The Open Network, aka TON, has been on a tear since late February. TVL has skyrocketed 34x since the beginning of the year, reaching over $750 million as of the time of recording. The price of TON has more than tripled from about $2 to $7, and daily active addresses recently exceeded those of Ethereum in May and June. Games with fun names like Hamster Kombat and Catizen are gaining traction, and Pantera Capital, an OG crypto investor, is making its largest investments yet in TON.  In this episode, Alena Shmalko and Jack Booth from the TON Foundation discuss how TON has managed to garner this traction, especially after a rocky start when the SEC went after the original founder, Telegram. Show highlights: 00:00 Intro 02:13 Alena’s and Jack’s backgrounds and how they ended up at TON 05:35 How TON evolved from its origins with Telegram to its current status and how it began getting traction this year, according to Jack 11:21 How The Open League helped TON grow its TVL and other important metrics 15:40 How Telegram's collaboration with TON has evolved through time and how much they work together 24:47 Whether there are plans for TON to integrate with apps beyond Telegram 30:15 What in TON’s architecture allows it to be extremely scalable 33:20 The mechanics of Notcoin and why it has been so successful 36:49 Whether the rise of games like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat can be sustainable 46:05 The importance of USDT in Ton 51:53 When might a Bitcoin trustless bridge be deployed and why it could be significant 54:43 Whether TON is being used by criminals and what could be done to combat it 58:59 What strategies will lead TON to have $1 billion in TVL by the end of the year Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Polkadot Guests: Alena Shmalko, Ecosystem Lead at the TON Foundation Jack Booth, Director of Marketing at the TON Foundation Links Previous coverage on Unchained of TON: Could Telegram-Associated TON Blockchain Be the 'Next Solana' and Challenge Ethereum? Layer 2 Networks Are Arriving on the Telegram-Associated TON Blockchain  TON Blockchain's Stablecoin Transfer Volume Reaches Record $299 Million on US Independence Day  What Is Telegram's Ads Network on TON And How Will It Impact Advertisers & Creators? History & Structure TON roadmap CoinDesk:  Telegram Abandons TON Blockchain Project After Court Fight With SEC Telegram Agrees to Pay $18.5M Penalty in SEC Settlement Over Failed TON Offering Messaging App Telegram Gives Endorsement to TON Project; Token Surges Cointelegraph: Telegram ad platform to launch via TON blockchain Notcoin: Decrypt: What's Next for Notcoin? Becoming the 'Netflix of Social, Viral Games' Notcoin, a Free Telegram Game Based on the TON Blockchain, Surges in Popularity Hamster Kombat Cointelegraph: Hamster Kombat destined for Guinness World Record?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices