2024 Q1 TON DeFi Overview: TVL Grows 7x, DEX Activity Surges Amid Meme Boom
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2024 Q1 TON DeFi Overview: TVL Grows 7x, DEX Activity Surges Amid Meme Boom
As the DeFi ecosystem on TON becomes increasingly complex, the demand for reliable and secure oracle services will grow.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: The Open Platform
Compiled by: TechFlow
In Q1 2024, the memecoin craze became a central theme in TON DeFi and across the broader cryptocurrency market, at least partially driving surges in on-chain activity and DeFi metrics:
Source: TonStat, DefiLlama, CoinMarketCap
A major highlight of the quarter was a sevenfold increase in TVL (Total Value Locked), driven primarily by increased activity on DEXs (decentralized exchanges) and the market dominance of the liquid staking protocol Tonstakers.
Source: DefiLlama. Note that the chart includes both "Staking" and "Liquid Staking" values within TVL.
Another key development was the launch of The Open League. This initiative rewards users for interacting with TON projects and features a prize pool of Toncoin awarded to top-performing TON projects each season. A core component is the introduction of mining pools with enhanced APY (Annual Percentage Yield). The arrival of these yield farms, combined with a surge in memecoin trading volume, made DEXs the best-performing DeFi sector on TON in terms of TVL:
Source: DefiLlama. Note that "Lending" includes Evaa Protocol, which was only added to DefiLlama on February 29, 2024.
In the following sections, we will explore in greater detail the patterns behind the explosive performance of DEXs on TON.
DEXs: The Collision of The Open League and the Memecoin Craze
Tokens on the TON blockchain, known as jettons, gained rapid popularity in the final quarter of 2023 and this momentum has continued. Memecoins have been a significant driver of increased trading activity.
This trend preceded the launch of Notcoin, a previously untradeable memecoin that anyone could "mine" by tapping a button within the Notcoin mini-app on Telegram. Within months of its launch, Notcoin attracted 35 million active users. Notcoin is now listed on multiple DEXs and CEXs and has inspired the creation of numerous meme jettons with similar mechanics. The popularity of these jettons is one of the primary drivers behind the surge in DEX-based trading volume on TON.
The memecoin frenzy drew significant attention to DeDust and STON.fi, two DEXs that have listed a large number of these tokens. According to Tonalytica, the total trading volume on TON's DEXs hit an all-time high of $4.2 million within a 90-day period. This record was surpassed in Q2, with volume now exceeding $60 million:
Source: Tonalytica.redoubt.online. Accessed: May 17, 2024
Below is a screenshot from our internal analytics tool showing the trading volume of the two DEXs. The pattern closely aligns with the chart from Tonalytica:
Source: The Open Platform. Accessed: May 17, 2024
STON.fi and DeDust serve as primary liquidity venues as part of The Open League's incentive program. As a result, both platforms contributed significantly to the more than ninefold increase in TON's TVL over the first three seasons of the project. Season 3 is already underway, and readers can view the available boosted pools on STON.fi and DeDust, or access the The Open League Pools bot.
(The Open League bot. Accessed: May 17, 2024)
STON.fi ranked first in the DeFi competition during The Open League's pilot season, followed closely by DeDust. The ranking was based on changes in TVL and protocol fees earned during the pilot season. The final standings can be viewed here.
One of the themes in Q1 2024 was the launch of Telegram Mini Apps by the two leading DEXs. DeDust and STON.fi now each have their own mini-apps, diversifying the trading experience and allowing users to execute trades directly within Telegram. This may be particularly convenient for traders who use Telegram-based token research tools and news channels.
Additionally, Storm Trade, currently the leading derivatives exchange on TON, now allows traders to use Toncoin as collateral for futures trading. This update eliminates the need to convert TON into jUSDT for collateral, simplifies the user onboarding process, and adds further utility to Toncoin within the ecosystem. Moreover, Storm Trade completed its largest-ever rewards program as part of The Open League, with a prize pool of approximately $130,000. Rewards were distributed to top performers in trading volume, PnL rankings, and liquidity provision for designated pairs.
Liquid Staking Propels TON into Top 20 Chains by TVL
Liquid staking remains the highest TVL sector on TON. According to data from DefiLlama, TON ranks 17th in TVL when including both staking and liquid staking value as of this report.
Source: DefiLlama
Tonstakers won the liquid staking competition in The Open League's pilot season, followed by bemo and the new liquid staking protocol Stakee, and continues to lead in TVL market share. Similar to the DeFi competition, the ranking was based on changes in TVL; another metric used was the number of new users joining the protocol during the respective period.
