Is TON in Trouble?

cryptonews.com:

Connor Sephton is a journalist based in London, who also works for Sky News and the BBC as a radio newsreader and online reporter. He has covered crypto since 2018 — reporting from major conferences...

Elena is the Features Lead at Cryptonews.com. With a Master's degree in science journalism from City University, London, she is passionate about exploring complex topics in the world of technology.

The TON blockchain has had a box office year — buoyed by the runaway success of clicker games like Hamster Kombat and a strong bull run.

Its native token Toncoin has more than doubled in value since January and is now one of the 10 biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap, comfortably outperforming Bitcoin and Ether.

Last week, the crypto exchange Bitget confirmed it’s involved in a $30 million strategic investment in TON, so it’ll play a role in the network’s governance.

So far, so good. But in an interesting development, Bitget’s also released an in-depth research report that exposes some of TON’s weaknesses — and suggests clouds are on the horizon.

While noting it’s one of 2024’s fastest-growing networks, the authors claimed TON suffers from weak DeFi infrastructure and a smaller number of developers.

Yet the biggest elephant in the room is TON’s close ties to the messaging app Telegram, which is facing regulatory scrutiny following the sensational arrest of its founder Pavel Durov.

According to Bitget, these legal woes could imperil TON in the long run — and pose “significant challenges” in its quest for global expansion and adoption. The report says:

“The development of TON is heavily reliant on the traffic generated by Telegram, and the deep integration of TON with Telegram’s wallet and user base creates a significant dependency on