Interviewer: Grapefruit, ChainCatcher
Guest: Vivi, Head of Research at TON Foundation
Editor: Marco, ChainCatcher
In recent online and offline Chinese-language conferences about TON, we can always see a familiar figure, Vivi, the head of Research at the TON Foundation. She is skilled in solving various problems encountered by users and developers on TON, and is personally named the "human database of the TON ecosystem" by community users.
Vivi, who has a technical background and has served in leading well-known public chains, said in an interview with ChainCatcher that she joined TON a year ago. At that time, TON was still in a state of being ignored, and even a complete Chinese developer document could not be found in the Chinese area. She wrote several developer documents herself.
In more than a year since joining TON, Vivi has completed her career transition from behind the scenes to the front stage, and has also witnessed the moment when the TON ecosystem went from being ignored to being bustling with people.
After in-depth one-on-one contact with thousands of developers on the front line, Vivi proposed a differentiated product principle to help entrepreneurs who want to build projects on TON: "I have what others don't, I am better than others, I am cheaper than others, and I don't have it if others are cheaper."
Recently, ChainCatcher talked with Vivi, the head of Research at the TON Foundation, to discuss issues such as the TON Foundation's ecological strategy, the relationship between TG and TON, and how developers can build popular applications.
In the early stages of the ecosystem, the foundation needs to take the initiative
1. ChainCatcher: What was the opportunity that led you to join TON? What is your biggest gain after joining TON?
Vivi: I joined the TON Foundation more than a year ago. I am now mainly responsible for DApp Review, BD, marketing, investment research, developer education and offline activities in Greater China.
There are two main reasons for choosing to join the TON Foundation: first, its own Web3 industry experience is mainly concentrated in the field of large public chains; second, it has great confidence in the Telegram platform behind TON. At that time, a large number of L1 and L2 solutions emerged in the crypto market, and homogeneous competition was very fierce. In contrast, TON's unique Web2 and Web3 integration background, as well as its underdeveloped ecosystem, showed great development potential.
For me personally, joining TON also marked the transition from behind the scenes to the front of the stage. Before joining TON, I was mainly focused on technology development and product construction in the background. After joining TON, I began to face the public with a public image, including public speeches, organizing activities, and serving as a spokesperson. Through direct contact and communication with the front-line project parties, I was able to understand the thoughts, concerns, and problems of the project parties and developers in a more comprehensive and multi-level manner.
2. ChainCatcher: What changes have taken place in the TON ecosystem?
Vivi: For TON, the changes in the past year have made it no longer just a Web3 product, but has also penetrated into Web2 business and formed a unique integrated Web2.5 product form.
TON has transcended the traditional Layer 1. Previous Layer 1 public chains were more focused on competing in TVL and transaction volume, rather than truly expanding user usage scenarios. However, we have seen more possibilities in the TON ecosystem. TON has integrated payment into the user social platform, introduced various practical Web2 overseas projects, and created gaming projects with sustainable business models.
From these aspects, TON is more like a functionally enhanced Layer 1 platform, or can be regarded as a Web3 product matrix based on specific Web2 applications, providing users with more practical and diversified services.
3. ChainCatcher: What role does the TON Foundation play in the development of the TON ecosystem?
Vivi: TON Foundation is the official entity organization of TON public chain and the core promoter of the ecological development of TON public chain.
The Foundation’s role in the development of the TON ecosystem can be described by a sentence I often mention: “When no one cares, the official will show up more often and promote it. When there is a lot of buzz, the C position will be given to the community.”
Specifically, in the early stages of TON ecosystem development, when attention and participation are low, the Foundation needs to take the initiative to assume responsibility for promoting ecosystem development, including but not limited to business development (BD), connecting with potential project partners and various investors.
As the ecosystem gradually develops and matures, the foundation will gradually transfer the governance role to the community, such as establishing a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), implementing a community voting decision-making mechanism, etc., to achieve decentralized allocation and management of TON resources. The TON Foundation prefers to go with the flow and govern by doing nothing. However, governing by doing nothing does not mean doing nothing, but encouraging community user participation in a more democratic and decentralized form.
4. ChainCatcher: Some people believe that the TON Fundation is more like a centralized organization. What do you think about this?
Vivi: This is mainly because the TON ecosystem is still in its early stages of development.
Compared to Telegram's 1 billion monthly active users, TON's daily active wallet addresses are only a few hundred thousand, and user growth has mainly occurred in recent months.
