Coin World News Report:
Interviewer: Pomelo, ChainCatcher
During recent online and offline conferences on TON in the Chinese-speaking community, a familiar figure, Vivi, the Head of Research at TON Foundation, can always be seen skillfully resolving various issues that users and developers encounter on TON. She has been affectionately dubbed the “human database of the TON ecosystem” by community members.
Coming from a technical background and having served well-known public blockchains in the past, Vivi joined TON over a year ago when it was still relatively unknown. At that time, she couldn’t even find a complete set of Chinese developer documentation for TON. So she personally wrote multiple developer documents.
Throughout more than a year with TON, Vivi successfully transitioned from working behind-the-scenes to being in the forefront professionally. She also witnessed the transformation of the TON ecosystem from being ignored to becoming widely recognized.
After engaging with thousands of developers directly on a one-on-one basis, Vivi proposed differentiated product guidelines—”If others don’t have it, I will; if others have it, I will make it better; if others make it better but expensive, I will make it cheaper; if others make it cheaper but not as good quality as mine, I will walk away”—to assist developers who want to build projects on TON.
Recently ChainCatcher had an interview with Vivi about the ecological strategy of the TON Foundation-TG relationship and how developers can build popular applications on TON.
In its early stages is when an ecosystem needs proactive efforts from foundations
1. ChainCatcher: What led you to join TON? And what has been your biggest gain since joining?
Vivi: I joined the Ton Foundation over a year ago and am now mainly responsible for DApp Review BD market research developer education and offline activities in Greater China region.
There are two main reasons why I chose to join Ton Foundation: first my experience in Web3 industry mainly focused on large-scale public chains secondly great confidence in Telegram’s platform behind Ton As at that time there were many L1&L2 solutions emerging from crypto market competition was intense among them Yet unlike other solutions which were homogeneous Ton with its unique background combining Web2 & Web3 showed tremendous potential for development especially considering its ecosystem which was not fully developed by then At personal level my career transformed from working backstage focusing solely on technology development & product construction into taking public roles such as giving speeches organizing events & serving as spokesperson after joining Ton By having direct interactions &As a professional translator, I would translate this news article as follows:
The Open League, HackerHouse, and participation in important industry conferences such as the Hong Kong Web3 Conference, Token2049, and mainland Dev meetups have effectively promoted the development and visibility of the TON ecosystem. In particular, The Open League has provided substantial economic incentives and resource support for project teams.
Most importantly, TON is deeply integrated with Telegram. In the past, TON and Telegram were generally seen as separate entities, but since last year, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has expressed explicit support for TON in multiple public occasions, such as openly expressing support for the TON ecosystem at the Token2049 conference in Dubai in April. In addition, the Telegram platform provides multiple empowering measures for TON tokens, including TG advertisements, virtual phone numbers, domains, creator economy, and Stars virtual points, all of which can be used as payment methods.
We believe that the prerequisite for ecosystem growth and vision realization is the seamless integration of TON with Web2 and Web3, supporting Web2 applications to directly use tokens and blockchain technology in the Web3 world.
TON Mini DApp ecosystem is booming, with over 2,000 mini-apps in the app store queue.
8. ChainCatcher: What are the requirements for projects that want to participate in the Open League activities? What are the selection criteria for award-winning projects?
Vivi: For details on participating in The Open League activities, project teams can visit The Open League’s official website for detailed information. However, from the perspective of developers, it is recommended that they consider multiple factors and build projects based on user needs and the development trends of the TON ecosystem.
Based on our experience in communicating with developers, I believe that developers can follow the principle of “creating what others don’t have, being better than others, being more affordable than others, and leaving when others become affordable.”
Specifically, “creating what others don’t have” means that in areas that have not yet appeared in the TON ecosystem, such as CDP protocols, project teams should seize the opportunity to build products with competitive advantages. “Being better than others” means that in areas that already exist in the TON ecosystem, such as lending protocols, project teams should surpass existing competitors by providing more borrowable currencies, lower loan interest rates, or richer service functions. “Being more affordable than others” emphasizes attracting more users by providing more benefits, incentives, and support while having a full set of features.
Developers need to deeply consider the value their projects bring to the ecosystem, the public chain, and users, as well as the problems they solve. If a product can truly meet user needs and bring practical benefits, such a project will not only stand out in The Open League activities but also have a higher chance of shining in the ecosystem.
9. ChainCatcher: What support can the TON Foundation provide to project teams or developers?
Vivi: Currently, the development activity of the TON ecosystem is remarkable, with over 2,000 projects in the queue for Mini DApps (mini-apps).
Facing such a large number of projects, the primary task of the TON Foundation is to identify project teams that adhere to the long-term ideology and are truly committed to building and achieving results. These projects should be able to bring substantial benefits to users and the ecosystem, rather than just pursuing short-term gains or following trends.
In the short term, the Foundation will mainly identify projects with long-term potential through project evaluations. Once the value and potential of a project are confirmed, the Foundation will provide necessary support.
In the early stages of a project, the Foundation will provide technical support and guidance. As for support in terms of funding (Grant) and marketing resources (Marketing), it will be determined based on the actual performance and development of the project after its launch.
