The Open Network Foundation, responsible for developing the TON blockchain powering Telegram's advertising platform, has announced plans to distribute 30 million Toncoin (TON) tokens, valued at $115 million, as community rewards. These incentives will be divided among four key areas, with $38 million allocated for token mining and user incentives, $22 million for airdrops, $15 million for the alliance developer ecosystem, and $40 million dedicated to boosting liquidity pools. The distribution is set to commence on April 1 and span a month, with clear guidelines outlined for the conversion process.
During the initial pilot phase, the TON Foundation disbursed 650,000 TON ($2.6 million) through liquidity pool boosts, and an additional 550,000 TON ($2.2 million) will be allocated to projects emerging as winners in the pilot league by March 31. Jack Booth, Marketing Director of TON Foundation, expressed enthusiasm about community engagement, noting the readiness of users to participate in the platform's offerings.
The Telegram advertising platform, built on the TON blockchain, is poised for an official launch in March 2024. This platform offers global Telegram channel owners the opportunity to monetize their channels by receiving financial rewards, exclusively selling ads, and sharing revenue with channel owners in TON tokens. Despite initial development efforts by Telegram, the project was shelved in May 2020 amid a legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Telegram, boasting over 900 million users globally and ranking as the fourth-largest messaging app worldwide, has been contemplating profitability and exploring options like an initial public offering (IPO). Pavel Durov, Telegram's co-founder, hinted at leveraging Reddit's influence to offer loyal users priority access to the company's IPO. Meanwhile, TON has demonstrated significant growth, with a nearly 75% increase in the past year, currently trading at $4.12.
