At the HSC Asset Management conference in Hong Kong on February 12, 2026, a panel of industry leaders gathered to examine a phrase that has become shorthand for a much more complex reality: “Active Capital Beats Passive Liquidity.”

Andrey Fedorov, CMO & CBDO at STON.fi Dev, moderated the discussion, joined by Kingsley Advani (Allocations), Lingling Jiang (DWF Labs), Alice Suen (Amber Premium), and Robert Mkrtchian (Edge Capital).

Andrey Fedorov opened the session by pushing past the slogan. He asked the speakers to define what “active,” “passive,” and especially “beats” actually mean when applied to real-world capital deployment.

What do we actually mean by “active” and “passive”?

Fedorov started the discussion by observing that how people understand “active” and “passive” depends heavily on how you define the terms, and that most strategies probably live somewhere in between.

Kingsley Advani immediately validated this framing:

“I’d say we’re somewhere in between active and passive… we’re not monitoring our positions every hour and we’re also not leaving it in for a year without touching it.”

What became clear in these opening minutes is that the line between active and passive is not a border but a spectrum. The most sophisticated strategies intentionally live in the crossroads, drawing on elements of both.

What does it actually mean to “beat” the market?

Having established baseline definitions, Fedorov pushed further. When we say active capital “beats” passive liquidity, he asked, what does “beats” actually mean? Higher returns? Lower drawdowns? Something else entirely? The question forced the panel to move beyond marketing language and into measurable outcomes.

The panel unanimously rejected the idea that “beating” the market means simply finding the highest APY.

“If in the end, the share ratio stays the same, I don’t think it’s worth doing all this active management for nothing.” — Lingling Jiang

Lingling Jiang introduced the concept of the Sharpe ratio, arguing that “beating” passive means achieving a higher risk-adjusted return, not just a higher yield. Alice Suen added that true success means building a resilient strategy that can withstand bear, bull, and sideways markets alike.

“The word beat… is more on having a resilient strategy across all cycles.” — Alice Suen

“Beating” the market is about efficiency and resilience, not just maximizing APY.

How should strategies change with market conditions?

Alice Suen framed active and passive as complementary forces — the driver navigating the track and the engine providing the foundation — not opposing choices. Robert Mkrtchian stated that the presence of both types of liquidity is essential for driving the overall market.

Kingsley Advani and Lingling Jiang both noted that the optimal balance shifts with the cycle:

• In volatile bull or bear markets, more active opportunities arise, such as arbitrage.
• In sideways markets, passive strategies like stablecoin yields can be safer and preferable.

A resilient portfolio dynamically rebalances its active and passive exposure based on the market environment.

What role will AI and new tools play?

Returning to the theme of complexity, Fedorov asked whether there comes a point where strategies become too complicated to make sense — and whether new tools might help solve that problem. The question acknowledged that for many participants, the barrier to active management isn’t willingness, but capability.

“I think AI agents will help us a lot this year to generate more APY with less effort. We’ll have Telegram bots that ping us: Hey, this pool is at risk!” — Kingsley Advani

He predicted that AI agents and automation will lower the cost of active management, providing real-time risk alerts and executing strategies automatically. Both Advani and Mkrtchian highlighted the growing importance of insurance protocols, such as OpenCover, as a tool to mitigate smart contract risk.

“This is the price which you need to pay if you want to survive in markets like these.” — Robert Mkrtchian, on buying insurance

What once required a dedicated risk team might soon be handled by software. The panel’s message was clear: the tools are catching up to the complexity. Active management is becoming something you can delegate.

How do institutions navigate this landscape?

As traditional capital enters the space, new requirements emerge. During the panel, three critical hurdles for institutional adoption were identified:

• Smart contract risk
• Integration with regulator-approved custodians
• KYC/AML compliance, including the risk of sharing pools with sanctioned entities

Advani and Mkrtchian agreed the space needs a balance of regulated and unregulated platforms — regulated ones to attract traditional capital, and transparent, unregulated ones to foster innovation, citing Hyperliquid as an example of an unregulated platform that surpassed Coinbase in derivatives volume with a tiny team.

Advani noted that currently, many institutions prefer synthetic exposure through Digital Asset Tokens rather than direct DeFi deposits, as this provides a familiar public markets wrapper for on-chain strategies.

This is the tension that defines the current moment: institutions want the yields that DeFi generates, but they need the guardrails they’re used to. Solving that doesn’t mean choosing one side — it means building bridges.

What’s next

The panel’s forward-looking statements pointed to three clear patterns:

1. AI-powered active management. AI agents will become standard tools for automating yield strategies and providing proactive risk monitoring.
2. The rise of liquidity aggregation & chain abstraction. Lingling Jiang explicitly called for a future where trading crypto is as simple as trading traditional assets — one click accessing all liquidity, solving current fragmentation across L1s and L2s.
3. The TradFi/DeFi merge. Moderator Andrey Fedorov synthesized the panel’s collective vision as AI agents operating on unified liquidity to create a seamless experience, bridging the gap between traditional and on-chain finance.

Final thoughts

The “Active Capital Beats Passive Liquidity” debate is not a question of choosing sides, but of mastering balance. Success in the next era of crypto will belong to those who can dynamically navigate market cycles, leverage new tools like AI and insurance to manage risk, and build bridges between the freedom of DeFi and the security requirements of traditional finance.

At Blockchain Life 2025, one of the most anticipated conversations focused on a question every builder keeps asking: What will it take to onboard the next billion users into crypto? The panel brought together three leaders shaping the TON and Telegram mini-app ecosystem:

• Andrey Fedorov, CMO & CBDO of STON.fi Dev
• Gleb Kostarev, CEO of Blum
• Kirill Malev, Venture Adviser at The Open Platform

While perspectives differed, the discussion ultimately converged on a powerful theme — mass adoption isn’t a single moment but a shift in how users experience blockchain.

The real definition of mass adoption

Andrey Fedorov from STON.fi Dev set the tone early with a straightforward benchmark:

“Mass adoption begins when people use blockchain without realizing they’re using blockchain.”

This framing resonated strongly: crypto doesn’t go mainstream through education alone — it goes mainstream by disappearing into the background. Apps must simply work. Seamlessly. Instantly. Inside the environments where users already live — which today means Telegram.

Kirill Malev from The Open Platform added that we are already past the first adopter wave; multiple waves are now rolling in. What matters is how effectively builders capitalize on this momentum.

After the 2024 surge, is TON still growing?

