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Telegram is in the midst of a quiet but profound transformation. What once began as a privacy-focused messaging app has evolved into a full-fledged SuperApp complete with games, media, digital collectibles, lightweight fintech features, and crypto integrations. This is no longer just chat. This is infrastructure.
But despite having over a billion users, Telegram's impact on crypto, particularly DeFi, has so far been surface-level. It's not that people don't use Telegram for crypto. In fact, the entire industry relies on Telegram for community building. But what happens when we move beyond chat? When Telegram’s consumer-facing interface becomes the actual frontend for interacting with DeFi?
The real inflection point has arrived with Telegram MiniApps (TMAs) — native, instantly-loadable apps embedded directly inside the Telegram experience. These TMAs offer Web2-grade UX with Web3 potential. But until recently, they lacked backend infrastructure to plug into Ethereum’s logic. That’s what TAC provides: an EVM-compatible Layer 1 designed to bring DeFi logic into Telegram-native distribution. The result is not just better UX — it’s a new category altogether:
Consumer dApps powered by DeFi primitives.
And that changes everything.
DeFi in Disguise: The Consumer App Trojan Horse
Most DeFi projects, despite years of iteration, remain power tools for power users. Few outside of Web3-native circles use protocols like Curve, Aave, or Morpho directly. Yet the promise of DeFi — programmable financial primitives — is as strong as ever. What’s missing is a distribution channel that makes DeFi invisible and intuitive.
That’s where TMAs come in.
Consumer MiniApps like games, fintech utilities, wagering platforms, or prediction markets — already engage tens of millions of users. They're sticky, fun, and increasingly social. And now, they can act as DeFi distributors.
Take the example of crypto wallets. Before swaps were embedded into MetaMask, wallets were simply storage tools. But once MetaMask integrated swaps, it turned into a monetizable distribution channel for DeFi, generating over $300M in revenue from just ~400k active swappers out of 20M+ monthly users. Distribution created economic value across the stack: order flow for aggregators, fees for DEXs, yield for LPs.
TMAs are now in the same position and arguably even better placed. They already have organic demand and millions of users. What they lack are new monetization models.
Enter DeFi, not as a standalone product, but as the invisible backend that powers new business models for TMAs.
Hooks, Not Hype: Reframing DeFi as Utility
The key is to reframe DeFi not as an end product, but as the invisible infrastructure that makes premium features, incentives, and rewards possible.
Let’s explore this through three core DeFi primitives: yield, borrow, and swaps.
1. Yield Primitives: Monetizing Locked Liquidity
Minigames often monetize through in-game items or boosters, with paying users typically accounting for 1–3% of the user base. What if, instead of asking gamers to pay, they could unlock those features by locking 10 USDT for two weeks?
The user perceives this as “free” access — they’re not spending, just parking funds temporarily. In the background, that 10M USDT from 10% of a 10M MAU game goes into curated Vaults, generating conservative yield via bluechip DeFi strategies (e.g., with protocols like Resolv, Noon, Midas).
At 20% APY, that’s $2M/year in revenue, some of which goes back to users as prizes or raffles to drive more engagement. The user doesn’t know they’re participating in DeFi. They just know they got a booster for free.
2. Borrow Primitives: Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) on TON
Imagine a TMA selling gift cards for TON. Today, users pay upfront. Tomorrow, they could lock 6 TON as collateral and borrow USDT to “Buy Now, Pay Later.”
The user gets the card immediately, while their TON sits in a lending market. If TON appreciates, they can repay less. If it depreciates, the collateral is liquidated. Risk is minimized with well-understood DeFi mechanisms.
TMA developers get to monetize via a distribution fee on the loan. DeFi lending markets benefit from new borrowing demand. And Telegram users get flexible payments — all without touching a DeFi protocol directly.
3. Swap Primitives: Contextual Token Conversion
Let’s look at a wagering app like Miomi. Two users challenge each other in FIFA or CS:GO, staking MIO tokens. But a new user only has TON or USDT. The app embeds a swap aggregator that converts on the fly.
Every swap becomes revenue for Miomi. The “hook” is simple: users want to play, not swap — but the swap becomes a seamless part of onboarding. Just like wallets before them, TMAs are now active distribution points for DeFi.
The Role of TAC: The Infrastructure Behind the Scenes
To make these experiences possible at scale, developers need infrastructure that supports:
- Smart contract flexibility (EVM)
- Access to TON wallets and assets (Telegram-native)
- Distribution via TMAs (consumer-centric)
TAC brings all three together.
TAC is a Layer 1 blockchain built with EVM compatibility and Cosmos modularity — but what sets it apart is the TON-Adapter, which allows EVM-based dApps to operate inside the Telegram ecosystem with no code changes. That means developers can write Solidity as usual, and TAC handles the translation layer to TON.
This results in Hybrid dApps — Ethereum-class logic with TON access and Telegram-native UX. Transactions start and end on TON. Assets are Jettons. Fees are paid in TON. But the business logic remains in Solidity — running securely and scalably on TAC.
Why This Matters — Positive-Sum Game For Everyone Involved
For Telegram Users: They get access to enhanced features — free boosters, flexible purchases, community rewards — without needing to understand wallets or protocols.
For TMA Developers: They unlock new monetization channels beyond ads and in-game purchases. DeFi becomes a new revenue stream, not a product to maintain.
For DeFi Protocols: They gain access to massive user funnels — millions of new wallets and daily active users flowing into primitives they’ve already built.
For TON: On-chain activity grows. Jettons are used more. Real yield flows through the network. TON becomes more than an L1 — it becomes a DeFi settlement layer.
For Ethereum Builders: TAC is the bridge to 1B users. You can plug into Telegram distribution without rewriting your app or managing a new stack.
What’s Next: Radiance and the Age of Embedded DeFi
TAC’s next chapter — the Radiance phase — will double down on this thesis. We’re already working with TMA partners across fintech, gaming, and social to test these use cases in production. The goal isn’t to educate users about DeFi.
The goal is to make DeFi invisible.
Financial primitives will power new user experiences invisibly, intuitively, and sustainably — and TAC will be the trustless, scalable backend making it all possible.
DeFi doesn’t need more users. It needs distribution.
And distribution lives inside Telegram.
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