The Open Network (TON) has recently marked a significant milestone, with its Tether (USDT) supply crossing the $1 billion mark for the first time. This surge reflects a broader increase in both the stablecoin’s availability and weekly active users, reaching a new peak of 5 million active users. This growth highlights the expanding ecosystem surrounding TON, which is closely linked to Telegram’s innovative tap games and other decentralized applications.
Since its launch as a native asset on the TON blockchain in April, USDT has experienced an explosive increase in supply. Just in September, the supply jumped from approximately 700 million tokens to an impressive 1.03 billion. Over the past three months, the overall supply has risen from 579 million tokens, indicating a robust adoption of the stablecoin. Despite previous concerns about potential illegal activities on the platform, USDT has steadily expanded its presence, supported by daily transfer volumes ranging from $100 million to $300 million.
Alongside the native USDT, TON also holds about 4 million bridged USDT, although this segment has seen slower growth. The rapid minting of USDT tokens has effectively enhanced liquidity within the TON ecosystem, making the asset a go-to choice for micropayments, transaction fees, and decentralized trading.
USDT plays a critical role in propelling the TON decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Despite experiencing some fluctuations, the total value locked (TVL) on the network approached $1 billion before settling at around $402.96 million as of September. The primary decentralized exchanges (DEX) driving this activity—Ston.fi and DeDust—collectively account for $320 million in liquidity.
To incentivize liquidity providers, the TON team has allocated $5 million in USDT rewards. Key trading pairs on these exchanges include various forms of TON and USDT, promoting deeper market engagement. As the TON Foundation considers additional programs to enhance decentralized protocols, the potential for further innovation remains substantial.
In a bid to bolster network security, TON has introduced liquid staking, allowing users to stake their TON tokens in exchange for stTON, a liquid staking token that can still be utilized for trading. However, the barrier for becoming a validator remains high at 300,000 TON tokens. Regular users are encouraged to participate in staking, earning up to 3.69% annually while contributing to validator rewards. Currently, Tonstakers stands as the largest liquid staking protocol, holding a commanding 67% market share.
Following the influx of USDT liquidity, Toncoin (TON) has shown signs of recovery, trading at approximately $5.60. Although the token has struggled to reclaim the $6 mark over the past month, it has retained much of its value over the past year. The open interest for TON has recently dipped to $255 million, down from over $280 million, with long positions still prevailing, albeit under pressure.
The anticipated Binance listing in early August significantly impacted TON’s market activity, leading to over 13% of all trading occurring on the exchange. However, this surge has had a relatively modest effect on pricing dynamics.
September was a notable month for Toncoin, characterized by various airdrops that generated buzz within the community. However, the Catizen airdrop, which took place on September 20, did not meet expectations, with fewer tokens distributed than initially promised. The launch of the CATI token faced a rocky start, crashing to $0.85 shortly after trading commenced.
As the TON ecosystem continues to evolve, the remarkable growth of USDT supply and active user participation illustrates its potential to become a central hub for stablecoin transactions and DeFi applications. With ongoing developments in liquidity incentives, staking, and decentralized protocols, TON is poised for an exciting future within the blockchain landscape.
September 2024, Cryptoniteuae