The panel addressed the elephant in the room: 2024 brought massive spikes in TON-native activity — and equally sharp cooldowns. But is the story over?

All panelists agreed: not at all.

Gleb Kostarev from Blum pointed out that the slowdown isn’t unique to TON — many ecosystems built on unsustainable airdrop models are now recalibrating.

Fedorov emphasized that ecosystems move through narratives, and narratives fade. What endures are real use cases:

“If it were game over, none of us would be here building. Telegram enables real use cases — our task is to leverage them.”

Telegram still onboarded hundreds of millions of new users in the last two years. The long-term opportunity remains enormous — provided builders shift from hype cycles to durable value.

What are the actual bottlenecks?

Instead of pointing fingers at tooling or chain complexity, the speakers took a more grounded view of what’s slowing things down.

Fedorov emphasized that TON already attracts top-tier blockchain engineers — so technical capability isn’t the issue. The real challenge today is simply figuring out which use cases truly matter. The ecosystem is full of experiments, and many will naturally disappear. That’s part of the process.

Kostarev added that user onboarding has improved dramatically, especially with Telegram mini-apps where people can open a Web3 experience instantly, without downloads or sign-ups.

So what’s left as the real bottleneck? A mix of education, product-market fit, and creating experiences where users don’t have to think about blockchain at all.

Where should builders focus next?

When asked which verticals are most promising, Fedorov gave a contrarian but important answer:

“We actually need more DEXs and more DeFi protocols. Real competition drives innovation.”

But he quickly added that the biggest opportunity isn’t a specific product category — it’s a distribution layer: Telegram mini-apps.

They already function as the building blocks of a crypto super-app, and will soon become the default way users interact with Web3 on mobile.

Malev pushed the conversation further: the ecosystem now needs consumer apps — utilities, lifestyle products, entertainment — not solely financial primitives.

Kostarev noted two especially high-potential categories:

• Stablecoin-powered neobanks, built directly into Telegram
• Content and creator monetization, leveraging influencers’ native reach

Where TON is headed next

The panel wrapped with predictions for the coming year. Across the board, a clear pattern emerged:

1. A new wave of consumer apps — especially gaming and gamified experiences.

Games are easy to understand and instantly engaging — perfect for onboarding.

2. A parallel wave of infrastructure projects.

Consumer apps can only scale if infra keeps up — especially execution, liquidity routing, and abstraction layers.

As Fedorov summarized:

“Consumer apps will grow, but they don’t work without strong infrastructure. We’ll see both expand together.”

Final thoughts

Blockchain Life’s panel made one thing clear: Mass adoption isn’t waiting for a future moment — it’s being built right now, inside Telegram, one seamless user experience at a time.

And as the TON ecosystem evolves past airdrop-driven hype cycles, the next wave of growth will come from products that hide complexity, deliver practical value, and integrate crypto into everyday digital life.

Omniston’s liquidity aggregation protocol has been upgraded with a foundational new execution layer: escrow swaps. Already live and powering xStocks swaps on STON.fi, this model enables direct Asset-1 → Asset-2 trades, operating in parallel with traditional decentralized exchange (DEX) routing.

Of course. Here is the new section for your article, incorporating the provided details to give a more comprehensive explanation of what Omniston is and its role for liquidity providers.

What is Omniston? The Liquidity Aggregator for TON

Beyond being a cross-chain bridge, Omniston functions as a decentralized liquidity aggregation protocol built specifically for the TON Blockchain. It acts as the central nervous system for TON DeFi, connecting disparate sources of liquidity into one efficient network.

Here’s how it works and why it matters for your liquidity:

Revolutionizing TON DeFi with Aggregation: Instead of liquidity being fragmented across individual exchanges (DEXs) and professional market makers, Omniston creates a single, powerful network. It scans all connected sources to find the best possible swap rate for any trade.

Connectivity is Key: Omniston doesn’t hold liquidity itself. Instead, it connects to multiple DEXs and professional RFQ (Request-for-Quote) resolvers. This creates a wide and deep liquidity pool that no single venue could match on its own.

Directing Swaps to You: When a user initiates a swap through any application integrated with Omniston, the protocol’s smart routing algorithm automatically finds the best price. If the best rate for, say, a TON/USDT swap is in the pool where you’ve provided liquidity, that trade is routed directly to it.

Built for TON: Because it is optimized from the ground up for the TON Blockchain, it leverages TON’s speed and low fees to perform this complex aggregation and routing almost instantaneously.

For you as a liquidity provider, this means your deposited tokens have a far greater reach. Your pool isn’t just waiting for users on one specific DEX interface; it’s visible and accessible to the entire aggregated ecosystem. This significantly increases the likelihood of your liquidity being utilized, which translates to earning more trading fees passively.

This article details the mechanics of escrow swaps, their significance for the ecosystem, and their role in the long-term roadmap for Omniston.

Escrow swaps represent a critical step toward our envisioned architecture: a unified execution engine where diverse liquidity models — from DEX pools and OTC resolvers to specialized smart contracts and future TON — based mechanisms — compete on a level playing field. Users interact with one seamless swap interface, while the protocol dynamically evaluates these distinct execution pathways to secure the optimal result for every trade.

Why This Is a Significant Development

The integration of escrow swaps introduces a novel execution model to the TON ecosystem: resolver-driven, escrow-based trades capable of sourcing liquidity from private OTC venues in addition to public decentralized exchange (DEX) pools.

Historically, Omniston aggregated liquidity exclusively from connected DEX pools. While these pools offer depth and complex multi-step routing, they are inherently limited to public Automated Market Maker (AMM) liquidity, which often requires trades to pass through a series of intermediate tokens.

Escrow contracts change this dynamic. They enable direct Asset-1 → Asset-2 swaps, powered by resolver-provided pricing. This breakthrough allows Omniston to access private OTC liquidity, which can deliver superior pricing and execution compared to standard AMM routes, especially under specific market conditions.

💡 A Real-World Application: xStocks

xStocks — Tokenized assets from Backed Finance — are the first to utilize this new escrow execution layer on Omniston. Rather than depending on public pool liquidity, xStocks swaps are fulfilled through private OTC liquidity, facilitated by escrow contracts that connect users to competitive resolvers. Each xStock is fully backed 1:1 by real-world assets, functions seamlessly as a TON jetton in any wallet, and now enjoys institutional-grade trade execution with complete on-chain transparency.

