TON Asia Development Relations Director: What should developers build on TON?

Original Title: "What you should build on TON?"

Author: Howard, Head of Developer Relations at TON Asia

Translation by: Felix, PANews

The TON ecosystem has recently shown vibrant activity, with a surge of applications emerging within it. In response to this situation, Howard, the Head of Developer Relations at TON Asia, published a post on the X platform, highlighting the potential application areas worth developing in the current TON ecosystem, providing guidance for developers. Below is the full content.

In recent months, the TON ecosystem has experienced explosive growth with the surge of applications. While many projects have taken similar paths (a good sign), TON's goal remains to maximize your investment, whether in time or money, achieving greater results with less effort.

According to the reliable 80/20 rule, attention in any field is concentrated on the top 20% (or fewer) of projects, with traffic and funding flowing to the best projects.

The Main Value of TON

You may have seen this image in previous articles: "TON is just a part of the entire ecosystem." So, if you have issues with your Telegram account, you can try to resolve them through this page: https://telegram.org/support

Wallets handle the financial aspects; Telegram (also known as TApps) is the messaging layer that makes accessing content and websites effortless; the TON blockchain allows you to have autonomous control over your assets.

These three modules together form a powerful ecosystem with unique advantages.

In the L1 blockchain space, TON stands out with its unparalleled potential and creative possibilities. The core of TON and Telegram should always revolve around three pillars: social, payment, and finance.

When planning projects, you can filter through the following three dimensions, asking yourself, "What problem are you really trying to solve?"

Social

Social is Telegram's strength—real-time, reciprocal exchange of valuable information. But what if this value exists on the blockchain, highlighting your uniqueness or prompting friends to take action with on-chain assets? Interesting, right?

Take Calvin as an example; he recently asked, "If I share node sales with you, how much would you invest?"

That's social; that's referral.

We encounter similar situations daily, from casual questions to intense discussions in Telegram groups. Our trading habits are largely influenced by those around us, with most transactions driven by referrals.

Of course, questions like Calvin's can create pressure—no one wants to disappoint friends by not following through. But this is precisely where prediction market products, Pump.fun, and other platforms that allow you to bet with friends should seamlessly integrate into the social structure.

When we talk about the sociology of managing interpersonal relationships, or how Telegram and "social" are closely intertwined, some experts can delve deeper. These are all topics worth exploring.

Payment

When it comes to payments, the emphasis is on the business value of seamless transactions that change the game—think e-commerce, online shopping, and ubiquitous WeChat QR code payments in China.

The report above shows that currently, over 90% of financial transactions in China are digital.

This digital transformation is changing everything. WeChat Pay has not only transformed social interactions but has also revolutionized offline transactions, stimulating new business models, making payment processes more efficient, and revitalizing the economy. It has paved the way for e-commerce giants like Alibaba, Tmall/Temu, and JD.com.

Don't forget, we already have USDT on the TON blockchain.

• How can we leverage it?
• How can we help business owners solve more problems or improve payment conversion rates?

Our goal is to provide a seamless payment user experience for vendors and consumers. There are about 1 million users on the Ethereum mainnet using cryptocurrency for transactions, while TON's potential market is 1 billion, a difference of 1000 times.

Serving billions of users globally is an exciting challenge.

Our payment research aims to enable users to use digital payments through custodial or non-custodial wallets, with market potential 1000 times that of Ethereum and astonishing network effects.

Online shopping is a huge opportunity. Helping merchants transition to Tapps can change the game, especially in the gaming and content sectors. Successful cases include:

• Catizen
• Major
• Wizzwood

Platforms like "Catizen" thrive with simple payment systems that can quickly generate revenue. This is something early Web2 games couldn't achieve.

Finance

The finance discussed here refers to financial management and "on-chain" aspects, such as bringing more assets on-chain and increasing TVL (Total Value Locked).

There is an urgent need to promote the development of DeFi in the short, medium, and long term. The reason is simple: it must be acknowledged that the TON ecosystem currently lacks various DeFi products, such as yield opportunities and other wealth management projects.

You can certainly instinctively move in this direction, but you must also consider developing smart contracts on the TON blockchain. This represents a portion of investment risk.

However, there are also opportunities for high returns through "trading derivatives." For example, LP (liquidity provider) returns on derivative platforms like StormTrade and Tradoor. These are some opportunities worth exploring.

• StormTrade
• Tradoor

Methodology

Our goal is to better categorize and discuss projects by outlining these three dimensions.

Currently, there is a significant gap in the financial sector. TON lacks DeFi projects and needs more robust modules to drive on-chain yields and incentivize assets to stay on-chain. Increasing TVL and bringing more assets on-chain or "on-chain" is the most direct solution.

But is following Ethereum's development path the best strategy? Will focusing solely on DeFi allow TON to quickly penetrate the market? Observing the market over the past few months, this approach alone seems insufficient.

Telegram's strong user base indicates that the focus should shift to finance to create more on-chain opportunities. I look forward to seeing more asset tokenization in the future. Furthermore, I advocate for more multidimensional or bilingual concepts that integrate "social + finance," redefining traditional product ecosystems.

For example, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are the foundation of DeFi, often referred to as the "Lego" of the ecosystem. Let's take a closer look.

Trading / DEXs

If we talk about DEXs separately, they belong to finance but lack any significant social aspects.

The current DEX issues are more about market penetration. Uniswap has evolved from v2 to v3 and is targeting v4, but these updates are mainly just mathematical adjustments. What is the real problem? They are not exciting at all.

