Steve Yun

Steve Yun is a former president and current board member of the TON Foundation, a blockchain technology specialist, and the founder of TVM Ventures, a venture fund announced in early 2025.

TL;DR – Yun transitioned from volunteer work and education programs to the crypto sector in 2017, later becoming COO of Koinvestor where he helped raise $50 million for nine projects. He joined the TON Foundation, organized major events such as TON Awards 2022 and TON Gateway 2023, and launched TVM Ventures to invest in TON‑related DeFi and infrastructure projects.

Early career and volunteer work#

Yun began his professional life organizing educational volunteer initiatives in Canada. In 2012 he coordinated non‑profit activities in Kashmir, India. From 2012 to 2017 he held leadership positions at InterCP, overseeing international educational programs, delivering more than 100 lectures across 47 cities in the United States and Canada, and managing volunteer missions in Kashmir and Syria.

Entry into cryptocurrency#

In 2017 Yun entered the crypto industry as Chief Operating Officer of Koinvestor. In this role he raised $50 million for nine cryptocurrency projects and forged strategic partnerships with leading technology firms.

Contributions to the TON ecosystem#

Strategic development

Since joining the TON Foundation, Yun has focused on attracting developers, establishing partnerships with major market players, and fostering an environment for decentralized applications (dApps) on TON.

Event organization

Under his leadership the foundation organized several high‑profile events:

TON Awards 2022 – celebrated developer achievements within the TON ecosystem.
TON Gateway 2023 – gathered experts and entrepreneurs to discuss TON’s future applications.

Innovative programs

Yun helped launch key initiatives that stimulate ecosystem growth:

New DeFi Liquidity Incentive Program 2023 – aimed at boosting TON DeFi adoption.
TVM Challenge 2023 – a contest to improve the TON Virtual Machine, offering over $54,000 in rewards.
Telegram Mini Apps Challenge 2023 – integrated TON blockchain with Telegram Mini Apps.

These programs involved collaborations with Amazon Web Services and DWF Labs, expanding development and scaling opportunities for TON‑based applications.

TVM Ventures fund#

In early 2025 Yun launched TVM Ventures, a $100 million venture fund dedicated to DeFi, PayFi, infrastructure, and security projects on TON. The fund’s name references the “time value of money” principle. It was seeded with Yun’s personal capital and an investment from a Toncoin miner.

The fund quickly partnered with Trail of Bits for security audits. In its first month, TVM Ventures invested roughly $6 million across three projects: the memecoin platform Memes Lab, the lending protocol Factorial Finance, and the stable‑swap protocol Torch Finance.

Community impact#

Yun’s efforts have helped build an active community of developers, investors, and users around TON. His advocacy for decentralization aims to make blockchain technology more accessible and transparent. While not a frequent public speaker, he remains deeply involved in ecosystem development and continues to influence strategic direction through his board position.