Our Technical Achievement

We have successfully built and integrated a dedicated escrow swap smart contract into Omniston. This innovation establishes escrow swaps as a fundamental, native execution layer within our protocol, operating in parallel with traditional DEX routing. Every settlement is autonomously enforced on-chain.

The process is fully automated for the user. Omniston’s aggregation engine dynamically evaluates all available options, both DEX pools and OTC escrow routes, and autonomously selects the most cost-effective path based on real — time price and execution parameters.

Secure & Fully Decentralized

Our escrow swaps keep STON.fi’s promise of complete decentralization. Every trade is handled by on-chain smart contracts with atomic settlement: the trade either finishes completely or doesn’t happen at all. While resolvers supply price data, they never hold user funds or control the trade. This gives you high-quality execution while keeping you in full control.

Benefits for Users

Users get access to more liquidity and better pricing through direct OTC competition. Swaps are simpler and safer. The system allows direct token-to-token trades, removing extra steps and the risk of holding unwanted interim tokens.

The direct Asset-1-to-Asset-2 exchange also eliminates scenarios where a multi-hop route might leave a user holding an intermediate asset.

The experience stays easy — you just click “Swap.” Behind the scenes, Omniston intelligently compares different trading methods to find you the absolute best option.

The Protocol’s Future Path

Escrow swaps are a key step in a bigger plan: to make Omniston a powerful execution engine. Here, different models — AMMs, OTC desks, and future systems — compete equally. The protocol will always pick the best result for the user.

As the TON ecosystem expands with new liquidity sources, Omniston will be the hub where they all meet. Adding escrow swaps is our first move in that direction.

This guide explains how to use your idle tokens by adding them to liquidity pools on decentralized exchanges. You’ll learn the basics of DeFi liquidity, understand the real risks involved, and get a step-by-step guide to adding liquidity to a TON pool in under 15 minutes.

The Essentials:

• Liquidity pools are smart contracts that hold two tokens. They let users swap between them instantly, without needing a direct buyer or seller.
• You deposit two tokens of equal value into a pool. In return, you receive an LP token, which is your receipt. This activity provides a share of the trading fees from swaps.
• The biggest risk is impermanent loss, which occurs when the prices of your pooled tokens change at different rates. Stablecoin pairs have less risk; volatile pairs have more.
• Check your pool’s rates weekly and pay attention to reward programs. Bonus rewards can change or end suddenly.

How Liquidity Pools Function

ℹ️ A liquidity pool is a digital smart contract that holds two tokens — like TON and USDT. It lets users swap tokens instantly, without waiting for another person to match their trade. Traditional exchanges use order books, where you wait for a buyer or seller to accept your offer. Pools remove that wait.

Instead of matching traders, a pool uses a fixed formula to set the exchange rate. This rate changes based on the balance of tokens in the pool. Adding TON makes its price in USDT drop; removing TON makes its price rise. Swaps run 24/7 automatically.

Users can also add tokens to the pool and share in the small fee charged for each swap.

For example, a pool with 10 TON and 100 USDT might give you about 9.9 USDT for 1 TON. This is slightly less than the original 10:100 ratio because your trade changes the pool balance. This difference is called slippage, which is greater for larger trades.

Because pools are open to all and always available, decentralized exchanges can offer trading without an order book. Larger trades get a less favorable rate for this same reason.

How Pools Determine Swap Prices

The pricing formula used by AMM pools is simpler than it sounds. A basic rule keeps the pool in balance: adding one token causes the pool to release an amount of the other. The main outcome is straightforward — the more of one token you trade, the less you receive per unit of the other.

A small trade has little effect on the pool’s balance, so the price you get stays close to the one displayed. A large trade shifts the balance more, so each additional unit becomes more costly. This is why breaking a big trade into smaller ones can sometimes improve the overall rate.

ℹ️ Slippage is the difference between the estimated swap price and the final price you receive. Your slippage tolerance is a setting that caps how much the price can move before the trade is canceled. If the price shifts beyond your limit, the transaction won’t go through and your tokens remain yours (minus network fees).

You can also take part from the other side: by contributing tokens to the pool, you help enable swaps and receive a share of the small fees collected from traders.

Becoming a liquidity provider

To help provide liquidity, you typically deposit two tokens that have an equal total value. For example, if TON has a value of five dollars, you would deposit 10 TON along with 50 USDT to keep your contribution balanced. Pools require this balance so the pricing formula works correctly when new tokens are added.

Make sure you keep a small amount of TON separate in your wallet. This is to cover the network fees needed to approve and complete your deposit.

Five-minute checklist

1. Open STON.fi and connect your wallet using the browser extension or mobile app.
2. Tap Pools, then select the pair. You may start with TON/USDt or another lower-volatility stablecoin pair from the list.
3. Enter the amount of one asset, e.g. TON in the deposit box; the amount of the other token will be calculated automatically.
4. Confirm operation; wait a few seconds and check your wallet for the new LP token.

ℹ️ This LP token shows your share of the pool. If you added 10 TON to a pool containing 2,000 TON, you own 0.5% of the total liquidity. Each trade through the pool creates a small fee. Your share of the fees is based on your share of the pool. When you later remove your tokens, you exchange the LP token back. The pool will then return your original tokens, plus any fees collected during the time they were in the pool.

Keeping Track of Your Tokens

Make a simple habit of checking your pool about once a week. Conditions can change — like new pools being added or activity shifting — and a quick check helps make sure your funds are still where you want them.

To take your tokens back, select “Withdraw”, choose the percentage you want to remove, and confirm. The pool will take back your LP token and give you your original two tokens plus any fees that built up while they were in the pool. The exact amounts you get back may be different from what you put in if the token prices have changed since your deposit — this is sometimes called price divergence.

ℹ️ Impermanent loss occurs when the relative prices of the two tokens you deposit into a pool move apart.

Here’s a simple example:

You deposit 1 TON and 5 USDT when 1 TON is worth $5, so your total deposit is valued at $10

If TON’s price later doubles to $10, the pool rebalances your share to keep its formula in check

When you withdraw, you receive fewer TON and more USDT than you originally deposited

This adjusted mix can be worth less than if you had simply held the original 1 TON and 5 USDT separately

The effect tends to be larger with volatile pairs, for example TON paired with a token that swings hard
It is usually smaller with stablecoin pairs because the two prices stay much closer together

How Omniston Expands Your TON Liquidity Reach

Omniston is the primary cross-chain bridge within the TON ecosystem, designed to securely bring assets like USDT and USDC from other major blockchains (like Ethereum and BNB Chain) onto TON. By locking these assets in secure smart contracts on their native chains and minting corresponding “wrapped” versions (like jUSDT) on TON, Omniston acts as the foundational plumbing for deep, multi-chain liquidity.

