Ethereum DeFi connects to TON and Telegram with Tac mainnet launch
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. What is Tac and why does Telegram need it?
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.'
Unlike TON's native cryptocurrency, Toncoin, jettons on TON are custom crypto assets issued on the TON blockchain and built using smart contracts similar to how ERC-20 tokens operate on Ethereum.
Since Telegram ceased support for all blockchains other than TON for its Mini App ecosystem in early 2025, developers were forced to adapt EVM apps for TON Virtual Machine (TVM) to access Telegram.
'But now, Tac allows EVM developers to integrate their applications with Telegram and TON effortlessly,' Tac wrote in a post in March 2025. Tac team works separately from TON and Telegram
Since its public announcement last year, Tac network raised a total of $11.5 million across its seed and strategic rounds in late 2024 and early 2025.
Its latest $5 million strategic round was led by the Web3 venture capital firm Hack VC, which also participated in the $6.5 million seed round last November.
Although Tac is designed to connect EVM dApps to TON and Telegram ecosystems, the network is being developed by a separate team from both TON and Telegram, a spokesperson for Tac told Cointelegraph.
As previously mentioned, Telegram's TON-only strategy for Mini Apps received mixed reactions from the community, with many raising questions about the messenger's pursuit of freedom and decentralization.
On the other hand, TON Foundation board member Steve Yun said it was the right move in the context of security and scalability.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/tac-mainnet-launch-evm-dapps-ton-telegram
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