Bitget, Foresight Ventures invest $30 million in TON blockchain

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget and Foresight Ventures announced a $30 million investment into The Open Network (TON) blockchain.

The investment aims to enhance the development of Telegram-based projects, with a focus on tap-to-earn games. Casual Telegram-based video games like Hamster Kombat and Notcoin have, in recent months, attracted millions of users with the promise of earning crypto tokens.

With the new investment, Bitget and Foresight plan to "engage more deeply in the TON blockchain governance and future development plans," the companies said. "This investment will be allocated through the acquisition of TON tokens," according to a statement. 

The TON-based projects present a strong use case for mass adoption through the Telegram ecosystem, which has seen substantial growth in recent years as it expands its offerings for web3 startups. "The surge of the TON ecosystem represents the biggest growth opportunity in the cryptocurrency market this year," The Block Chairman and Foresight Ventures' co-founder and CEO Forest Bai said.

Although Telegram and TON operate independently, the messaging app and protocol work in lockstep.