When you provide liquidity to a pool with a wrapped asset like jUSDT, you’re not just supplying a single DEX. You are contributing to a broad, interconnected liquidity base. Aggregators and smart routers can tap into this unified liquidity across the entire TON DeFi landscape, significantly increasing the chance that your pool will be used for swaps.

This means your liquidity works harder. Instead of being isolated on one exchange, it becomes part of a network-wide system, leading to potentially higher fee generation from a greater volume of cross-chain and on-chain trades.

Wrapping Up

Liquidity pools enable you to support continuous token swaps and accumulate fees when your pool is active. For those just starting, stablecoin pairs offer a simpler introduction, allowing you to learn the deposit and withdrawal process with less exposure to price divergence. Make it a habit to review your pool’s activity weekly and note when any incentive programs are scheduled to end.

While a typical decentralized exchange operates within one blockchain, a cross-chain DEX extends this capability. It allows users to trade tokens between different blockchains directly and securely, without using external bridging services or relying on centralized companies.

ℹ️ A cross-chain decentralized exchange is a platform that allows users to trade tokens from different blockchains directly. It uses smart contracts to enable these trades without requiring users to trust a third party to hold their assets.

Simply put, you can exchange a token from the TON blockchain for a token on Ethereum in a single, seamless transaction — with no intermediary ever holding or controlling your assets.

The Importance of Cross-Chain Swaps

Each blockchain operates as a separate system with its own rules and native assets. Networks like TON, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana function independently from one another. Traditionally, moving assets between these separate systems has required a bridge — a service that holds tokens on one chain and creates a corresponding version on another.

While bridges are functional, they come with significant risk. They have a history of being vulnerable to security breaches, and if assets are held incorrectly or mismanaged, users often have few options to recover them.

A cross-chain DEX offers an alternative method. Rather than creating synthetic tokens, it connects real assets across blockchains using smart contracts, liquidity pools, and on-chain verification. The outcome is a single, transparent environment for trading between ecosystems, where users retain full control of their funds throughout the process.

The Technology Behind a CDEX

Behind a simple interface, a cross-chain DEX operates by coordinating several technical layers that work together to move value between networks:

1. Smart Contracts manage the trading rules on each blockchain. They are programmed so that if any step fails, the entire transaction is reversed — ensuring funds are never left at risk.

2. Oracles act as secure messengers that provide external data, such as real-time prices or proof that a transaction was completed on another chain. They inform the smart contracts when it is safe to proceed to the next step.

3. Arbitrageurs — Independent Participants help align prices across different blockchains. By taking advantage of small price differences, they help ensure exchange rates across pools stay in line with broader market prices.

4. Liquidity Pools supply the actual tokens for trading. The broader and deeper these pools are across various chains, the more reliable and efficient the swaps can be.

These elements work in unison to create a seamless trading experience without needing a centralized company to hold user funds.

A Simple Walkthrough

Let’s say you want to trade TON for USDT on Ethereum.

1. You connect your wallet to the CDEX, select TON and USDT, and confirm the trade.

2. A smart contract securely holds your TON on the TON blockchain.

3. An oracle verifies this is complete and signals a corresponding smart contract on Ethereum.

4. USDT is then released from a liquidity pool on Ethereum directly to your wallet.

You complete the swap without a bridge, a custodial account, or a synthetic token. Every step is recorded and can be verified on the respective blockchains.

The Role of Liquidity

A cross-chain DEX’s performance and reliability depend entirely on the depth of its available liquidity — the total amount of tokens ready for trading across its connected networks.

Greater liquidity delivers three key benefits:

• smaller price slippage,
• Faster execution, and
• More stable pricing across different blockchains

The core challenge and advantage for any CDEX is efficiently gathering and connecting this liquidity across separate networks. Platforms that master this can provide users with smoother, more cost-effective, and dependable cross-chain trading.

How CDEX Platforms Maintain Security

Security is a fundamental focus for any cross-chain exchange. These platforms protect users through several key methods:

• On-Chain Transparency: All actions are public and verifiable.
• External Audits: Code is reviewed to find issues before use.
• Multiple Oracles: Several data sources prevent false triggers.
• User Custody: You always control your private keys.

While no system is without risk, this approach minimizes vulnerabilities compared to services that hold user assets or rely on central points of control.

The Benefits for Users

A cross-chain DEX turns a previously complex, multi-step process into a single, streamlined transaction.

Instead of:

1. transferring tokens to a bridge,

2. waiting for a synthetic version to be created on another chain, and

3. completing a final trade on a separate DEX,

you can achieve the same result in one simple step. This method is often quicker and more cost-effective.

It also broadens your reach, allowing you to access unique tokens, trading opportunities, or liquidity that may only be available on another blockchain — all without switching wallets or using multiple platforms.

Projects Advancing Cross-Chain Swaps

Early initiatives such as Hashbon Rocket and O3Swap provided the first working examples of decentralized cross-chain trading. They proved that separate blockchains could interact directly, without the need for a central custodian.

Current developments are evolving this concept further. Newer platforms prioritize the direct transfer of assets, pull together liquidity from more sources, and create a simpler interface — all while integrating more deeply into networks like TON.

Addressing the Technical Challenges

Executing a swap across different blockchains is a complex task. It requires secure communication between networks that operate on fundamentally different rules — like Ethereum’s account system versus the architecture of TON or Bitcoin.

Networks also process transactions at different speeds. To manage this, systems use oracles and automated verifiers. These tools confirm that each step of a trade is finalized correctly before proceeding.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is simplifying the process for the user. Leading platforms now handle all the underlying coordination, making a multi-chain transaction feel as straightforward and seamless as a trade on a single network.

The Path Forward for Cross-Chain DeFi

As the digital asset space continues to develop, user experience will likely shift toward simplicity. Users will expect to move tokens freely across networks, with as little friction as sending a message from one service to another.

Cross-chain DEXes are pioneering this seamless future. Within the TON ecosystem and across the broader landscape, the direction is evident: decentralized finance is transitioning from a collection of separate networks into a single, interconnected system of liquidity — one that is open, transparent, and accessible to everyone.

