Fundraising Exceeds $400 Million by TON Foundation Via Toncoin Offering
The TON Foundation, the organization governing The Open Network (TON), has garnered significant investment, amounting to over $400 million, from prominent venture firms and institutional investors. Notable backers include Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Benchmark, and Kingsway Capital, among others. However, it is crucial to note that this funding was not provided traditionally, but in the form of Toncoin.
Confirmation from a TON Foundation representative revealed that this financial backing was provided in the form of Toncoin tokens. Other key investors include Draper Associates, Vy Capital, and Libertus Capital, alongside CoinFund, Hypersphere, SkyBridge, and Karatage.
The foundation's representative further explained that these venture firms are wagering on the success of the TON blockchain, its expanding ecosystem, and its potential for real-world crypto adoption, particularly within Telegram.
In response to this funding influx, Toncoin (TON) experienced a 3.8% price increase in the last hour, trading at approximately $3.7 as of current reports.
Previously, The Open Network developers unveiled their roadmap for the first half of 2025, which encompasses the launch of a Layer 2 payment network, improvements to the user interface, and the implementation of other updates.
Significant developments were also seen earlier this year when Telegram prohibited the development of Web3 applications on blockchains other than TON, solidifying its exclusive partnership with the TON Foundation.
By the end of 2024, the TON ecosystem had grown to include 36.2 million created crypto wallets, with over 100 million Toncoin holders and up to 40 million active monthly accounts.
Recent developments surrounding TON Foundation funding and partnerships have not necessarily involved direct investments from Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, or Benchmark. Instead, key investment activity includes large-scale bond issuances and partnerships with other prominent investors.
Notably, Libre and TON Foundation launched a $500 million tokenized Telegram Bond Fund on the TON blockchain, providing institutional and accredited investors with compliant, on-chain access to Telegram-issued bonds. This fund is one of the largest institutional real-world asset (RWA) deployments to date, marking TON's entry as a leader in the RWA space.
Investors in the TON Foundation, such as Draper Associates, Vy Capital, and Libertus Capital, have invested not just in the traditional sense, but have acquired Toncoin tokens. The expansion of the TON blockchain and its potential for real-world crypto adoption, particularly within Telegram, has attracted many technology-focused investors to purchase Toncoin, which has led to a 3.8% price increase in the last hour.