TON’s Strategy for Widespread Acceptance: An Overview of Telegram’s Web3 Initiative

With Telegram now having over a billion users worldwide, few blockchain ecosystems possess a clearer distribution advantage than TON. Initially developed as Telegram’s native blockchain, TON has gradually transformed into one of the most ambitious efforts to integrate Web3 infrastructure directly into a widely used consumer platform.

In a discussion with Cryptonews, Max Crown, President and CEO of the TON Foundation, elaborates on why TON has thrived where others have faced challenges — and how its consumer-centric design, social NFTs, and institutional engagement are influencing its forthcoming growth phase.

Designed for Scalability From the Start

Crown asserts that TON’s primary strength is rooted in its foundational design philosophy.

“Most blockchains were initially created for crypto-native experimentation and later attempted to adapt to consumer platforms,” he stated. “TON took a different route.”

From the beginning, TON was crafted for internet-scale application — emphasizing rapid finality, minimal latency, and predictable costs. This technical groundwork, according to Crown, has shaped the culture of the ecosystem.

“The developer culture is focused on usability and speed rather than complexity or financial engineering,” he noted. “Applications on TON resemble mainstream mobile apps more than traditional Web3 products — they are intuitive, social, and instantaneous.”

Importantly, this alignment goes beyond just infrastructure. The blockchain, developer community, application layer, and Telegram integration of TON all work cohesively, making distribution a built-in feature rather than a marketing hurdle.

“What makes Telegram so unique is that it’s open, permissionless and a launchpad to a lot of digital economies and digital creation.”
With TON, we have a Web3 foundation to build on and Web2 distribution that reaches billions.
Crypto used to feel complicated.
Now it feels… pic.twitter.com/fdh4qQCzS0

— Max Crown (@mcrown) October 22, 2025

“Other ecosystems attempted to convert consumer apps into Web3 front ends retroactively,” Crown remarked. “TON succeeded because it was specifically designed to serve as the Web3 infrastructure within a consumer application.”

Reimagining Crypto Onboarding

For a significant portion of the industry, onboarding remains a critical weakness of Web3. Wallets, seed phrases, and gas fees continue to deter mainstream users — an issue TON aimed to resolve.

“Most Web3 onboarding fails because it requires users to grasp crypto before they can experience its value,” Crown explained. “TON completely reverses that model.”

With TON integrated into Telegram, user acquisition occurs organically. Discovery starts in chats, communities, or mini-apps, enabling users to engage with games, digital gifts, or payments with a single tap.

In practice, “zero-friction” onboarding entails two key aspects: a deeply integrated wallet experience and the simplification of crypto’s most daunting elements.

“The TON wallet is embedded within Telegram,” Crown clarifies. “Payments, assets, and interactions feel like features of the app — not distinct crypto processes.”

Consequently, onboarding becomes nearly imperceptible. “In many instances, users are unaware that they have onboarded to crypto at all,” he stated. “They are simply chatting, gifting, or making payments.”

NFTs as Social Objects, Not Speculative Assets

TON’s Telegram Gifts-to-NFT feature — which reportedly achieved a $12 million sell-out associated with Snoop Dogg — represented a pivotal moment in how NFTs can operate at scale.

For Crown, the importance lies in redefining NFTs away from speculation.

“On TON, NFTs develop as social and cultural objects first — and only secondarily as financial instruments,” he remarked.

Rather than being confined to isolated marketplaces, NFTs on TON exist within conversations, fandoms, and creator economies. They serve as gifts, badges, and access keys — more akin to digital fashion or emojis than speculative collectibles.

“Financialisation doesn’t vanish,” Crown noted. “But it becomes an additional layer on top of meaning and utility, rather than the starting point.” He believes this shift is crucial for mainstream adoption.

Why Institutions Are Taking Notice

TON’s consumer engagement is increasingly reflected in institutional interest. More than $400 million in Toncoin has reportedly been acquired by institutional investors this year.

Crown attributes this to a combination of network maturity, visible usage, and enhanced infrastructure.

“TON today appears significantly different from just a year ago,” he stated. “The network is stable at scale, and the surrounding ecosystem — custody, compliance, liquidity — is finally at an institutional level.”

Telegram’s integrated distribution model also serves as a differentiator. “TON isn’t trying to acquire users through difficult means,” Crown said. “It’s embedded in a platform that people already utilize daily. That asymmetry is important for long-term capital.”

However, institutional demand has not shifted TON’s trajectory.

“We’re not optimizing for institutions at the expense of users,” he stated. “What it influences is discipline — higher standards regarding security, resilience, and transparency.”

Addressing U.S. Expansion and Regulation

As TON broadens its presence in the U.S., regulatory complexities remain a challenge. Crown indicates that the environment is improving, even though uncertainty lingers.

“The U.S. is significantly more navigable than it was a year ago,” he noted. “The rules are becoming more predictable.”

Crown is careful to differentiate between protocol and application-level regulation.

“TON is a decentralized blockchain — it’s a technology layer, not a regulated financial intermediary,” he stated.

To facilitate compliant activities, TON collaborates with blockchain intelligence firms such as TRM Labs, Elliptic, and Chainalysis, allowing developers to meet sanctions screening and transaction monitoring requirements when necessary.

“The aim is to maintain the base layer open and neutral,” Crown said, “while enabling compliant products at the application layer.”

A Leadership Transition Focused on Execution

Crown’s recent dual appointment as President and CEO signifies TON’s shift into a more operationally disciplined phase. “The challenge wasn’t vision — it was coordination,” he stated.

Combining the roles streamlines decision-making and aligns strategy with execution as the ecosystem expands. “We’re entering a phase where fundamentals are more critical than experimentation for its own sake,” Crown said, highlighting reliability at scale, developer experience, and seamless onboarding as priorities.

Insights From MoonPay

Prior to TON, Crown co-founded MoonPay, a consumer-oriented crypto payments platform — an experience that continues to influence his approach.

“The most significant lesson is that distribution and frictionless onboarding are more important than almost anything else,” he stated.

At MoonPay, success stemmed from simplifying complexity and mimicking familiar consumer experiences. “Users didn’t want to learn how crypto functioned — they just wanted it to work,” Crown remarked.

This principle now underlies TON’s strategy: render the blockchain layer invisible.

“If the experience feels intuitive and dependable, adoption will follow.”

Competing With Ethereum and Solana

As other Layer-1s strive for mass adoption, Crown is clear about TON’s “unfair advantage.”

“TON is the only major chain with a direct route into a mainstream product that people access every day: Telegram,” he stated.

While Ethereum excels in composability and Solana in performance, TON’s value proposition lies in distribution. “If you seek the quickest path from ‘I shipped’ to ‘millions of real users,’ TON stands alone in its category,” Crown said.

With enhanced developer tools and plug-and-play primitives on the horizon, TON is positioning itself as the simplest bridge from Web2 to Web3.

“The opportunity is straightforward,” Crown stated. “Telegram has a global, Web-ready audience. TON is where the next viral consumer crypto product can feel like a regular app — and scale like one.”

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