Summary of Key Points

A CDEX enables direct and secure token trades between different blockchains. It achieves this by using smart contracts, reliable data feeds, independent participants, and liquidity pools, all without requiring a custodian to hold user assets. The effectiveness of these platforms largely depends on the depth and variety of available liquidity. For users, this results in a simpler process — fewer steps, reduced wait times, and complete control over their own funds.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is often shown as a strange, powerful force that will either rescue or end humankind. In reality, it’s been a part for your life for some time now, helping you. It’s the technology that alerts you to a strange transaction, blocks spam in your messages, or translates complex crypto details into simple terms. This is how AI is slowly making the decentralized internet, or Web3, more helpful, intuitive, and secure.

Web3 vs. Web3.0: Same Goal, Different Paths

Both Web3 and Web3.0 are trying to solve the problems of the current internet, but they do it in different ways.

Web3 is built on blockchain technology. It lets you own your digital assets and control your identity directly through your own wallet, instead of relying on a central company like a bank or social media platform.

Web3.0 (sometimes called the “semantic web”) is about teaching computers to understand the meaning behind data. The goal is for machines to grasp context, connect different pieces of information, and communicate with us in normal, everyday language.

Think of them as two parts of a better internet.

• Web3 provides the trust and ownership;
• Web3.0 provides the understanding.

Artificial intelligence acts as the essential link between them — it’s the “translator” that allows people, computer code, and information to work together smoothly.

AI’s Role in a Decentralized World

The information on a blockchain is open for everyone to see, but it’s often too complex to understand. Every second, thousands of automated trades occur, smart contracts execute, and assets change wallets — creating a data stream too vast for any person to follow.

AI serves as the guide. It can read a smart contract and explain its outcome in plain language, identify potential fraud, and turn endless data rows into meaningful insights.

Beyond that, AI introduces something like intuition to the internet. It learns from trends, anticipates what might happen next, and responds in an instant. The outcome is a better user experience: reduced risk of scams, more intuitive app designs, and services that just work smarter for you.

Where You’ve Already Seen AI in Web3

If you’ve interacted with crypto or decentralized apps, you’ve likely encountered AI without even realizing it.

Smarter Wallets: Modern digital wallets can alert you if a token looks like a scam, warn you about phishing sites, or break down what a transaction does before you approve it. That’s AI working in the background, reading data and spotting risks in real time.

Safer Swapping: Some decentralized trading platforms now use AI to detect market manipulation or unusual price swings. The system can flag sketchy trading pools or automatically suggest a safer path for your trade.

Intuitive Search: In the past, finding something on-chain meant pasting a long, confusing address. New AI-enhanced tools let you ask simple questions, like “Show me all NFTs owned by this address,” and actually get clear answers.

Better Communities: Social platforms in Web3 rely on AI to remove spam, identify bots, and keep conversations genuine — something anyone in a busy online group will appreciate.

Personalized Dashboard: Portfolio trackers and NFT gallery apps can now organize your digital assets by various filters, highlighting new activity or important items rather than showing everything in a random list.

Adding Meaning to Data

If Web3 gives you ownership of your data, Web3.0 is about making that data truly useful. Artificial Intelligence is what powers this next step, helping machines actually understand the information they process and not just store it.

Imagine asking the internet a specific question like: “Show me projects I interacted with that have added DAO voting recently,” and receiving a direct, accurate answer instead of pages of search results. This is what AI-driven Web3.0 looks like: capable of understanding context, communicating naturally, and offering personalization without compromising your privacy.

A Real-World Example

Think of your TON wallet as a smart personal assistant. You use it to connect to different decentralized apps. Usually, you’d need to carefully review complicated contract code before approving any transaction. But now, an AI layer checks it first.

It might notice that a contract is asking for permission to move more tokens than normal and flag it as risky. You then get a simple warning you can actually understand, like: “This request would grant access to all your STON tokens. Are you sure?”

That’s more than just convenience — it’s real-time security.

For everyday users, this is where AI makes the biggest difference: working quietly in the background as a translator and a safety net.

The Advantages You Experience

• Enhanced security. AI identifies potentially dangerous activity more swiftly than people. It can block numerous wallet breaches and phishing attempts by recognizing and alerting you to threats sooner.
• Reduced clutter. Intelligent dashboards and feeds prioritize crucial information, filtering out unimportant alerts and data overload.
• Superior assistance. AI helpers can condense lengthy support conversations and complex transaction histories, translating technical details into simple terms.
• Tailored experiences, with privacy intact. You retain full control over your information. The AI only uses the data you explicitly provide to highlight what’s useful, avoiding the invasive tracking common on other platforms.

Separating Reality from Hype

It’s important to recognize that not everything requires an AI solution. Simply labeling a crypto application “AI-powered” doesn’t automatically make it better. For straightforward, rules-based processes — like computing staking rewards — traditional, clear logic is often sufficient and more efficient.

AI truly shines in ambiguous areas: interpreting language, identifying unusual behavior, assessing complex risks, and facilitating discovery. These are the domains where humans typically depend on experience and gut feeling.

Potential and Boundaries

While AI can significantly enhance the safety and usability of Web3, it also presents new challenges. Who is responsible for auditing an AI’s recommendations? How do we prevent algorithmic bias? And what are the consequences if it incorrectly flags a legitimate transaction?

The solution lies in thoughtful design. The most effective frameworks employ AI as an advisor, not an autocrat. They provide transparent explanations for their suggestions and ultimately leave the final decision in the user’s hands. This approach safeguards the foundational principles of Web3: self-custody and user autonomy.

What’s On the Horizon?

We can expect AI to become more seamlessly integrated into wallets, blockchain explorers, and decentralized applications. Rather than appearing as obvious chatbots, it will function as an invisible layer of assistance. This could manifest as AI that auto-completes governance proposals, interprets smart contract code in plain language, or organizes NFT collections based on aesthetic or thematic connections.

Simultaneously, the “semantic” vision of Web 3.0 will continue to evolve — shifting the internet’s focus from linking raw data to connecting genuine meaning. This evolution is what will transform the promise of a smart, decentralized internet from a lofty ideal into a practical, everyday utility.

Key takeaways

• Web3 is fundamentally about user ownership and decentralized architecture.
• Web3.0 emphasizes semantic understanding and user-friendly experience.
• AI bridges these concepts, converting on-chain data into understandable context and clear language.

For the end-user, this synergy translates to more secure digital wallets, transparent information, and a reduced threat of fraud. AI is not designed to supplant human oversight or self-custody; its role is to make managing both significantly simpler.

It feels like ages since NFTs were just a trend for digital collectibles and star-powered projects. That initial excitement has settled into something more substantial. The underlying technology is now tackling real-world problems: proving the origin of a vintage wine, tracing shipments, and enabling unique in-game items.

