u.today
For a man who rarely speaks publicly, Pavel Durov’s latest comments about The Open Network (TON) carry weight. In a rare acknowledgment of the blockchain’s growth, the Telegram founder revealed that Silicon Valley’s biggest players - Sequoia, Benchmark, Ribbit, Draper and VY Capital - have collectively poured over $400 million into TON, offering not just capital but public endorsement.
Durov framed TON’s rise in pragmatic terms. Over the past year, it has become Telegram’s de facto financial layer - the only way creators withdraw earnings, the sole payment rail for ads on most markets and the mandatory blockchain for hundreds of millions using mini apps.
📈 Good month for The Open Network: the biggest names in venture capital invested over $400M into TON and publicly backed it. Among them are the legends of Silicon Valley: Sequoia, Benchmark, Ribbit, Draper, VY, and other world-famous funds 💸
— Pavel Durov (@durov) March 26, 2025
Even Telegram’s digital assets, from usernames to virtual gifts, now exist exclusively as TON-based NFTs. "The in-app economy is scaling faster than anticipated," Durov notes.
He singled out TON’s technical edge: sharding architecture built to process transactions at a scale fit for Telegram’s user base - almost one billion people - calling it one of the few blockchains with fundamentals, not just speculation.
The update came just as Durov resolved his legal standoff with French authorities.