Telegram blockchain startup TOP, also known as The Open Platform, has secured $28.5 million in a Series A round at a $1 billion valuation, officially achieving unicorn status. The funding was led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from Pantera Capital, increasing the company’s total capital raised to over $70 million.
The company’s journey began in 2023 when founder and CEO Andrew Rogozov — an entrepreneur with a background in blockchain engineering and app development—formally incorporated TOP in Abu Dhabi. Rogozov and his multinational team, blending Russian and Abu Dhabi-based talent, emerged from Telegram’s original TON initiative, which was halted by the SEC in 2020. Undeterred, they continued to develop on TON, quietly laying the foundation for what would become TOP.
Rogozov met his co-founders while working on early versions of Telegram’s blockchain efforts. The founding team is notable for its diversity in both geography and expertise, combining experience in blockchain, app development, and product scaling. Their persistence through regulatory setbacks and their ability to regroup and innovate after Telegram was forced to return investor funds in 2020 highlights the team’s resilience and vision.
Building the web3 ecosystem on Telegram
TOP’s core mission is to build consumer-facing applications on Telegram’s official blockchain, TON (The Open Network). Its flagship product, Wallet in Telegram, is a native, non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet that has already gained traction in regions such as Russia and Asia. With the new funding, TOP plans to expand Wallet’s availability to the US and Europe, aiming to leverage Telegram’s one billion-user reach to onboard mainstream audiences into cryptocurrency.
Beyond the wallet, TOP is developing a diverse portfolio of TON-based applications, including blockchain games, NFT marketplaces, TON-keeper non-custodial wallet, STON.fi, a decentralised exchange (DEX), and AI integrations.
The company’s strategy is to utilise Telegram’s massive distribution channel to accelerate the adoption of blockchain-based products, thereby making cryptocurrency accessible to everyday users. By embedding these applications directly into Telegram, TOP is positioned to lower the barriers to entry for Web3 technologies and drive mainstream adoption.
Investor confidence and TON’s momentum
The Series A round was led by Ribbit Capital, a firm renowned for its early investments in Coinbase, Nubank, and Revolut. Pantera Capital also participated, with partner Ryan Barney highlighting the inspiration behind supporting technology that can reach a billion people. Earlier in the year, the TON Foundation revealed that top venture capital firms, including Sequoia and Benchmark, had purchased $400 million worth of Toncoin, further underscoring the growing momentum behind TON.
Telegram’s rollout of crypto applications, including Wallet and TON Space, has already reached hundreds of millions of users, driving daily transactions above 1.2 million and pushing the total value locked (TVL) in TON beyond $350 million. The TON blockchain, co-developed by Telegram’s founders and maintained by the TON Foundation, now supports stablecoins, NFTs, and mini-apps within chats, demonstrating strong product-market fit.
Telegram’s crypto gadgets find product-market fit
Telegram rolled out crypto applications like Wallet and TON Space to hundreds of millions of users, boosting daily transactions to over 1.2 million and total value locked (TVL) in TON beyond $350 million The TON blockchain, co‑developed by Telegram’s founders and maintained by the TON Foundation, now supports stablecoins, NFTs, and mini‑apps within chats.
Next chapter: regulatory, regional roll‑out and incubation
TOP’s transformation from a small app developer to a unicorn signals a bold step in embedding blockchain applications directly into mass-market communication platforms. By leveraging Telegram’s vast user base and the capabilities of the TON blockchain, TOP is poised to redefine how billions of people access and interact with crypto, accelerating the mainstream adoption of Web3 technologies.
CEO Andrew Rogozov emphasised that this investment supports TOP’s long-term strategy to scale the adoption of blockchain-based products by leveraging the power of Telegram as a distribution channel. The company’s vision is to build a comprehensive Web3 ecosystem within Telegram, making blockchain technology an integral part of everyday digital communication and commerce.