Here’s a look at how NFT technology is integrating into practical applications — a shift that creates tangible value for consumers, not just speculative traders.

The core idea: At its heart, an NFT is a unique, verifiable digital record of ownership or provenance. This record is maintained on a decentralized, tamper-proof ledger (the blockchain), which prevents duplication and fraud.

This capability first revolutionized how we value digital creations. Its real potential, however, lies in bringing that same level of trust and transparency to physical assets and experiences — from event tickets to luxury goods.

How NFTs Got Practical

The 2020 NFT mania popularized digital collectibles, but it also revealed a key insight. Developers realized the underlying technology, a unique, verifiable digital token, could solve real problems like fraud and lost records.

This shifted the entire focus. NFTs moved beyond just art and speculation toward actual uses, prioritizing transparency and practical benefits for everyday products and services.

Dynamic NFTs: Tokens That Evolve

A newer, smarter kind of NFT has emerged: the dynamic NFT. Unlike the simple, unchanging images of the past, these tokens can update their information based on real-world events or user actions.

Picture a digital passport that modifies itself. For example, a ticket NFT could automatically update as “used” after scanning at the entrance venue. Or, a fitness tracker NFT could visually change as you hit new goals. The token’s core identity stays the same, but its attached data grows and changes.

This ability to evolve creates powerful new applications, blending digital proof with lived experience.

Real-World Use Cases

Event Tickets: Think of an event ticket that can’t be copied. Issued as an NFT, it proves it’s real when you buy it and changes its status after you attend, preventing fraud. This makes transfers easy and lets organizers offer perks to real fans.

Authentic Fashion: Imagine a designer handbag with a digital certificate of authenticity tied to it. You can scan it to see the entire story of that specific bag — where it was made, what it’s made from, and that it’s genuine.

Safe Medicine: To fight dangerous fake drugs, companies can tag medicine shipments with NFTs. This creates a secure, step-by-step record from the factory to the pharmacy that anyone can verify.

Loyalty Programs: An NFT can act as your membership card. Your membership status and rewards are stored securely with the token, which can automatically upgrade as you engage with a brand.

Gaming Items: In video games, NFT items can now grow with you. A sword could become stronger after a big battle, or a character’s appearance could change based on your achievements, with all the upgrades securely recorded.

A quick example: fashion meets blockchain

Imagine buying a new designer jacket. It comes with a digital twin: an NFT containing its entire production story. Later, you decide to sell it. The next owner simply scans a tag, sees the verified history, and immediately trusts its authenticity. There’s no need for third-party verifiers or paper certificates, just a permanent digital proof that stays with the item.

This is an NFT doing practical work behind the scenes.

Why This Evolution Is Important

NFTs are becoming part of digital infrastructure, shifting from collectible items to useful tools. People used to buy NFTs for their appearance; now, the focus is on their function.

This move prioritizes the everyday user. The same technology that secures digital art can now protect your physical purchases, validate medicine, or enhance your event access.

And it’s growing more invisible. Apps are beginning to handle the technical side seamlessly, so you don’t have to think about blockchain — you just get a secure, verifiable record that simply works.

What This Means for You

As these tools become part of everyday apps, you gain concrete benefits:

Transparency: You can instantly verify if something is real without relying on a middleman.

Control: Your digital proofs are stored in your personal digital wallet, not locked inside a company’s app.

Security: The record of what you own is nearly impossible to fake or delete.

Customization: Smart tokens can change and grow based on what you do or achieve.

Value: A clear, trusted history makes it easier and safer to resell items you own.

In essence, this technology makes ownership something you can easily prove, carry with you, and interact with.

The Unseen Shift

You might be using this technology already without knowing it. Companies are starting to build it quietly into things like QR codes on products, digital member cards, or proof-of-purchase emails.

This seamless integration is how it will become commonplace. Just as you don’t need to understand complex internet protocols to use a website, you won’t need to know the technical details behind your digital concert ticket or product authentication. You’ll simply experience the result: a system that works securely, instantly, and everywhere.

The Road Ahead

As Web3 technologies and AI advances, these tokens are poised to become a universal system for digital verification — a trusted layer that proves what you own, what you can access, and where you’ve participated. Whether it’s art, a product, or an experience, this technology will operate in the background, silently guaranteeing authenticity.

Key Takeaways

NFTs are no longer just digital art; their core value is now verification and engagement. Smart, updatable tokens enable entirely new real-world applications. From fashion to medicine, industries are using them to combat counterfeiting and create clear, trustworthy records.

For users, the benefits are tangible: provable ownership, personal control, and strong security — often delivered so seamlessly you don’t see the underlying tech. The real future of this innovation is practical and integrated, weaving itself quietly into the fabric of everyday life.

Blockchain’s potential for investment and growth spurred a wave of innovation, leading to the creation of countless independent blockchains.

While this gave users more choice, it also caused a major problem: fragmentation. Each blockchain operated like a sovereign island, unable to communicate or share digital assets because their underlying protocols were incompatible. They could not understand each other’s rules or execute each other’s smart contracts.

The solution to this fragmentation is interoperability — the capability for different blockchains to connect and share information. This means allowing digital assets and data to move securely between networks while retaining their core properties, which is essential for asset transfers and a truly interconnected ecosystem.

This concept, known as cross-chain compatibility, was first tested with a method called atomic swaps. This early, clunky system worked by destroying an asset on one blockchain and then recreating it on another. Not only was this process slow and expensive, but it also depended on finding a third party willing to act as an intermediary for the swap. Later, centralized cryptocurrency exchanges largely took over this role.

This article will explore the methods for achieving blockchain interoperability and the significant challenges encountered along the way.

Cross-chain technology

By design, blockchains are self-contained. They can only use the data created on their own network and cannot natively access or trust information from the outside world. To overcome this isolation, cross-chain technology serves as the essential framework that makes interoperability possible.

Practical implementations of this technology have evolved far beyond early methods like atomic swaps. For instance, oracles act as trusted data feeds, securely transmitting external information to a blockchain. A more advanced example is the cross-chain smart contract, a programmable agreement that automatically executes on one network when a specific, verified transaction occurs on another, thereby updating the state of both ledgers.

The Mechanics of a Connected Network

Modern blockchains can connect to one another in several ways. The most widely used interoperability methods are outlined below.

