The TON Foundation has officially introduced TON Pay, a new software development kit (SDK) designed to transform Telegram into a financial settlement layer. According to the release issued this Monday, the tool will allow merchants and Mini App developers to accept digital assets natively, facilitating cryptocurrency payments for over 1.1 billion monthly active users worldwide.
This strategic launch, which seeks to simplify the end-consumer experience, eliminates traditional frictions when managing wallet infrastructure and complex checkout flows. By integrating this system, Telegram positions itself as a commerce hub based on blockchain, allowing for rapid transactions that promise to execute in under a second with average fees below one cent per transaction.
Native integration and scalability in the Telegram Mini Apps ecosystem
On the other hand, TON Foundation’s vice president of payments, Nikola Plecas, highlighted that the SDK is wallet-agnostic for the customer. In this way, merchants will be able to receive Toncoin and the Tether stablecoin without the need for deep technical configurations, driving a massive adoption of payments using crypto. The goal is to compete directly with traditional fiat systems in terms of efficiency.
Likewise, the organization’s initial focus is on refining the experience within Telegram Mini Apps before expanding to web environments. Nonetheless, on-chain Telegram-based commerce represents a massive market opportunity that the foundation plans to exploit through future updates that will include subscriptions and gasless transactions, removing entry barriers for users who lack advanced technical knowledge about the network.
In addition, the development team plans to partner with local providers for custody, compliance, and fiat conversion services across various regions. Therefore, this architecture seeks to balance blockchain technology decentralization with global regulatory demands, offering optional analytics tools and wallets based on multi-party computation for merchants who choose to adopt this new digital collection infrastructure.
How does TON Pay plan to compete in the race for everything apps?
On the other hand, the arrival of TON Pay occurs at a time when platforms like Elon Musk’s X are also seeking to integrate financial services under the “everything app” concept. Due to this competition, TON is accelerating its deployment to consolidate its competitive advantage by leveraging Telegram’s existing user base. However, the deep integration with messaging continues to generate skepticism regarding the project’s decentralization.
Nevertheless, the TON Foundation maintains that its network is open and allows any developer to build solutions freely and without permission. By addressing critical challenges such as high gas fees and onboarding complexity, cryptocurrency payments could finally reach a daily consumer scale. Meanwhile, merchants will have to comply with Telegram’s platform policies to operate legally within this ecosystem.
It is also relevant to consider that the success of this initiative will depend on mitigating scams and unofficial projects that have previously affected the network’s reputation. Therefore, the implementation of an official SDK provides a necessary layer of security and standardization to attract large retail brands. In this way, the TON ecosystem seeks to improve its image while expanding its practical utility toward the real world.
Finally, the evolution of TON Pay will mark a milestone in how users interact with digital money within social networks. It is expected that the expansion toward off-app payments and regional fiat exit solutions will strengthen the value of the TON network, positioning Telegram as a serious rival to neobanks and traditional payment processors in an increasingly interconnected digital economy today.
