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The Open Platform is the first unicorn in Web3 ecosystem in Telegram at $1bn valuation

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[PRESS RELEASE – Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 3rd, 2025]

The Open Platform raises $28.5M in Series A equity funding round, showcasing investor confidence in TON’s ecosystem

  • The equity round was led by Ribbit Capital, a leading fintech and crypto investor, with Pantera Capital also participating.
  • The investment underscores strong confidence in The Open Platform’s continued development of the blockchain ecosystem in Telegram, being built on TON.
  • The involvement of prominent investors and the raised capital will support the launch of TOP’s portfolio companies across the U.S., EU, and other key regions.

The Open Platform, the leading tech company developing TON-based innovations in Telegram, has announced the completion of its Series A and subsequent extension funding rounds, reaching a $1 billion valuation and becoming the first unicorn in the TON-based ecosystem in Telegram.

The Open Platform raised $28.5 million in an extended Series A funding round, led by Ribbit Capital, with Pantera Capital also participating. Including this latest raise and previous seed investments, The Open Platform has now secured over $70 million in total funding. These investments demonstrate the confidence that leading investors have in The Open Platform’s ability to spearhead the growth of the blockchain ecosystem in Telegram. This ecosystem is being built on TON Blockchain – a fully decentralized and highly scalable blockchain that is the exclusive blockchain partner of Telegram Messenger.

The current strategic focus of The Open Platform centers on geographical expansion. The involvement of prominent investors, along with the newly raised capital, will support the launch of TOP’s portfolio companies across the U.S., EU, and other key regions — in alignment with TON Foundation’s global vision. This expansion will involve significant investment in go-to-market strategies, regulatory licensing, compliance infrastructure, and security enhancements, all aimed at ensuring sustainable growth and long-term success in these new jurisdictions.

Andrew Rogozov, CEO and Founder of The Open Platform, said, “This investment supports our long-term strategy to scale the adoption of blockchain-based products by leveraging the power of Telegram as a distribution channel. By combining TON Blockchain with Telegram’s global reach, we’re building both the infrastructure and the consumer-facing apps needed to onboard a billion users to crypto.”

The Open Platform is driving the growth of the TON-based ecosystem within Telegram, building both core infrastructure and consumer-facing apps across finance, gaming, and entertainment. Products that The Open Platform has powered include Wallet in Telegram, a digital asset solution seamlessly embedded into Telegram’s interface; Tonkeeper, TON’s leading non-custodial crypto wallet; STON.fi, the leading swap dApp on TON and the developer of a liquidity aggregation protocol, Omniston; Getgems, TON’s foremost NFT marketplace; Tribute, a monetization platform for creators in Telegram; and Notcoin, a viral Tap-to-Earn game, along with many more products.

By integrating blockchain technology into everyday digital experience, The Open Platform is creating a seamless, scalable platform designed for a billion users, accelerating the mainstream adoption of crypto — expanding global access to financial services, and enabling a new generation of builders and developers to build the next wave of consumer dApps.

This latest investment from Ribbit Capital, which has previously provided early-stage investment to Coinbase, Nubank, and Revolut, amongst many others, and Pantera Capital, is a testament to the potential these investors see in the integration of blockchain technology into a messenger application with over a billion users.

Micky Malka, Founder of Ribbit Capital, said, “We back teams that reimagine how the world experiences money and technology. The Open Platform’s vision of building an intuitive and open platform that enables a robust digital ecosystem to form within Telegram — a platform used by hundreds of millions — opens a new frontier of opportunities for builders and users on a global scale.”

“We’re thrilled to back this exceptional team led by Andrew. The opportunity to support groundbreaking tech and financial products that reach 1 billion people is inspiring,” said Ryan Barney, Partner at Pantera Capital. ”We’re excited to collaborate with the TOP team and strengthen our commitment to TON and Telegram’s ecosystems.”

TON Blockchain has been the subject of increased institutional interest throughout this year. In March, TON Foundation announced that several leading investors, including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Benchmark, Draper Associates, Kingsway, Vy Capital, Libertus Capital, CoinFund, SkyBridge, Hypersphere, and Karatage, have acquired and now hold $400 million worth of Toncoin, signaling growing interest in the TON-based ecosystem in Telegram.

About The Open Platform:

The Open Platform (TOP) is the leading tech company developing Web3 innovations in Telegram. TOP is fueling the Telegram economy through both foundational infrastructure and consumer-facing apps. By integrating blockchain technology into day-to-day digital experience, TOP is building a seamless, scalable platform designed for a billion users — accelerating the mass adoption of crypto.

For more information, users can visit: top.co

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Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin Price Analysis: Is a Crash to $111K Imminent for BTC?

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Bitcoin’s muted volatility phase continues, with structural support holding firm. The market’s next decisive move will likely be shaped by reactions at the $114,000 and $111,000 support zones.

BTC Price Analysis: Technicals

By Shayan

The Daily Chart

Bitcoin continues to consolidate within the narrow $116K–$120K range, marked by low volatility and subdued price action. This sideways movement suggests an ongoing equilibrium between buying and selling pressure, possibly due to capital rotation into the altcoin markets.

A key concern is the emergence of a bearish divergence between the price and the RSI indicator, indicating a fading of bullish momentum. This divergence increases the likelihood of renewed selling pressure and suggests a possible continuation of the correction phase. If so, a move toward the $111,000 support level becomes probable.

Despite this, the broader market structure remains bullish as long as the $111,000 level holds. If this price point acts as a reliable demand zone, an eventual breakout above $120K could resume the larger uptrend.

btc_price_chart_2607251
Source: TradingView

The 4-Hour Chart

On the lower timeframe, BTC is forming a bullish flag pattern, a classic consolidation formation within an uptrend. The price has consistently printed higher highs and higher lows, supported by an ascending trendline acting as dynamic support,  currently near the $114K level.