Sidechains

A sidechain is a separate blockchain that runs parallel to a main chain. The two chains are linked by a specialized protocol, which enables assets and data to be securely transferred between them using cross‑chain technology.

Notary Schemes

A notary scheme relies on a trusted third party, or a group of parties, to verify and facilitate transfers between two chains. This approach, while often centralized, provides a straightforward bridge for exchanging assets. Centralized exchanges are a common example: they act as the “notary,” holding and transferring assets across different networks.

Oracles

Oracles are services that supply external, off‑chain data to a blockchain. By providing verified real‑world information, oracles enable smart contracts to execute based on events outside their native chain.

Blockchain Routers

A blockchain router operates as a decentralized hub that connects multiple blockchains, similar to spokes on a wheel. It receives, processes, and routes information between different networks, allowing them to communicate without losing data integrity.

Market‑Scale Solutions

Some protocols are built specifically to support interoperability across many blockchains. Polkadot, for example, uses a system of specialized sidechains (parachains) that connect to its central relay chain. Cosmos enables independent blockchains to be created as “zones” that communicate through its Inter‑Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.

Hashed TimeLock Contracts (HTLCs)

HTLCs are smart‑contract mechanisms that enable conditional, time‑locked transactions between chains. Funds are locked on one blockchain until the receiving party provides a cryptographic proof within a set time window. The Bitcoin Lightning Network is a well‑known implementation of HTLCs for fast, off‑chain payments.

The Interoperability Challenge

While the benefits of connecting blockchains are significant:

• enabling seamless asset transfers,
• universal access to Web3 applications,
• more integrated decentralized internet;

Achieving true cross-chain compatibility is fraught with hurdles. The challenges span both technical complexities and fundamental trust models.

First, the immutable nature of blockchain data demands verification before any transfer can occur, as information cannot be altered once hashed. Security remains a persistent concern, with evolving methods of interception and hacking threatening the integrity of data in transit. The process is also inherently constrained by technical limits; smart contracts that act as data carriers can only process a finite amount of information at one time.

Furthermore, blockchains operate on different trust and consensus models. Bridging these divergent systems requires additional protocol layers and translation modules, adding significant complexity to any interoperability solution.

Lastly, connecting networks introduces new risks, such as smaller chains potentially exploiting loopholes to manipulate larger, more established ecosystems. These combined obstacles make interoperability a demanding, yet essential, frontier in blockchain development.

The Path Ahead for Blockchain Connectivity

The methods developed to achieve interoperability will fundamentally shape the direction of blockchain technology over the next ten years.

• Fortunately, numerous projects are actively being built and tested, many with a focus on enabling the next generation of Web3 applications.

However, current commercial solutions like Polkadot and Cosmos, while pioneering, are still imperfect and lack stability. Whether they will achieve widespread, market-scale adoption is a significant question. An even greater challenge lies ahead: compatibility. This creates a pressing need for industry-wide standards to prevent a future where we need new solutions just to connect different interoperability protocols, adding further complexity and strain to networks.

Beyond the technical hurdles, the uncertain and fragmented global regulatory landscape presents another major barrier. Many jurisdictions do not formally recognize blockchain markets, digital assets, or the systems that support them, creating legal ambiguity that hinders large-scale implementation.

Ultimately, the road to seamless, large-scale interoperability remains unclear. With the field currently defined by competing approaches and unresolved challenges, only time will tell which solutions can consolidate this fragmented landscape into a truly connected ecosystem.

Imagine executing a token swap on the TON blockchain with a few lines of Python script. No complex infrastructure, no bulky frameworks — just a clean, simple command. This is the power of combining Omniston’s aggregation engine with Python, bringing sophisticated DeFi routing to any backend service, script, or automated workflow.

What problem does it solve?

This approach solves a fundamental problem for developers: integration sprawl. Traditionally, building a DeFi application that finds the best swap rates meant integrating directly with multiple decentralized exchanges. This forced you to wire up several different APIs, reconcile their unique quirks, and manually compare prices, always wondering if a better deal was lurking on an exchange you hadn’t integrated. The result was a sprawling, high-maintenance codebase that could still deliver suboptimal routes to users.

With Omniston introduction a single integration unifies liquidity across connected venues on TON, automatically calculating and returning the optimal route for every single swap. As the aggregator evolves and adds new liquidity sources, your application improves seamlessly, without any additional work on your end. You are free to focus on building your product’s core features, while Omniston works in the background to ensure you’re always leveraging the best of TON’s market liquidity.

Why does this matter for the TON ecosystem?

TON’s low costs and high speed make automated, small-scale swaps practical. Combined with aggregated routing, this allows bots and services to operate with high reliability, creating a seamless user experience and accelerating the development of sophisticated DeFi applications by reducing overhead.

Where to start

Most demos you’ve seen are web-centric: drop a swap widget into a React app, wire wallet connect, and ship a polished front end UI. This front-end approach uses an official React SDK that handles retries and errors, making the UI fast and predictable. However, this is just the surface.

Unbounded Protocol: Omniston strength

Omniston’s core strength is that it is not browser-bound. Its swap protocol is exposed via a standard WebSocket interface (with gRPC options), meaning any environment that can connect using these protocols can interact with it. This opens use cases far beyond the browser, such as backend services, scheduled jobs, or standalone Python scripts.

The official Python Quickstart demonstrates this by implementing the same “quote → build and sign → submit” flow entirely from the terminal. This makes the process a natural fit for automation, whether for trading bots, command-line tools, or internal microservices, without ever needing a graphical interface.

1. Request a Quote: Connect to the WebSocket API with a token pair and amount. Omniston will respond with the best route and execution details.

2. Build & Sign: Construct and sign the transaction locally. Your private keys never leave your control.

3. Submit & Confirm via a TON HTTP endpoint: Broadcast the signed transaction and await its inclusion on-chain; using an API key from your node provider improves reliability.

This universal flow maps perfectly to backend systems, allowing you to build reliable bots, CLIs, and microservices with the same optimal routing that powers the web interface.

Why Build with Omniston & Python

Headless & Unattended. Run swap logic directly in daemons, containers, or scheduled jobs skipping pop-ups. Perfect for automated rebalancing, treasury operations, or any unattended task.

One Integration, Future-Proof Access. Integrate once to a single, stable interface. As the aggregator adds and optimizes liquidity sources behind the scenes, your application automatically gains access-no new connectors or one-off patches required.

Write Once, Deploy Everywhere. Use the same core swap flow to build a CLI for your team, a Telegram bot that executes on command, or an internal “swap-as-a-service” API. This consistency reduces maintenance surface area and unifies your operational playbook.

