๐ Big News from the TON Ecosystem!
The Open Platform (TOP), the key development team behind Telegramโs blockchain project, TON (The Open Network), just closed a massive $28.5 million Series A funding round at a whopping $1 billion valuation ๐ฐ๐, according to Fortune.
๐ผ The round was led by Ribbit Capital, a top fintech investment firm, with major participation from crypto powerhouse Pantera Capital.
๐ In exchange for the funding, investors received a 5% equity stake in the company โ and interestingly, no crypto tokens were involved in the deal. CEO Andrew Rogozov confirmed that TOP has now raised over $70 million in total funding to date ๐๐.
๐ง The Brains Behind Telegram Wallet
TOP is the team responsible for building Telegram Wallet, the main crypto wallet integrated into Telegram ๐จ๐. So far, the wallet has been rolled out across Russia, Asia, and other regions, but now, with this fresh capital, TOP plans to expand into the US and Europe ๐.
๐๏ธ According to Rogozov, scaling into new regions comes with high costs โ especially around regulatory compliance and operational infrastructure. This new funding will help TOP tackle those challenges head-on ๐ผ.
And that's not all: the money will also support the development of TON-based blockchain games ๐ฎ and AI-powered projects ๐ค. TOPโs long-term mission is to build a super app ecosystem powered entirely by TON
๐ฃ Why Investors Are Hyped
Both Ribbit Capital and Pantera Capital believe Telegramโs massive global user base โ now over 1 billion people โ makes this a rare opportunity ๐ฑ
โThe chance to back revolutionary tech and financial tools that could reach a billion users is incredibly exciting,โ said Ryan Barney, partner at Pantera Capital ๐
๐ฐ๏ธ A Quick Look Back
Telegram originally raised $1.7 billion for TON back in 2018, but things hit a wall in 2020 when the U.S. SEC filed a lawsuit โ๏ธ๐. As part of the settlement, Telegram refunded $1.2 billion to investors and paid an $18.5 million fine. #TON #altcoins