Stakee (Stakee Bot) is a new liquid staking protocol on TON. Stakee combines simplicity, reliability, and high APY to attract Toncoin holders seeking enhanced yields and low fees. The platform ensures transaction security and transparency by using official smart contracts developed by the TON Foundation.
Furthermore, TON Whales launched Whale Liquid, a new liquid staking pool. The protocol allows Toncoin holders to earn wsTON, which can be exchanged on DeDust and lending protocols on TON. The project is currently in testing, with a total staked amount of 848K Toncoin (over $5 million).
Lending: EVAA Protocol Launches on TON
Evaa Protocol has launched on the TON mainnet. As of this report, Evaa has a total supplied value of $26.1 million and a total borrowed value of $12.03 million.
EVAA Protocol held a supply and borrowing campaign as part of The Open League. The event offered users a unique opportunity to borrow TON, stTON, tsTON, jUSDC, and jUSDT tokens via the EvaaAppBot or on app.evaa.finance. Participants received weekly airdrops, interest rewards for supply and borrowing activities, and EVAA XP points, which can be redeemed in the future for EVAA DAO tokens.
Although the campaign has officially ended, the reward pools within the application still offer attractive APYs:
Source: https://app.evaa.finance/market. Accessed: May 17, 2024
Similarly, DAOLama ran a farm season and introduced Reward Points (RP), an internal token designed to incentivize user activity within the app. Each loan granted RP, which could be redeemed for $LLAMA. The promotional period ended on March 30, and users can now trade the token on STON.fi and DeDust.
RedStone: The First Oracle Solution on TON
Oracles are a critical component of blockchain technology, serving as bridges that connect blockchains to the external world. They provide a reliable method for bringing external data onto the blockchain, such as token or stock prices. This capability is essential for enabling smart contracts—their terms written directly into code—to interact with and respond to external events.
RedStone has become the first available oracle on TON, marking a significant milestone for data integrity in TON-based DeFi.
RedStone's price feed for Toncoin, aggregating data from 11 external sources
RedStone emphasizes that TON, due to its asynchronous and fully decentralized nature, required a significant departure from standard integration approaches, involving more complex inter-contract message passing rather than the simple contract interactions typical of other blockchains. Looking ahead, RedStone aims to enhance TON's DeFi ecosystem through new relay systems, smart contract templates, and advanced data feeds to meet the growing demands of TON-based DeFi. Learn more about integrations here.
Outlook
Jettons on the TON blockchain are carving out a unique niche, representing a range of digital assets that go beyond traditional utility. While some of these jettons may not yet have clearly defined practical applications, they still hold significant positions within the broader ecosystem.
The surge in interest in these diverse assets may be the beginning of a larger process: increased demand for DeFi infrastructure to meet capital efficiency needs of token holders. We are already seeing evidence of this in the success of The Open League incentive campaigns.
Honestly, since discovering TON in 2022, I never believed in it. Not at all. I thought, "This is just another ghost chain." But as you can see, it’s not. My first interaction with TON was at the end of 2022, when I had only a modest two-digit crypto portfolio (yes, two digits) and won a giveaway.
The admin of that Telegram channel messaged me saying, "Hey, can I send your prize to TON via Telegram Wallet?" I was like, "What? Telegram Wallet?" He kindly explained everything and sent the prize. By the way, it was $10. Thankfully, TON fees are low, so I was able to send it to a CEX.
As I began writing posts and leveraging content creation through constant learning, I became deeply involved in marketing strategies. For some reason, I didn’t like TON’s marketing approach back then. Six months later, I still don’t fully like their marketing. But as we’ve seen, the numbers for TVL and TON price show that despite my opinion, it works.
I’m starting to hear ordinary people—those not involved in crypto—mentioning TON. TON is cheap, accessible, and easy to understand. That’s why regular people enjoy mining Notcoin. Currently, TON ranks 9th on CoinMarketCap's "Today's Cryptocurrency Prices by Market Cap."
Despite many areas still needing improvement, such as marketing, TON will receive increasing attention in the future. The figures for active users, TVL, and TON market cap are astonishing—completely beyond my expectations.
As the DeFi ecosystem on TON grows more complex, the demand for reliable and secure oracle services will rise. RedStone’s efforts in this area signal a strong trend toward higher data integrity on TON. We can expect oracle solutions to further permeate the ecosystem in the near future.
What to Build on TON Now?
We are looking forward to seeing:
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Solutions that bring EVM capabilities to TON
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DEXs with non-standard order execution models, including limit order book-based exchanges
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Auto-compounders / yield optimizers
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
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