The main developer behind the surprise altcoin announced that it has received a valuation of 1 billion Dollar!

The Open Platform, the main application developer of Telegram's blockchain project TON's (The Open Network), has completed a Series A funding round of 28.5 million dollars with a valuation of 1 billion dollars, according to Fortune.

While fintech-focused Ribbit Capital leads the investment round, Pantera Capital, one of the leading investment funds in the cryptocurrency space, also participated.

In exchange for the investment, a 5% stake in the company was transferred, and no cryptocurrency allocation was made during this process. Andrew Rogozov, the founder and CEO of TOP, stated that the company has raised over 70 million dollars to date.

TOP, which is part of the TON blockchain ecosystem with close ties to Telegram, also stands out as the team behind the application's main wallet, the "Telegram Wallet." The company aims to expand the wallet, which has been launched via Telegram in Russia, Asia, and other regions, to the US and European markets with new funding.

CEO Rogozov emphasized that during this expansion process, especially compliance and operational infrastructures bring significant costs, stating that the new investment will play a critical role in these areas.

The new investment will be used not only for geographical expansion but also for the development of TON-based blockchain games and artificial intelligence projects. The company's long-term vision is to create a comprehensive application ecosystem built on TON.

Investors Ribbit Capital and Pantera Capital announced that they see Telegram's global user base of over 1 billion as a great opportunity. Pantera Capital partner Ryan Barney said, "The opportunity to support revolutionary technology and financial products that can reach a billion people is exciting."

Telegram conducted a $1.7 billion cryptocurrency sale for the TON project in 2018. However, as a result of the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), they had to halt the project in 2020. As part of the settlement reached with the SEC, Telegram refunded $1.2 billion to investors and paid a $18.5 million fine.

Following these developments, although Telegram appeared to distance itself from the project, the development of the technology continued in the background. In 2023, Telegram announced the new version of TON as the official blockchain network, and the same year, the TOP company was officially established in (Abu Dhabi), United Arab Emirates.