OKX announced today that OKX Wallet supports TON, which is known for its affiliation with the popular messaging app Telegram.
OKX’s CMO Haider Rafique said TON had been a break-out hit with a strong community behind it.
OKX added support for the Toncoin (TON) network associated with the Telegram messaging app to OKX Wallet, marking the 100th protocol as it builds on its “on-chain, any chain” philosophy.
The wallet, a standalone Web3 product that operates separately from the centralized exchange (CEX), integrates into OKX’s decentralized exchange (DEX).
While OKX tries to provide access to a wide variety of tokens and protocols for its wallet, it also wants to provide a curated experience and not every token meets its standards, Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique said in an interview.
“Our listing process typically revolves around a couple of things. First, we want to see some terminal velocity before considering a listing,” Rafique said. “We aim for the right timing when there’s already a built-up community and significant demand. If we launch something without sufficient demand, it doesn’t fit well with our role.”
Market data from CoinMarketCap shows that TON has been a breakout hit with OKX. It is the sixth most-traded coin on the centralized exchange, just behind the BTC-USDT trading pair and the SOL-USDT pair. Trading for TON tends to increase whenever new gamification features are introduced, Rafique said, observing that these features drive user interest and engagement.
“The utility most people are excited about is the ease of participating in-network incentives and programs. This gamification aspect is the most popular, based on various signals we track,” he said. “Of course, there are speculators who just want to hold the token, hoping it appreciates because it’s backed by Telegram.”
As CoinDesk has reported, this growing TON-based economy, using Telegram as a hub, has driven the token’s recent outperformance of the broader crypto market.
Before supporting TON, OKX Wallet expanded its capabilities by adding support for the NEAR, Blast, and zkLink Nova chains, according to a release.
OKX Wallet also recently integrated Uniswap Labs’ trading APIs and launched a platform for Web3 game developers.
UPDATE (July 17, 16:43 UTC): Updates first bullet to clarify TON’s affiliation with Telegram app.
