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The number of Toncoin (TON) holders has skyrocketed, surpassing 100 million, largely driven by the surge in popularity of Telegram-based games. TON, now the 11th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has seen unprecedented growth over the past year. At the same time, the price of TON, that currently hovers a smidge over $5 can be seen as ‘sold at a discout’, provided its recent all-time-high of $8.2.
According to recent data from crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant, the number of unique TON holders now stands at 104 million. This is a dramatic increase from the start of the year, when there were just over 4 million holders. A holder is defined as any crypto wallet that has a balance greater than zero.
TON Growth and Beyond
This growth is largely attributed to the rising popularity of games hosted on Telegram, a widely-used messaging app. These games, many of which use a tap-to-earn model, have gained significant traction among users.
The trend was sparked by Notcoin at the beginning of the year, and has since led to the development of numerous follow-up games, such as Hamster Kombat, Catizen, X Empire, and Yescoin. Even the popular mobile game Flappy Bird has made a comeback as a crypto-enabled game within the Telegram ecosystem.
Players on Telegram can access these games through integrated mini-apps, where they can earn tokens as they play. Most of these tokens are built on The Open Network (TON) blockchain and can be converted into Toncoin or other tokens on the network.
A significant factor in the recent surge of TON holders was the airdrop tied to the Hamster Kombat game, which occurred on September 26. This tap-to-earn game, centered around the theme of managing a crypto exchange, drew in over 300 million players. Around 129 million participants received the in-game HMSTR token during the airdrop.
While Telegram operates independently of TON, the cryptocurrency has become a favorite among the app’s users, as well as its creators. Telegram has started using TON to share advertising revenue with channel owners and has introduced an off-chain currency called Stars, which is connected to TON.
Telegram to the Rescue?
Originally, TON was a project developed by Telegram itself, but the messaging app discontinued its involvement in 2020 due to regulatory pressures. However, community developers took over the project, and it has since experienced remarkable growth, partly fueled by the increasing popularity of games and Telegram’s own use cases.
Despite its success, TON’s close association with Telegram has not always been beneficial. In August, the price of Toncoin took a hit after Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, was detained in France. He was accused of not cooperating with authorities regarding alleged illegal activities on the platform. Following this incident, Telegram has taken steps to collaborate more with law enforcement and has imposed new restrictions on the app to limit the ability to search for illegal content.
How to Buy Toncoin
To buy Toncoin (TON) you can navigate to any of the top crypto exchanges and get TON right after registering. Here are the steps you will need to follow on most of the platforms.
1. Create an Account
- Visit the platform and sign up for an account if you don’t already have one.
- Complete the registration process by providing your email, setting a password, and verifying your account through email verification.
- After registration, you may need to complete identity verification (KYC) to enable withdrawals or higher trading limits. This involves uploading identification documents, depending on your jurisdiction.
2. Deposit Funds
- Once your account is set up and verified, log in and go to the “Wallet” section.
- You have two options to deposit funds:
- Deposit cryptocurrency: If you already have crypto like USDT, BTC, or ETH, you can transfer it to your exchange’ wallet.
- Buy cryptocurrency using fiat: If you don’t have any crypto, most platforms allow you to purchase crypto using fiat currency (USD, EUR, etc.) through methods like credit/debit cards, P2P trading, or third-party payment providers.
3. Find the TON/USDT Trading Pair
- After funding your account, go to the “Trade” section in the top menu and select “Spot Trading”.
- In the search bar, type “TON” to find the TON/USDT trading pair.
- Select the pair to open the trading interface.
4. Place a Buy Order for Toncoin (TON)
- Once on the trading interface for TON/USDT, you will see options for placing buy and sell orders.
- You can choose from two types of orders:
- Market Order: This allows you to buy TON instantly at the current market price.
- Limit Order: This allows you to set your desired price for TON, and the order will only execute when the market reaches that price.
- Enter the amount of USDT you want to use to buy TON or the amount of TON you want to purchase.
5. Confirm Your Purchase
- After entering the details, review your order, and click “Buy TON” to execute the trade.
- Once the order is fulfilled, the purchased Toncoin (TON) will be available in your wallet.
6. Withdraw Toncoin (Optional)
- If you want to withdraw your TON to a personal wallet, navigate to the “Wallet” section, select “Withdraw”, and choose TON.
- Enter your wallet address and the amount of TON you want to withdraw, then confirm the withdrawal.
By following these steps, you can successfully buy Toncoin. You can also decide to hold TON on the exchange that you use and that also can bring its perks. For instance, some exchanges like Gate.io offer an Earn function, which yields additional TON tokens as a reward for keeping TON on the exchange.
Featured image by Maxim Hopman
