The Open Network Foundation, also known as the Ton Foundation, has raised over $400 million in token-based investments from several venture capital companies, indicating a growing interest in the Telegram messaging ecosystem.
Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark, Draper Associates, Kingsway, Vy Capital, Libertus Capital, Coinfund, Skybridge, Hypersphere and Karatage took part in the investment by purchasing Toncoin (Ton), a native cryptocurrency for open networks.
The Ton Foundation described token purchases as a strategic partnership that helps expand the Ton ecosystem, but no details were provided.
Ton Blockchain is a distributed network that supports the development of mini-apps for the Telegram ecosystem. Ton was originally developed by the founder of Telegram, but now functions as an independent chain.
As of January, Toncoin is the only recognized cipher for Telegram's app service.
Tonblockchain has seen significant growth over the past year, with native accounts increasing from 4 million to 41 million. The Ton Foundation claims that Toncoin Cryptocurrency has over 121 million unique holders.
According to the announcement, Ton Foundation is looking to bring 30% of its active telegram users into the blockchain over the next three years.
By March, Telegram had 1 billion active users per month, doubled in just under three years. Source: Request
Benchmark partner Peter Fenton said Telegram's user base is expected to eclip 1.5 billion by 2030.
Related: Toncoin's surge when Pavel Durov leaves France in a few months
Venture capital is on the rise
Venture capital funds continue to be poured into blockchain projects as the industry gains new legitimacy in the US and other markets.
According to Simon Wu, a partner at San Francisco-based venture company Cathay Innovation, the crypto and blockchain projects are “a viable solution, particularly in the financial sector, such as asset management, trading and tokenization.”
As legitimacy increases, capital continues.
Cointelegraph reported earlier this month that Crypto Venture Capital had won $1.1 billion in February amid renewed interest in decentralized financial services.
The blockchain project, which specializes in business services and DEFI, attracted the share of Venture Finance Lion in February. Source: Tie
The latest Cointelegraph VC Roundup also demonstrates the growing interest of venture capital in distributed physical infrastructure networks and real-world assets.
Related: Cryptographic VC is “especially bullish” for depin, rwas – Hashkey Capital
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