Ethereum DeFi connects to TON and Telegram with Tac mainnet launch

Telegram is opening up to decentralized finance (DeFi) on Ethereum with the mainnet launch of $Tac, a third-party blockchain bridging apps on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to The Open Network ($TON). $Tac mainnet has launched with a mission to bring EVM decentralized apps (DApps) to $TON and Telegram ecosystems, the team behind the network announced on Tuesday. The network allows Telegram users to interact with EVM DApps directly within the messenger, offering access to a range of DeFi protocols such as Curve, Morpho, Euler and more, $Tac co-founder Pavel Altukhov told Cointelegraph. For developers, $Tac provides EVM a frictionless way to deploy on $TON without rewriting code from scratch, unlocking exposure to Telegram’s billion-strong user base. First publicly announced in July 2024, $Tac is designed to act as a full EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain connecting Ethereum DApps to the $TON and Telegram ecosystems. According to $Tac co-founder Marco Monaco, $Tac is a project built on $TON that features its own jetton $TON token and works with other projects within the $TON ecosystem to “accrue value to TON.” The network raised a total of $11.5 million across its seed and strategic rounds last year and early 2025, with the latest $5 million strategic round being led by the Web3 venture capital firm Hack VC. “Until recently, EVM-based applications had to be adapted for $TON Virtual Machine (TVM) compatibility to reach Telegram’s 1B+ users,” $Tac wrote in a post in March 2025. “But now, $Tac allows EVM developers to integrate their applications with Telegram and $TON effortlessly,” it added. This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available. Magazine: China’s 100K TPS blockchain, Japan’s Minna Bank eyes Solana: Asia Express [Magazine]