For a person who not often speaks publicly, Pavel Durov’s newest feedback about The Open Community (TON) carry weight. In a uncommon acknowledgment of the blockchain’s development, the Telegram founder revealed that Silicon Valley’s greatest gamers – Sequoia, Benchmark, Ribbit, Draper and VY Capital – have collectively poured over $400 million into TON, providing not simply capital however public endorsement.
Durov framed TON’s rise in pragmatic phrases. Over the previous yr, it has turn out to be Telegram’s de facto monetary layer – the one manner creators withdraw earnings, the only real cost rail for advertisements on most markets and the obligatory blockchain for a whole lot of tens of millions utilizing mini apps.
📈 Good month for The Open Community: the largest names in enterprise capital invested over $400M into TON and publicly backed it. Amongst them are the legends of Silicon Valley: Sequoia, Benchmark, Ribbit, Draper, VY, and different world-famous funds 💸
— Pavel Durov (@durov) March 26, 2025
Even Telegram’s digital property, from usernames to digital presents, now exist completely as TON-based NFTs. “The in-app economic system is scaling quicker than anticipated,” Durov notes.
He singled out TON’s technical edge: sharding structure constructed to course of transactions at a scale match for Telegram’s person base – virtually one billion folks – calling it one of many few blockchains with fundamentals, not simply hypothesis.
The replace got here simply as Durov resolved his authorized standoff with French authorities.