As long as this trendline remains intact, the market is likely to continue consolidating inside the flag, which aligns with a healthy correction.

However, a breakdown below this ascending support would likely trigger a sharper pullback toward $111K, forming a key liquidity zone.

btc_price_chart_2607252
Source: TradingView

On-chain Analysis

By Shayan

The latest futures order flow shows a noticeable surge in small-sized positions, a strong indication that retail traders are actively participating in the current price range. This spike reveals a high level of retail engagement, especially within the $116K–$120K consolidation zone.

Interestingly, large-scale sell-side activity (represented by green circles), typically associated with institutions or whales, is not present. These major players are not offloading their positions, suggesting that they remain confident in the ongoing bullish trend and do not expect a major reversal just yet.

This setup, with retail activity high and smart money quiet, has historically preceded major bullish moves. While the market may seem stagnant, this phase often serves as a cooling-off period before another leg of the upward trend. The lack of panic from whales adds weight to the theory that this is a healthy consolidation, not a trend reversal.

Once the current range resolves, a fresh wave of demand may enter the market, likely pushing Bitcoin toward new highs.

btc_futures_average_order_size_chart
Source: CryptoQuant
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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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Cryptocurrency

CryptoPunks to Outshine ETH This Cycle, Says Arthur Hayes

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BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has declared that the OG NFT collection CryptoPunks will outperform Ethereum (ETH) in this cycle, citing internet status culture as the primary driver.

With NFT market volumes exploding and Ethereum showing bullish momentum, his forecast has ignited debate among analysts and collectors alike.

Scarcity, Status, and Sentiment

Hayes believes that as ETH gains institutional traction, holders will increasingly flex their wealth through digital art and status NFTs like CryptoPunks.

“Cryptopunks will outperform $ETH this cycle in $ terms bc $ETH bag holders will flex in NFTs,” he tweeted. “It’s an internet status game.”

According to the Maelstrom Fund CIO, the entire global economy is built on status, and the “internet society” is no different. His argument has resonated across the NFT community, with investor Parzival highlighting the scarcity factor:

“8,000,000,000 people on earth, 10,000 CryptoPunks. Do the math.”

Others, like digital art collector Balon, highlighted the skyrocketing floor 12 hours earlier:

“CryptoPunks floor is already at 100 ETH? Things are about to get crazy.”

This frenzy isn’t theoretical either; NFT enthusiast Jediwolf reported on July 21 a “spectacular” sweep of 76 Punks for approximately $13.5 million within 5 hours, the largest since 2021.

On that same date, CoinGecko brought attention to a massive $1 billion single-day surge in NFT market cap, jumping from $5.1 billion to $6.3 billion. Daily volumes spiked 287% to $37.4 million, fueling renewed speculation that non-fungible tokens could be entering a fresh phase of explosive growth.

Animoca’s Yat Siu noted the correlation in a recent post on X, stating that the last time ETH peaked in late 2021 was also NFT season. CryptoPunks leads the charge, and their floor price is now at 48 ETH, which is about $175,726, according to live NFTpricefloor data.

Ethereum Demand Surge Sets Stage for NFT Boom

Hayes’ prediction comes amid a roaring ETH rally powered by growing institutional demand. Since May 15, spot Ethereum ETFs and corporate treasuries have bought 2.83 million ETH for more than $10 billion. This is over 32 times the net new supply, and Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan has projected demand to hit $20 billion in the next year.

At the time of this writing, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency was consolidating around $3,672, down 1% in the last 24 hours but up more than 63% across 30 days. Earlier in the week, the asset broke past $3,800, and the NFT ecosystem, built mainly on Ethereum, appears to be riding shotgun on its bullish wave.

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Less Than 1 BTC Might Be Enough to Retire: Here’s Why

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The question of how much Bitcoin is needed to retire has probably been asked by most investors, and recent research may now have the answer.

Bitcoin researcher and investor ‘Smitty’ has created a model calculating how much BTC is needed to retire on.

“Most people in most countries still need less than 1 BTC for 2035 [retirement],” he stated before adding that if retiring this year, most countries need between one and ten BTC.

The model is based on each country’s average income level, adjusted for inflation, age at retirement, and utilizing Bitcoin’s power law model for predicting prices.

Retiring on Bitcoin

Naturally, those living in expensive countries such as the United States and most of Europe will need more Bitcoin to maintain their lifestyles during retirement. However, for more than half of the countries listed, less than 1 BTC would be enough to retire on for most people in 2035.

For retirement in 2045, people in nearly all countries aside from a handful of super wealthy places would need less than 1 BTC, and in many, just 0.1 BTC would be enough, according to the research.

The findings presume that Bitcoin prices will continue to increase in accordance with the power law model, which is derived by taking resistance and support bands of BTC.

These bands are derived by taking a linear regression of the historical Bitcoin price to derive a “power law,” which is represented as a straight line showing the correlation between BTC’s price and time.

By 2035, BTC will be valued at $1.7 million, according to power law projections, more than enough to retire on for most people.

One Coiners a Rare Breed

Additionally, holding just one BTC now is rarer than being a millionaire. According to blockchain data, the actual number of unique people who own 1 Bitcoin is around 800,000 to 850,000, but this is just an estimate.

With 8 billion people on the planet, “wholecoiners” represent just 0.01% to 0.02% of the population, and those holding 1 BTC are also rarer than the estimated 16 million millionaires globally.

According to Glassnode, addresses with a balance over 1 BTC have remained above 1 million for the last year, but these include exchanges and institutional whales.

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