Compared to other public chains, TON’s uniqueness lies in its powerful Telegram (TG) application platform as a carrier. Most applications involve off-chain businesses and are not purely Web3 businesses. The TON Foundation encourages openness, supports competition, and does not directly participate in the commercial activities of projects. Therefore, the success of an application is not significantly correlated with the support from the public chain.
In summary, the support provided by the TON Foundation tends to be more focused on technology and boosting projects after they mature, aiming to help project teams achieve long-term development on the platform.
10. ChainCatcher: What advantages do developers have in choosing the Telegram Mini App ecosystem? What development opportunities will it bring to the TON chain?
Vivi: There are several advantages to TG Mini Apps. Firstly, the Telegram Mini App ecosystem supports developers in conducting a series of Web2 businesses. TON provides developers with another possibility besides issuing tokens. Even without token issuance, listing on exchanges, or fundraising, project teams can still realize their business models and monetization paths, such as providing cross-border services, in-app purchases, and in-app advertising.
Secondly, the deployment cost of Mini Apps is relatively low. Most Mini Apps can be deployed using HTML5, and TON provides a series of technical development documents and templates, allowing developers to complete the deployment work without having to write code from scratch. According to feedback, project teams with Web2 backgrounds can complete the deployment of a Mini App within two to three days.
Thirdly, TON opens up new possibilities for Web3 project teams, supporting developers in building products in various fields such as social, gaming, e-commerce, cross-border business, and artificial intelligence, expanding the range of choices for project teams.
Lastly, when developing in the TON ecosystem, developers can achieve interaction and integration among multiple products on a single platform, Telegram. For users, Mini Apps in the TON ecosystem have obvious advantages in terms of interaction. Users can complete one-stop interactive operations by clicking on a wallet Mini App without leaving the Telegram platform, without having to switch to external wallets like MetaMask. In addition, Telegram’s wallet already supports users to deposit fiat currency, allowing users to directly purchase cryptocurrencies using credit cards, achieving seamless interaction from fund injection to various applications on the chain.
There are still differences between TON Mini Apps and WeChat Mini Programs.
11. ChainCatcher: What advice do you have for developers who want to build on the TON chain?
Vivi: For Web3 developers, it is crucial to master the unique development languages of TON, FUNC and TACT. Currently, there is a relatively scarce supply of developers proficient in FUNC and TACT, while there is a high demand for TON smart contracts in the market, providing excellent development opportunities for related talents.
For Web2 developers, especially those focused on cross-border e-commerce, encrypted payments, or other fields with high compliance requirements, it is advisable to seize the current window of opportunity. These fields are still in the early stages of development in the TON ecosystem and have significant room for growth.
For low-cost and relatively low-barrier-to-entry projects such as casual games, developers need to formulate strategies in advance and think about how to quickly attract user traffic. This includes building brand awareness, establishing user mental models, and planning long-term business cycles.
Although TON Mini Apps are often compared to WeChat Mini Programs, there are significant differences in their ecosystem models. WeChat focuses on the domestic market, with a strong barrier formed by a large number of convenient localized services and lifestyle services. Telegram, on the other hand, primarily targets the overseas market, making it more conducive to providing standardized products and services for global users. Furthermore, user preferences and platform engagement vary in different regions for Telegram. For example, there are noticeable differences in product patterns, user willingness to pay, and platform engagement between Russian and Indian users.
Therefore, project developers need to carefully consider their own business paths, identify their target users, understand their needs and preferences, and evaluate the integration of their business with Web3 technology. These strategic decisions will directly affect the long-term development of the project.
12. ChainCatcher: How does the TON Foundation view the various incubator projects that have emerged recently?
Vivi: Currently, there are many incubator projects of varying quality in the market. Some organizations claim to assist project development but actually aim to obtain project tokens without compensation. Admittedly, there are reputable incubators, such as the incubation platform under Binance, but these high-quality incubators often have high entry barriers.
We advise project teams to carefully evaluate when considering joining an incubator, without excessively relying on brand effects, publicity, or the promotion of various training camps. Project teams need to recognize that the fundamental competitiveness of a project comes from the improvement of its own strength. Unrealistic expectations that participating in an incubation project will significantly improve project quality or change project destiny should be avoided. In fact, most projects participating in incubators still struggle with financing issues.
We believe that project teams should focus their main efforts on enhancing the competitiveness of their products, as this is the key to ensuring project success.
13. ChainCatcher: On June 12th, Telegram launched the in-app points token called Stars, which can be used to pay for digital goods and services within TG bots and Mini Apps. What impact will this have on TON?
Vivi: The launch of Stars points token is positive for TON.
The launch of Stars by TG is essentially a response to Apple’s regulations, as Apple charges a 30% fee for digital product services within its app store, commonly known as the “Apple tax.” However, this regulation only applies to digital products such as in-game items and membership fees, and does not include physical products and DeFi activities.
Telegram Stars also promotes the adoption of traditional Web2 users, allowing users who are not familiar with buying and using cryptocurrencies to enjoy paid services in Mini Apps, Mini Games, and Bots through traditional channels.
The impact of Telegram Stars on the user habits of Telegram is limited. 90% of Telegram users use Android devices, and the Android app does not require the use of Stars, meaning that only 10% of Apple users are required to use Stars.
In addition, Stars can be withdrawn using TON, increasing the usage scenarios of TON. Furthermore, Telegram provides subsidies for businesses that purchase Ads services using Stars.
