TON Gateway 2023

TON Gateway 2023 was the first large‑scale offline event of The Open Network (TON) community, held on 10–11 November 2023 in Dubai. The conference gathered developers, investors and ecosystem enthusiasts to exchange ideas, demonstrate new products and discuss the network’s future.

Overview of the event#

The two‑day conference served as a platform for presenting TON‑built solutions, announcing investment programs and outlining strategic directions. It marked a milestone for community growth and highlighted the close collaboration between TON and Telegram.

Built‑in wallets in Telegram#

A central topic was the integration of cryptocurrency wallets directly into the Telegram messenger, allowing users to send and receive TON assets without leaving the chat interface.

Key advantages

Instant transfers by sending a message in Telegram.
End‑to‑end encryption; Telegram acts only as the UI while all operations run on the TON blockchain.

Decentralized exchange (DEX) services#

Several TON‑based DEXes were demonstrated, emphasizing user control and performance.

Users keep full custody of assets via smart contracts.
TON’s architecture enables faster transaction processing than many traditional DEXes.
Optimized gas algorithms reduce transaction costs.
An updated DeDust protocol (DeDust 2.0) was presented, offering a smoother UX and lower fees.

Telegram Mini‑Apps#

Mini‑apps embedded in Telegram were showcased, enabling a wide range of crypto‑related actions without leaving the messenger.

Purchases using built‑in wallets.
Staking, lending and asset swaps through decentralized services.
Gaming experiences powered by Toncoin.

Investment and partnership programs#

TON Gateway 2023 announced several funding initiatives:

Grant program from KuCoin Ventures and the TON Foundation.
Eight‑figure investment from MEXC Ventures supporting Toncoin and strategic partnership with the TON Foundation.
Developer support program run by the TON Foundation.

Key speakers#

Steve Yun, President of the TON Foundation, outlined strategic directions such as Telegram integration, scaling, decentralization and developer grants.

Kirill Emelyanenko, representative of TON Core, discussed technical challenges and proposed solutions for network performance, developer tooling, security, decentralization and education.

Andrew Rogozov, CEO of Telegram Open Platform (TOP), presented the “TON x Telegram” partnership and future plans for simplifying crypto access.

Projects highlighted at the conference#

DeDust – launch of DeDust 2.0 with improved UX and lower fees.
STON.fi – introduced the Omniston protocol for slippage‑free swaps, integrated with TON Space and launched a 30‑day JETTON farming pool rewarding 20 000 JETTON.
Tonstakers – liquid staking platform issuing tsTON tokens representing shares in the staking pool.
bemo – liquid staking solution issuing bTON tokens.
EVAA Protocol – decentralized lending protocol integrated as a Telegram Mini‑App.