Full Operational Control. Manage key storage, rate limits, retries, and monitoring directly. The SDK provides the building blocks; you plug them into your deployment standards.

Ready-to-Deploy Patterns

CLI Tool for Operators. Build a terminal interface where users can request a quote, confirm with a single keystroke, and receive a transaction hash or explorer link-perfect for giving power users direct access to aggregated routing.

Scheduled Rebalancer. Automate maintenance with a cron job that monitors allocation thresholds. When triggered, it securely executes a swap with fresh quotes and enforced slippage limits. TON’s low fees make frequent, precise adjustments practical.

Telegram Execution Bot. Users message a command like “swap X for Y.” The bot replies with a quote and executes the swap upon confirmation, then shares the transaction hash. Enhance it with per-user limits, execution logs, and basic abuse controls.

Swap Microservice. Expose a secure REST endpoint as an internal “swap-as-a-service.” It accepts swap parameters, runs the full Omniston flow, and returns the result. Design it with upstream authentication, strict quotas, and built-in idempotency.

Analytics & Research Pipeline. Log every quote, final output, and routing path. Over time, this dataset reveals slippage trends, route efficiency, and liquidity depth, allowing you to optimize strategies and set alerts for anomalies.

Safety and Reliability Checklist

Validate & Enforce. Always check the expected output against your slippage tolerance and set a strict transaction deadline. If a quote expires before submission, re-quote and try again. The Python Quickstart demonstrates this validation lifecycle.

Key Management. Mnemonics must stay out of code and logs. Maintain a dedicated hot wallet for automation, isolated from your cold storage. Since signing occurs locally, this boundary is critical to secure.

Build for Idempotency. Use idempotency keys to prevent duplicate transactions from network retries. Implement reconnection logic with backoff for the WebSocket and retries for transient HTTP errors. These are simple additions to Quickstart’s core.

Manage RPC Connections. Use a provider API key for priority access and implement endpoint failover. Providers like Toncenter document their rate limit behaviour; for full control, you can also host your own node.

Monitor Key Metrics. Track quote latency, WebSocket stability, and on-chain confirmation times. Correlate your internal request IDs with provider logs to quickly diagnose issues

Synergy with your existing React work

Maintain your existing React interface — it’s the optimal way to serve interactive users. The React SDK is simply a convenient wrapper around the same core WebSocket API that your Python service accesses directly. This shared foundation lets teams seamlessly run both: a React frontend for user interaction and Python backends for background automation, unified by the same aggregation logic.

What’s next?

• Check out the Python Quickstart guide to build a terminal client, then adapt that same flow for your bots, CLIs, or services.
• For web interfaces, the React Quickstart gets a connected swap UI up in minutes.
• If you prefer server-side JavaScript, the Node.js SDK wraps the same WebSocket interface with observables, perfect for streaming updates.

STON.fi, the leading swap dApp and core DeFi protocol on The Open Network (TON), hosted TONgether — a TOKEN2049 side event highlighting the growth and progress of the TON ecosystem.

The event brought together over 100 builders, founders, investors, validators, exchanges, wallets, and media. Participants joined panel discussions, a Startup Roast, and live demos showing real Web3 use cases built inside Telegram.

Opening the event, Andrey Fedorov, CMO and CBDO at STON.fi Dev, presented the project’s mission and innovations. He highlighted STON.fi’s position as the largest DeFi protocol on TON, processing over 50–70% of all decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume on the network. Andrey also introduced Omniston, a liquidity aggregation protocol that connects liquidity providers and applications through a single integration, solving fragmentation across the ecosystem.

“Liquidity on TON shouldn’t be a maze,” Fedorov said. “Omniston connects apps to all liquidity on TON, ensuring users always get the best prices across every source — all through one seamless connection. It’s already live in major wallets and protocols and takes days — not months — to integrate.”

The centerpiece discussion, “TON’s winning formula: integration beats isolation,” featured leading ecosystem experts from TON Foundation, The Open Platform, Wallet in Telegram, and STON.fi. The panel explored how TON’s integrated architecture and Telegram-native distribution give it a unique edge in the blockchain world.

“With TON, we’re not just building decentralized apps — we’re building an entire economy inside the world’s most adopted messaging platform,” said Halil Mirakhmed, Chief Strategy Officer at The Open Platform. “Innovations like Omniston unlock true composability across the ecosystem, allowing liquidity, users, and developers to move seamlessly. It’s this level of integration that will define the next generation of Web3 adoption.”

Irina Chuchkina, Chief Growth Officer at Wallet in Telegram, highlighted the upcoming launch of tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through a new collaboration with xStocks. The product aims to expand global investment access, particularly for users in emerging markets. She outlined her vision for the next UX evolution — a personalized, “Netflix-like” experience where AI makes finance on Telegram feel natural and empowering, with blockchain working quietly in the background.

Panelists agreed that TON’s biggest strength is user distribution inside Telegram. “When sending value in DMs or buying stocks feels like any Web2 app, we win,” said Martin Masser, Head of Growth at TON Foundation. The discussion also touched on incentive design and long-term growth, emphasizing sustained engagement over short-term spikes in TVL.

The event also featured a Startup Roast, where founders from BION, FIVA Protocol, Bagel Finance, and TON Battleground pitched their ideas to the panelists. The experts provided comprehensive feedback, focusing on market fit, user experience, and integration potential. The session helped founders think through and sharpen their value propositions and align with TON’s broader ecosystem goals, offering practical insights on how to scale sustainably within Telegram’s mini app environment.

The conversation later turned to builder advice. Ethan Clime, Head of DevRel at STON.fi, noted that the best projects show a prototype and a clear use case: “Grants are paid learning, but outcomes must tie to KPIs.” Fedorov added that builders should avoid the “feature fallacy” — validating real market needs before scaling. The collective message: build a Telegram mini app, focus on one core feature, grow a loyal early community, and expand through the Telegram Apps Center and partnerships. Don’t chase listings or grants before achieving retention and organic growth.

Panelists concluded that education and discovery remain essential. Many Telegram users still don’t realize they’re already using mini apps. Looking ahead, the panelists predicted that by year-end, TON will power everyday, invisible Web3 interactions — from peer-to-peer transfers in chats to trading Telegram gifts and investing in tokenized stocks with auto-reinvested dividends. The next phase, they said, will bring major Web2 brand integrations, bridging mainstream audiences into Web3 through familiar fan and consumer experiences.