• Can you peek into your friends' portfolios? Not possible.
• Can you easily compare PnL (profit and loss) with others? Possible, but only on niche platforms like DeBank or Zapper.
• Can you notify other traders on Uniswap? Not possible.

Trading should be fun and interactive. Imagine a platform where you can dive deep into trading and enjoy every moment. Inspiration can be found in our products, such as PumpFun: https://ton.org/en/memelandia

Trading / Prediction Markets

Even in simple fields like prediction markets, problems abound. They relate to social dynamics but fail to effectively engage users. Interaction is fragmented, lacking integration with popular platforms like Telegram groups. Those connected through blockchain finance need more private channels for communication.

Polymarket also faces regulatory hurdles that hinder the rollout of features like mobile applications. The user experience is poor, lacking convenience. Growth potential is stifled. Who is still using web pages in 2024? Mobile is the future, and its dominance will only solidify.

Polymarket's community engagement is limited to comments on topics or markets, failing to foster active discussions.

From a financial perspective, the platform is not attractive; considering impermanent loss, yields, and capital exposure, AMMs (automated market makers) are neither fair nor appealing.

This is why emphasizing the close connection between "prediction markets" and "social" is crucial, although I am cautious about its "financial" angle. We all look forward to on-chain DeFi bringing groundbreaking features to prediction markets. Just look at how Blur.io is reshaping the NFT market and other innovative DeFi strategies.

Areas to Watch / More Content

We have focused on the social, payment, and finance areas within the TON ecosystem, uncovering early opportunities worth exploring.

Curious why proof of work (PoW) is placed under payments? Bitcoin has fundamentally changed energy efficiency, reduced electricity costs, and driven advancements in power technology. This is the best demonstration of payment-driven innovation.

There is still much content to introduce: DNS domains, MEME culture, credit cards, cross-chain bridges, etc.

Please stay tuned for in-depth studies on each category in the future.

Vertical Expansion Discussion

Each category opens up an area for exploration. Wondering how to spark inspiration beyond this list? Of course, there are ways.

Users (B2C)

Vertical thinking to develop business. There is overlap in the social and payment fields, as both rely on a large user base. Companies like Amazon that sell products directly to shoppers are prime examples of B2C transactions. Applications that facilitate social connections or sell digital goods also fall into this category, leveraging user stickiness for expansion.

• Projects connecting social and payment shine here.
• Gaming is a standout, combining social interaction with payment needs, promoting the development of both ecosystems. Take the Catizen mini-program as an example: it has generated over $6 million in revenue through Telegram Stars.
• I also consider advertising business to belong to this category.

Developers (B2D)

Innovative developers in the payment and finance sectors are catalysts for growth and breakthrough business models. Imagine APIs for blockchain payments or developer-centric DeFi protocols that turn ordinary yield-generating services into sources of profit.

• Imagine merging "existing payment channels" with on-chain transactions. This is the next major leap, and the tokenization of Telegram Stars could change the game entirely.
• Many projects stumble over the complexity of Telegram Stars, struggling to navigate its advantages and limitations. While I can't detail everything here, it is a gold mine waiting to be developed.
• What are the real highlights? Developers have tremendous opportunities to tackle these challenges, sparking a wave of new projects. This is a major pain point, just waiting for innovative solutions.

Liquidity (B2B)

Enhancing liquidity and driving growth through B2B strategic alliances, collaborating with other businesses to form a strong network, expanding liquidity, and promoting collective success. This strategy creates a robust ecosystem essential for decentralized finance (DeFi) and social platforms like Telegram. In short, it’s about converting traffic into profit.

• The potential here is undeniable, especially the synergy between Launchpool, DEXs, and social features.
• Emerging "Earn" products combine financial tools with social tools, promising to revolutionize the market. Innovative products from Alipay showcase the power of this combination, especially in China.

Conclusion

Despite delving into various categories, some areas still require more attention, providing opportunities for innovative teams. Mini-app games have recently dominated, possibly due to players' fatigue with point-earning or invite-to-earn models and the competitive environment.

However, thinking about untapped hot topics is exciting. These could evolve into billion-dollar businesses on the Telegram mini-programs and the TON blockchain.

Promising areas include credit card cashback and gift card businesses, RWAs, Earn products, Launchpool-type plans, or companies focusing on offline QR code payment solutions. These directions are full of potential and worth exploring.

Postscript

Think of the L1 blockchain as a country. TON may not be perfect, but it is full of potential and hope—much like the American dream. In the 1980s, a new wave of immigrants came to America with grand dreams.

Today, consensus in the EVM ecosystem is collapsing. We have Solana pushing single-chain boundaries and Bitcoin L2 gaining attention.

As someone who has experienced the DeFi summer, my choice is clear—I see hope.

• Would I tell a young graduate to develop on Ethereum? No.
• Without millions of dollars, the chances of success are slim.
• Would I recommend Web2 game studios to choose EVM blockchains? No.

They lack users. Look at "Black Myth: Wukong"—would it have become a hit without Steam? Unlikely; the platform is crucial.

The TON ecosystem has matured and possesses real growth potential. Whatever project you are working on, you have a chance for success. This place is like the American Midwest in the 1980s or Dubai today—you can become whoever you want to be.

With a vast user base, seamless cross-platform capabilities, and strong value transfer, TON/Telegram will elevate your business to new heights.