Telegram-Designed TON Ecosystem Gains $10 Million Support From Market Maker DWF Labs

Crypto market maker and Web3 investment company DWF Labs has announced that it will become "a prominent supporter of the TON ecosystem." The company is also investing $10 million (roughly Rs. 80 crore) in the Layer-1 blockchain network. TON — or The Open Network — is a third-generation proof-of-stake blockchain project originally conceived by the creators of the Telegram instant messaging application. However, the TON community now develops the blockchain and steers its direction. As part of the new partnership, DWF Labs will support TON with investment, token development, market creation, and exchange listing.

A press release detailing the agreement states that the company plans to invest in a total of 50 TON projects over the next year. The release notes TONcoin's current $20 million (roughly Rs. 160 crore) trading volume, and confidently claims that DWF Labs will double the figure within three months. To help sustain volumes, the market-making firm plans to develop a reliable OTC market for traders making larger transactions.

A managing partner of DWF Labs, Andrew Grachev, commented on the partnership, saying, "We are excited by the TON Foundations' vision to deliver a decentralised internet, and so are delighted to partner with them to support projects directly and foster growth in transactions."

The Open Network is a proof-of-stake blockchain designed in 2018 by the brothers who also created the Telegram instant messaging app. The project ran into legal troubles for its initial coin offering and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered Telegram to return funds to investors.

Following a 2020 judgment against Telegram, the TON community took over development, quickly establishing the TON Community Foundation. As an open-source project that was already in the test net phase, much of the network code was already available.

Partnering with DWF Labs is the latest milestone for the TON Foundation. Earlier, they achieved cooperation with Huobi Group and KuCoin Ventures. In addition, the TON ecosystem notes accelerating growth, with TON Sites and TON proxy being the latest additions. Those two features and tools are crucial to unlocking the future of a decentralised internet.