Telegram Blockchain Startup Top raises $28.5 million at a $1 billion valuation

Fintech specialist Libbit Capital led the round and brought in participation from Crypto VC Pantera Capital. The pay raise was about 5% of the stock, and did not include cryptocurrency allocations, said Andrew Rogozov, the founder and CEO of the open platform. luck. He added that the open platform, which calls itself the TOP, has raised a total of more than $70 million in multiple funding rounds.

Top is one of the leading companies working on blockchain apps called Open Network or Ton. And its blockchain is closely linked to Telegram, one of the world’s most popular messaging apps. It’s a complex mishmash of entities, but the result is that the TOP is leading the integration of Crypto into an app with over 1 billion users. According to Pavel Durov, founder of this telegram.

VCS is salivating saliva in that reach. Investors at Ribbit Capital and Pantera pointed to Telegram’s large user base in a statement included in a Top’s Raise press release. “We’ve been working hard to get the better of our customers,” said Ryan Bernie, a partner at Pantera.

And they’re not the only ones who are excited. In March, another entity tied to the blockchain, Ton Foundation; I said VCs such as Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Ventures, Draper Associates and, of course, Ribbit had accumulated $400 million tonnes of cryptocurrency.

Telegram wallet

Just like the mishmash of entities involved in Telegram’s selected blockchain, the origins of top, ton and toncoins are far from simple.

In 2018, Durov raised $1.7 billion after selling cryptocurrency to support the development of a blockchain called the Telegram Open Network (Ton). In 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission was filed to stop what it claimed to be an illegal securities offering, and in 2020 a telegram was settled with the regulator. The messaging app has agreed to return more than $1.2 billion to investors and pay a $18.5 million fine.

Telegram appeared to be at a distance from Crypto, but other developers continued to tackle behind the scenes, including Rogozov.

2023 Television It’s anointed A new version of Ton as an exclusive blockchain. That same year, Rogozov incorporated the top, according to the Abu Dhabi business registry, where the company is based.

Top is the main developer behind Ton’s most well-known Crypto wallet, and is appropriately called Telegram’s Wallet. Outside the US and Europe, Telegram, an app, integrates the wallet into the main menu, making it available to users in Russia, Asia and other regions.

Rogozov plans to expand his wallet to the US and Europe using a new injection of capital. “We need to support everything related to compliance, operations, etc., right?” he said. “It’s very expensive to build.”

He and his team also plan to use the money to incubate other ton-based projects, such as blockchain games and AI applications.

In the top Series A, Ribbit acquired around 4% of the company, while Pantera won around 1%, Rogozov said. The company’s early supporters are Dubai investment company VY Capital and Russian investor Dmitry Eremeev. Kingsway Capital and Brevan Howard are also supporters, according to the Abu Dhabi business registry.