The nonprofit TON Foundation has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The role has been assumed by Maximilian Crown, co-founder and former COO of MoonPay. According to experts, the appointment may mark a turning point for the ecosystem, which is aiming to relaunch its integration with Telegram and regain the trust of major investors.
Focus on Fintech and the U.S. Market
According to the foundation, Crown is an experienced entrepreneur and one of the key architects of MoonPay’s success — a global crypto payments provider with tens of millions of users. As CFO and COO, he built relationships with banks, payment systems, and regulators, enabling the company’s global expansion.
He is now expected to develop TON not just as a set of Telegram bots but as a full-fledged fintech product. The main goal is to transform Telegram, with its 950 million users, into an entry point to Web3 — focusing on real payments, savings, gaming, and collectible products.
New Leadership and Power Redistribution
Crown’s appointment follows the recent naming of Manuel Stotz, founder of venture fund Kingsway Capital, as Chairman of the TON Foundation’s board. This may signal a strengthening of institutional control over the project.
According to the foundation, TON earlier this year became the exclusive blockchain for Telegram Mini Apps — the messenger’s in-app platform for mini applications. By January, the ecosystem had attracted over $400 million in Toncoin investments from U.S. venture capital firms, including Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz.
Previous Leadership’s Missed Opportunities
The previous leadership failed to capitalize on favorable conditions. Experts note that under former CEO Andrey Rogozov, integration with Telegram was largely limited to the wallet and a couple of test bots. Out of the announced $1 billion for ecosystem development, only about 10% reportedly reached end-user projects.
During the DeFi boom, TON was left behind: total value locked (TVL) did not exceed $157 million, while competitors like Solana entered the market with ready-to-go solutions. No attempts were made to enter the U.S. market, and pressure from the SEC persisted.
Inal Kardan, a partner at TON Ventures, previously highlighted the ecosystem’s problems in an analytical post, outlining key weaknesses and concerning trends:
- GameFi sector lost momentum: tap-to-earn games quickly burned out, and new formats have yet to gain traction
- DeFi crisis: few profitable strategies, slow releases, and weak marketing
- Lack of major listings: successful TON projects are not reaching Binance or OKX
- Meme coins flopped: low demand, with Pump.Fun as the sole exception
- TON loses Crypto Twitter attention: people are discussing Bitcoin and Solana instead
- Weak marketing: without campaigns, interest in TON will decline
What Kardan believes is needed to escape the crisis:
- AI bots on Telegram hold promise — but no real solutions yet.
- NFT and Telegram Gifts could revive the market if blockchain is integrated into gift features.
- A U.S. focus and a listing on Coinbase are essential.
Metrics and Goals
Despite its setbacks, TON has seen significant growth over the past year. The number of active accounts rose from 4 million to 41 million, and total addresses now exceed 150 million. Toncoin holders have surpassed the number of BTC wallets. TON apps now rank among the top in usage across all crypto platforms.
The foundation’s goal is to bring up to 30% of Telegram’s active user base onto the TON blockchain by 2028. To achieve this, four key areas have been prioritized: in-game and collectible digital assets, mini-games, simple DeFi savings solutions, and real-world payments via Telegram.
Expected Changes
With Crown’s appointment, the foundation aims to move out of its stagnation phase. According to Chairman Stotz, the new CEO can take the project to the next level thanks to his experience in scaling operations and understanding regulatory environments. Crown himself stated that TON is one of the few projects capable of bringing blockchain into the everyday lives of billions.
The ecosystem is preparing for a reboot. And now, it seems, it finally has both the ambition and the resources. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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