TON blockchain risks fading into obscurity after a series of poor decisions

DefiLlama on-chain data has revealed a dwindling in multiple metrics on the TON blockchain, raising speculations that the blockchain and some of its decisions are risking its hold in the crypto and blockchain industry. Some of the metrics dropping as per DefiLlama data include total value locked, app revenue, Toncoin’s price, the project’s market cap, unique daily active addresses, and DEX trading volume. 

The blockchain, which is best known for its tap-to-earn Telegram games, reached an all-time peak after Hamster Kombat’s launch. The game attracted over 100 million new users to the blockchain, increasing its daily active addresses. TON had also urged its validators in September last year to brace for a massive user influx as the blockchain game expanded. 

TON attained its highest number of addresses in September 2024 at over 1.81 million active user addresses. The blockchain also received one of the highest monthly active users at the beginning of October last year, reaching over 11.8 million users. As of February 5, the chain’s daily active wallets have dropped to a little over 200,000 and monthly users to a little over 5.1 million.  

Toncoin, the blockchain’s native token, hit its all-time high after Hamster Kombat’s launch in June last year, hitting $8.24. The coin has currently dropped by over 54% from its ATH, trading at $3.75 at the time of writing. Toncoin is down over 1.7% in the past 24 hours, over 22% in the past 7 days, and over 31% in the past month. 

TON transaction volume and profitable addresses drop

Over 240,000 #Toncoin $TON have been transferred to exchanges in the past week, potentially signaling increased selling pressure as shown by on-chain data from @santimentfeed! pic.twitter.com/FF9BBEMJzL

— Ali (@ali_charts) January 29, 2025

IntoTheBlock data revealed that about 96% (over 108 million addresses) of TON holders are in losses, while only about 4% (a little over 4.2 million addresses) are in profits. The data also indicated that most investors were mostly bearish about the token. Toncoin is also receiving a lot of selling pressure, especially after the recent 240,000 Toncoin transfer to exchanges. The speculated imminent selling pressure led to the coin’s price dropping by over 2% at the end of January. 

TON experienced a similar sell-off after the arrest of Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov, leading to the sale of over 800,000 TON. The DEX trading volumes and daily transaction volumes on the network increased, sparking speculations that TON holders were moving to other coins. At the time, investor confidence also dropped significantly due to the issues experienced on Telegram and the TON blockchain. 

Current Tonstat and DefiLlama data also indicated that the blockchain’s transaction volume and DEX volume have reduced significantly over the past few months. Transaction volumes on February 5 stood at a little over 2.7 million compared to September 18’s 18.1 million. Transactions on two major DEXs on TON, DeDust and STON.fi, have dropped to 1.746 million and 4.108 million from 3.928 million and 9.634 million, respectively. 

Token Terminal data highlighted that the monthly fees received by TON currently stands at a little over $1.9 million, a 10% drop from the previous month. 

Latest TON blockchain updates contribute to the downward spiral

Telegram and $TON are going exclusive! 💕

All mini-apps on Telegram will now exclusively use TON as their blockchain infrastructure. All mini-apps that do not currently use TON should migrate by February 21, 2025. So let’s get on with it! 💎🚀

Also, TON Connect becomes the… pic.twitter.com/QcGN6ALmb7

— TON 💎 (@ton_blockchain) January 21, 2025

The negative metrics seen on the TON blockchain result from some of the latest updates by TON’s team to improve the network. The blockchain recently announced that it would be Telegram’s exclusive blockchain. TON demanded that all TG mini-apps would now have to use TON for their infrastructure. The developers explained that bridging apps would be exempted from the latest updates.

The TON blockchain’s developers also declared TON a closed network instead of its previous open network status. TON has received backlash from users and projects on the blockchain, with some deciding to consider other networks. The TG game Frens Farm recently tweeted that it would delay its token launch after TON’s closed network update. The game further declared that it would conduct the token launch on Base instead of  TON. 

TON blockchain has also demanded that all crypto users on TG leverage TON Connect instead of other wallets. A TON Foundation spokesperson allegedly mentioned that the messenger would not support third-party wallets after the migration. The director of Helika Ventures, Ilya Abugov, reportedly commented on the migration, saying that the change was sudden and delivered in a ‘strong protectionist way.’

Abugov mentioned that the latest blockchain updates would reduce TON’s desirability, further highlighting a reduced excitement among exchanges for TON projects. The Helika Ventures director gave an example of the recent partial HMSTR delisting on Bybit. Hamster Kombat has notably expressed interest in building its blockchain and branching from TON.

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