Combat and counted more than 200 million users in June. to the project.
“The top-to-earn craze has opened many people’s eyes to the powerful combination of TON and the Telegram Mini Apps platform,” Ian W, managing partner of TON Ventures, said in a statement, adding that this is “just the first step. The growth of the TON ecosystem.
The TON Foundation and TON Ventures did not return requests for comment about how much Tap-to-Earn games have contributed to the growth of TON or what Durov’s arrest means for TON’s future.
Eric Johnson is the news editor for DL News. Got a tip? Email at [email protected].