- Tether announced its plans to expand the usage of its stablecoin, USDT, and its gold-backed token XAUT, on The Open Network (TON), a blockchain closely tied to messaging app Telegram, with the aim of facilitating peer-to-peer payments for the app’s massive user base of over 900 million.
- While TON was initially launched by Telegram, the project was later abandoned due to regulatory concerns.
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Tether, the company behind the $108 billion market cap USDT, has announced that it will be expanding the availability of its stablecoin and gold-backed token, USDT and XAUT respectively, on TON, a blockchain affiliated with messaging app Telegram.
The company’s transparency page currently shows that $10 million worth of USDT has been authorized on the TON blockchain, with $3 million already issued.
This move aims to boost the usage of USDT and XAUT for borderless and decentralized peer-to-peer payments for Telegram’s immense user base. The rapid growth of the TON ecosystem, which currently boasts over 1.7 million monthly active addresses, will also benefit from the expansion as these stablecoins can be used in DeFi applications.
“By launching USDT and XAUT on TON, we aim to improve the financial experience for users in the traditional financial system and solidify our mission of empowering open financial infrastructure across the blockchain space,” stated Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.
The Open Network, initially created by Telegram, is now operating independently after the company scrapped development due to regulatory concerns. The ecosystem has been growing rapidly, with a recent increase in monthly active addresses from less than 100,000 just six months ago, as reported by Tonstat. Telegram also recently changed to the TON token as the currency for its advertising platform, instead of euros.
The TON token experienced a surge in price earlier in the day, but then dropped by 15% after the announcement. It is currently up by 7% in the past 24 hours and has more than tripled in value this year, now with a market capitalization of nearly $25 billion.
Currently, Telegram’s crypto wallet supports multiple blockchains for deposits and withdrawals. However, Halil Mirakhmed, the chief operating officer of Wallet in Telegram, shared that “to encourage the adoption of TON, trading fees are significantly reduced.” He added, “Within the Ton Space ecosystem, only USDT on TON is available, providing a seamless experience for those invested in the TON ecosystem.”
Following Tether’s announcement, Ramp Network, a fintech company that connects crypto with traditional banking systems, announced that it will enable the purchase and withdrawal of USDT on TON. The company will initially allow on-ramping from fiat currencies to USDT on TON on its website and plans to integrate with third-party wallets that support TON-based assets. Off-ramp capabilities will be added in the future.
“Cryptocurrency transactions should be as easy as sending a text,” stated Szymon Sypniewicz, CEO of Ramp Network. “We are eager to see how providing access to instant and low-cost crypto transactions can benefit the lives of millions of users in the TON ecosystem.”
UPDATE (April 19, 11:23 UTC): Adds that issuance has started in second paragraph, changes headline wording.
UPDATE (April 19, 11:40 UTC): Changes sourcing to press statement, adapts headline to match the statement.
UPDATE (April 19, 14:18 UTC): Updates TON price action following the announcement.
UPDATE (April 19, 145:00 UTC): Adds Ramp Network’s announcement about adding USDT on TON support in last two paragraphs.