TON Foundation Boosts DeFi Incentive Program with Additional $24 Million in Toncoin

The organization behind The Open Network, which is Telegram's chosen blockchain, just announced an exciting update. They’ve added another $24 million worth of Toncoin (TON) to their DeFi incentive program. This brings the total value of the program to over $75 million.
The TON Foundation started this program back in April. Its goal? To encourage users to dive into decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on TON. This network has gained a lot of attention for its popular crypto-backed games on Telegram and the related airdrops.
Initially, the program offered 11 million Toncoin as incentives, which is currently valued at nearly $53 million.
Today’s additional 5 million Toncoin is specifically set aside to reward liquidity providers on STON.fi and DeDust. These are two of the largest automated market maker (AMM) DeFi protocols operating on TON.
In this latest phase, users who provide liquidity in pools of TON and USDT, tsTON and USDT, or stTON and USDT will earn TON rewards. This is a great opportunity for users to get involved.
The TON Foundation explained, “The program is designed to create optimal conditions for liquidity providers while fostering the development of farming strategies on the TON blockchain.”
TON has made a significant leap from being just a support network for Telegram’s growing mini-app ecosystem to a full-fledged DeFi platform. This shift was greatly enhanced by integrating Tether (USDT) with TON and the Telegram Wallet app back in April. Now, users can hold funds in a stable currency linked to the U.S. dollar.
Recently, Toncoin has seen some ups and downs. This is due to various factors, including the recent arrest and indictment of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France. He faced scrutiny over the app's alleged non-compliance with law enforcement. Additionally, there have been reports of network outages.
As of now, TON is priced at $4.80, which reflects a 27% decline over the past two weeks. It’s been a rollercoaster ride for investors.