It is actually difficult to make an accurate assessment of the degree of decentralization of a public chain foundation. This is because in the early stages of a blockchain project, it is usually necessary to adopt a company-like operating model to improve efficiency. There is a certain contradiction between efficiency and decentralization: complete decentralization may lead to reduced efficiency, while the pursuit of high efficiency may lead to a certain degree of centralization. Therefore, it is necessary to seek a balance between the two.
The TON Foundation is also constantly striking a balance between efficiency and decentralization. TON is building various communities, planning to open up TON resources to active participants in the community, and actively listening to everyone's opinions and ideas to make improvements.
In my opinion, TON's attitude towards centralization and decentralization in the early stages is pragmatic and result-oriented. If centralization is indeed beneficial to the overall ecology and community development of TON, then moderate centralization is acceptable. However, if centralization leads to excessive concentration of power or poor community feedback, strategies and methods need to be adjusted in a timely manner.
It should be emphasized that this relatively centralized state is limited to the early stages, and decentralization has always been TON's long-term goal. As the ecosystem continues to develop, the importance of the community will become increasingly prominent and eventually become the core resource on which TON relies for its development.
5. ChainCatcher: What actions has the TON Foundation taken behind the scenes to promote the explosion of the ecosystem?
Vivi: There are three aspects to this: First, in terms of developers, we focus on whether the threshold for developers to use and the user experience are friendly, and continue to optimize the developer experience. For example, we have found that the cost of putting a large number of small programs and small game projects on the chain is very high, so we have optimized the data on the chain. For example, we can put unimportant interactive data in the game off-chain, and only need to put key information such as props and payments on the chain, which greatly reduces the threshold for developers to enter. At present, the TON technical documents that I am responsible for will be launched in multiple languages to support developers from different countries.
Secondly, in the early stage of the ecosystem, the foundation provided all-round support for many potential projects. For example, the popular Notcoin and Catizen, the foundation provided a lot of traffic, marketing and financial support for these projects. TON tokens have shown a strong wealth effect, and the price of the coin has risen from about $1 at the beginning of the year to $7-8.
Finally, in terms of ecosystem promotion, the TON Foundation organized and held a number of offline series of activities to provide project parties, developers, and users with opportunities for face-to-face communication and docking. It also invited TON's front-line developers, technical mentors, etc. to guide developers on how to build projects on the TON ecosystem, attracting thousands of developers to join the TON ecosystem.
6. ChainCatcher: Since the second half of last year, the TON Foundation has held many online and offline events. What changes have taken place in TON?
Vivi: There are three major changes: First, the number of people radiated by TON is far more than Web3, and more and more Web2 people are pouring in. The development of TON is very consistent with the concept of Mass adoption advocated by Web3. In the past, Web3 practitioners mainly focused on the DeFi trio (DEX, Lending, and machine gun pools) when doing projects, but with the increase in conference activities held by TON, more and more Web2 users have begun to build and develop various applications and projects on the TON platform, covering multiple fields such as foreign trade, payment, e-commerce, small games, and artificial intelligence tools.
These applications already have mature models in the Web2 world and can also be realized on the TON platform, while other public chains have not yet reached this level.
Second, more and more project parties no longer regard token issuance as the primary focus during the development process, but take a more compliant approach and focus on using the underlying technology of the TON blockchain to expand their overseas business. This shows that users are adopting blockchain technology based on actual business needs, rather than just being driven by the wealth effect. Only when more and more users adopt blockchain technology and its products due to actual business needs can the Web3 industry achieve real prosperity and large-scale adoption. At present, there are already multiple applications based on e-commerce, air ticket booking and hotel booking on the TON platform, which have successfully achieved a seamless transition from Web2 to Web3.
Third, users have shown a high degree of acceptance of the concept of Mini DApp (mini program application) in the TON ecosystem. They can easily understand it as a similar existence to the overseas version of WeChat mini program, without having to deeply understand the technical details of blockchain, Layer 1 or Layer 2. With the participation of ecosystem builders, the boundary between Web2 and Web3 is no longer an insurmountable wall.
7. ChainCatcher: What factors do you think are needed for the explosive growth of the TON ecosystem? Have you ever predicted that the TON ecosystem will explode?
Vivi: I never expected the TON ecosystem to grow so fast, but I always believe that mass adoption is the ultimate goal that TON can achieve.
