TOP, one of the largest developers of applications and infrastructure on The Open Network (TON), has raised $28.5 million in a successful private round. This funding is an attempt to strengthen the future growth of TON, a blockchain that’s built on the same technology as the Telegram messaging app. Their strategic focus makes this move a threat to regulatory licensing and compliance. It further emphasizes infrastructure build-out to boost wallet onboarding campaigns in the U.S., EU, and other countries.

As of this March, The Open Network has more than 1 billion monthly active users. This is impressive growth from the 700 million monthly active users reported in 2022. This moment marks the significant adoption of blockchain technology introduced to the most popular communication tool that already connects billions of users.

Telegram's initial foray into blockchain development involved raising $1.7 billion in 2018 through a cryptocurrency sale to fund The Open Network (TON). However, this endeavor faced regulatory hurdles when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit in 2019, alleging an illegal securities offering.

In 2020, Telegram made a settlement agreement with the SEC. They settled with an $18.5 million dollar fine and agreed to return most of the funds raised through their token offering. Despite these hurdles, the project has continued moving forward, with TOP now leading development of applications for TON.

"By combining TON blockchain with Telegram’s global reach, we’re building both the infrastructure and the consumer-facing apps needed to onboard a billion users to crypto." - Andrew Rogozov

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