Animoca Brands: New Top Validator for Telegram's TON Blockchain

By: Eva Baxter

Renowned Web3 investment firm, Animoca Brands, is set to become the largest validator for Telegram's TON (The Open Network) blockchain. In a bid to boost GameFi development, Animoca has made an undisclosed investment into TON, a portion of which has been understood to have been directed into Toncoin and staked as a part of the validator agreement. This partnership will involve funding, research, and an analytics platform designed for third-party TON ecosystem applications.

Animoca plans to optimally support TON Play, a gaming infrastructure project based on the TON blockchain. By allowing gaming applications to be built on TON and launched on Telegram, the firm aims to deliver blockchain-based games to Telegram’s user base which boasts as abundant as 800 million people. Moreover, existing web-based games can be transferred to the social messaging application, courtesy of the infrastructure.

Animoca Brands also intends to explore the possibility of transporting a selection from its range of more than 400 Web3 projects to Telegram, emphasising on the potential for significant growth of gaming within the TON ecosystem. This endeavour marks the second instance in November 2023 of Animoca becoming a validator for a proof-of-stake blockchain protocol, following its assimilation as a validator for fan token blockchain Chiliz Chain earlier in the month.

Animoca Brands' decision to invest in TON resonates with the company's ongoing efforts to promote adoption and the switch from Web2 to Web3. Key networks of the TON ecosystem will be monitored through a live dashboard put together by Animoca Brands Research. The dashboard encapsulates a variety of essential metrics from TON’s open internet ecosystem.