There are several main reasons for the explosion of the TON ecosystem: First, driven by the wealth effect, although the TON token has not yet been listed on the Binance exchange, its market value has ranked among the top ten, and the market's expectations for its listing continue to exist.
Secondly, in terms of ecological development and brand awareness, this year the TON Foundation has effectively promoted the development and visibility of the TON ecosystem by hosting a variety of online and offline events, such as The Open League, HackerHouse, and participating in important industry conferences such as the Hong Kong Web3 Conference, Token2049, and the mainland Dev meet up . In particular, The Open League provides substantial economic incentives and resource support for project parties.
The most important thing is the deep integration of TON and Telegram. In the past, people generally believed that TON and Telegram were two independent entities, but since last year, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has clearly expressed his support for TON in many public occasions, such as publicly expressing his support for the TON ecosystem at the Token2049 conference in Dubai in April. In addition, the Telegram platform provides a number of enabling measures for TON tokens, including TG advertising, virtual mobile phone numbers, domain names, creator economy, and Stars virtual points and other value-added services, and TON tokens can be used as a means of payment.
We believe that the premise for ecological growth and the realization of vision is that TON achieves seamless integration of Web2 and Web3, supporting Web2 applications to directly use tokens and blockchain technologies in the Web3 world.
TON Mini DApp ecosystem is booming, with over 2,000 mini-app stores scheduled
8. ChainCatcher: What are the requirements for project parties who want to participate in the Open League activities? What are the selection criteria for winning projects?
Vivi: For the specific details of participating in The Open League activities, project owners can visit The Open League 's official website for detailed information. However, from the developer's perspective, it is recommended that they build projects based on user needs and the development trend of the TON ecosystem, taking into account multiple factors.
Based on my experience of connecting with developers on the front line , I believe that developers can follow the principle of "what others don't have, I have; what others have, I have better; what others have better, I have cheaper; if others are cheaper, I leave" when building projects.
Specifically, "I have what others don't" means that in areas that have not yet appeared in the TON ecosystem, such as the CDP protocol, project parties should seize the opportunity to build products with competitive advantages ; "I am better than others" refers to areas that already exist in the TON ecosystem, such as lending protocols, and project parties should surpass existing competitors by providing more borrowable currencies, lower borrowing rates or richer service functions ; "I am cheaper than others" emphasizes attracting more users by providing more benefits, incentives and support while having complete functions.
When building a project, developers need to think deeply about the value it brings to the ecosystem, public chain, and users, as well as what problems it solves. If the product can truly meet user needs and bring real benefits, then such a project will not only stand out in The Open League activities, but also in the ecosystem.
9. ChainCatcher: What kind of support can the TON Foundation provide to project owners or developers?
Vivi: Currently, the development activity of the TON ecosystem is remarkable, and the number of queued projects for Mini Dapp (mini program store) has exceeded 2,000.
Faced with so many projects, the TON Foundation’s primary task is to identify those projects that adhere to the concept of long-termism and are truly committed to building and achieving results. These projects should be able to bring substantial benefits to users and the ecosystem, rather than just pursuing short-term interests or following the trend.
In the short term, the Foundation will mainly identify outstanding projects with long-term potential through project inspections. Once the value and potential of the project are confirmed, the Foundation will provide necessary support.
In the early stages of the project, the Foundation will provide technical support and guidance. As for the support of funding (grant) and marketing resources, the actual performance and development of the project after it goes online will determine whether to provide it and the extent to which it will be provided.
Compared with other public chains, TON is unique in that it has a powerful Telegram (TG) application platform as a carrier. Most applications involve off-chain business, not pure Web3 business, and the TON Foundation encourages openness, supports competition, and does not directly participate in the commercial activities of the project. Therefore, the success of the application is not significantly related to the support of the public chain.
In summary, the support provided by the TON Foundation tends to boost technology and projects after they mature, and is aimed at helping project parties achieve long-term development on the platform.
10. ChainCatcher: What advantages do you think developers have in choosing the Telegram applet ecosystem? What development opportunities will it bring to the TON chain?
Vivi: The advantages of TG Mini Programs are several aspects. First, the Telegram Mini Program ecosystem supports developers to carry out a series of Web2 businesses. TON provides developers with another possibility besides issuing coins. Even if there is no token issuance, no listing on exchanges, and no financing, the project party can still realize its own business model and monetization path, such as providing cross-border services, in-game purchases, and in-app advertising.
