Bitget cryptocurrency exchange, a major investor in The Open Network (TON) Foundation, has released a research report on TON, providing a few bold predictions for the TON ecosystem.
The TON ecosystem may need to distance itself from Telegram amid the ongoing regulatory concerns associated with the messenger, Bitget suggested in the report.
As such, TON would likely trend toward “de-Telegramization” in the long run to mitigate regulatory risks associated with Telegram, Bitget predicted. The report stated that the TON blockchain will continue to rely on the user base of Telegram by 2024, adding:
“In the long run, as the ecosystem develops and infrastructure improves, there will likely be a trend towards ‘de-Telegramization’ to mitigate regulatory risks associated with Telegram.”
TON will “likely outperform” Bitcoin’s spot returns in a bullish market
Among other predictions in the report, Bitget forecasted that Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency of the TON blockchain, is expected to rise in tandem with broader market trends.
Bitget predicts that Toncoin is “likely to outperform” Bitcoin (BTC) spot returns in a bullish market scenario. Furthermore, the TON ecosystem is expected to attract increased institutional support, with most of these institutions anticipated to prefer over-the-counter (OTC) purchases of TON.
The TON ecosystem recorded massive growth in 2024, with much activity coming from the rapid adoption of Telegram Mini Apps like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat. In July 2024, the total value locked (TVL) in various TON projects peaked at $776.6 million, posting an enormous surge of more than 5,300%.
After seeing a subsequent 50% drop later in 2024, TON’s TVL has been recovering recently, reaching $420 million by Sept. 24, according to data from DefiLlama.
TON’s TVL from 2023. Source: DefiLlama
Even despite posting a sharp drop amid Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in August, Toncoin has still posted at least 140% in returns since the beginning of the year.
In comparison, Bitcoin surged 44% from around $44,150 on Jan. 1, 2024, to $63,727 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.
At the same time, both BTC and TON saw roughly similar returns over the past year, surging 140% and 148%, respectively.
Toncoin (TON) price chart since September 2023. Source: CoinGecko
Bitget made a $30 million investment in TON with Foresight Ventures
Bitget’s promising predictions on the TON ecosystem came shortly after the crypto exchange announced a $30 million strategic investment in the TON blockchain on Sept. 18.
The firm mentioned that its financial support to the TON ecosystem would be distributed through the acquisition of TON. Bitget said the firm expected to “become more deeply involved in TON Blockchain’s governance and future development plans.”
Apart from the recent investment, Bitget has been actively involved in the TON ecosystem’s growth. Since Bitget’s crypto wallet, Bitget Wallet, integrated the TON mainnet in November 2023, Bitget has repeatedly attributed its platform’s growth to the increasing demand for new projects, including those driven by TON.
Related: Telegram clicker game Catizen reaches 800K paying users in first six months
Bitget’s prediction on the potential “de-Telegramization” of the TON ecosystem comes amid Telegram continuing to enforce stricter policies on the messenger and the CEO of Telegram remaining under investigation in France.
On Sept. 23, Durov officially announced that Telegram would share IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate the messenger’s rules with relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests.
Source: Cointelegraph
Cointelegraph contacted the TON Foundation and Bitget regarding the potential “de-Telegramization” of TON by 2026 but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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