The second is that the development cost of deploying mini-programs is low. Most mini-programs can be deployed through HTML5, and TON provides a series of technical development documents and templates, allowing developers to complete deployment without writing code from scratch. According to feedback, project parties with a Web2 background can complete the deployment of a mini-program within two or three days.
Third, TON has opened up new possibilities for Web3 project parties, supporting developers to build products based on multiple fields such as social, games, e-commerce, cross-border business, artificial intelligence, etc., thereby broadening the range of choices for project parties.
Finally, when developers develop in the TON ecosystem, they can complete the interaction and integration of multiple products on a single Telegram platform. For users, the mini-program applications of the TON ecosystem have obvious advantages in terms of interaction. Users do not need to leave the Telegram platform, and can complete one-stop interactive operations by clicking on the wallet mini-program, without switching to external wallets such as MetaMask. In addition, the wallet on Telegram already supports users to deposit funds with fiat currency, that is, users can directly use credit cards to purchase encrypted assets, realizing seamless interaction from capital injection to various applications on the chain.
TON Mini Program is still different from WeChat Mini Program
11. ChainCatcher: What advice do you have for developers who want to build on the TON chain?
Vivi: For Web3 developers, it is crucial to master TON's unique development language. Currently, developers who are proficient in FUNC and TACT are relatively scarce, while the market demand for TON smart contracts is very strong, which provides good development opportunities for relevant talents.
For developers with a Web2 background, especially those who focus on cross-border e-commerce, encrypted payments or other areas with high compliance requirements, it is recommended to seize the current window of opportunity. These areas are still in a blue ocean state in the TON ecosystem and have great room for development.
For projects with low cost and relatively low entry barriers, such as mini-games, developers need to formulate strategies in advance and think about how to quickly attract user traffic. This includes building brand awareness, establishing user mental models, and planning long-term business closed loops.
Although the mini-programs on TON are often compared to WeChat mini-programs, there are actually significant differences between the two in terms of their ecological models. WeChat focuses on a single domestic market, and a large number of convenient localized services and life services form a strong barrier for the WeChat ecosystem, while Telegram is mainly oriented to overseas markets, which is more conducive to providing standardized products and services to global users. In addition, the user preferences of Telegram in different regions are also different. For example, there are obvious differences in the product models familiar to Russian and Indian users, the willingness of users to pay, and the depth of platform participation.
Therefore, project developers need to carefully consider their own business paths, think about who their target users are, what their needs and preferences are, and evaluate the degree of integration between their own business and Web3 technology. These strategic decisions will directly affect the long-term development of the project.
12. ChainCatcher: What does the TON Foundation think about the emergence of various incubator projects?
Vivi: There are a large number of so-called "incubator" projects of varying quality on the market. Some of these institutions are under the banner of assisting project development, but in fact they intend to obtain the project's tokens for free. Admittedly, there are also some incubators with good reputations, such as Binance's incubation platform, but such high-quality incubators often have high entry barriers.
We recommend that all project parties carefully evaluate when considering joining an incubator, and do not be overly superstitious about brand effects, publicity effects, or the publicity of various training camps. Project parties need to realize that the fundamental competitiveness of a project comes from the improvement of its own strength. There should be no unrealistic expectation that participating in an incubation project can significantly improve the quality of the project or change the fate of the project. In fact, most projects participating in incubators are still struggling with financing issues.
We believe that project parties should focus their main efforts on improving the competitiveness of their products, which is the key to ensuring the success of the project.
13. ChainCatcher: On June 12, Telegram launched Stars, an in-app points token, which can be used to pay for digital goods and services in TG bot and mini-programs. What impact will this have on TON?
Vivi: The launch of Stars points tokens is good for TON.
TG launched Stars in order to deal with the regulation of Apple Store. Apple charges 30% of the digital product service fees of the apps in the store, which is what we call "Apple tax". However, this regulation is limited to digital products, such as game props and membership fees, and does not include physical products and Defi activities.
Telegram Stars also promotes the adoption of traditional Web2 users, allowing some users who do not know how to buy and use cryptocurrencies to enjoy paid services of mini-programs, mini-games, and Bots through traditional channels.
Telegram Stars has limited impact on the user habits of Telegram. 90% of Telegram users use Android devices, and there is no mandatory requirement to use Stars on Android apps, which means that only 10% of Apple users are required to use Stars.
In addition, Stars can be withdrawn using TON, which increases the usage scenarios of TON. At the same time, Telegram also provides subsidies for merchants who use Stars to purchase advertising services.
