Venture capital firm Pantera Capital has invested significantly in The Open Network blockchain. The news, announced on Thursday, resulted in a 9% surge in the network’s native token, Toncoin (TON), pushing its value above the $5 mark.

Pantera Capital Bullish On TON And Telegram Integration

In a statement, Pantera Capital expressed enthusiasm about their latest investment in TON. The Layer 1 network, initially conceived by Telegram and continued by the open-source community, can potentially introduce cryptocurrency to the masses due to its extensive usage within the Telegram network. 

Telegram, used by over 900 million monthly active users, is known for personal and group communication, community building, content sharing, and more. Pantera Capital believes that by leveraging Telegram’s vast user base and user experience, combined with TON’s growing ecosystem, the network could become one of the largest in the cryptocurrency space. Pantera’s announcement further reads:

We at Pantera Capital are thrilled to announce our latest investment in TON, a Layer 1 network originally designed by Telegram and continued by the open-source community.  We believe TON has the capacity to introduce crypto to the masses because it is used extensively within the Telegram network. 

The integration of TON with Telegram aligns with the platform’s vision of providing a “seamless” and “borderless” experience for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments within its user base. 

Tether’s Integration With The Open Network

As previously reported by NewsBTC, Tether, the company behind the largest stablecoin in the market, USDT, recently announced the launch of its USDT dollar-pegged token and Tether Gold (XAUT) on The Open Network. 

This integration further increases the potential for P2P payments within Telegram’s extensive user base, a prospect that Pantera Capital aims to capitalize on.

In addition to the investment in TON, Pantera Capital is actively pursuing the launch of a new fund, Pantera Fund V, to raise over $1 billion. This fund aims to provide investors with diverse investment options across the blockchain asset spectrum, encompassing startup equity, early-stage tokens, and liquid tokens.

The new fund has established a minimum investment threshold of $1 million for qualified investors, and the first close is scheduled for April 1, 2025. 

Insiders familiar with the matter have indicated that Pantera Fund V is anticipated to reach a similar size as its predecessor, which successfully amassed approximately $1.25 billion in capital two years ago.

Following the disclosure of Pantera Capital’s investment in The Open Network, the price of TON experienced a notable 9% surge on Thursday, reaching a current trading price of $5.09. This increase comes after a significant price decline, with TON dropping as low as $4.6 after reaching its all-time high (ATH) of $7.65 in mid-April.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ May 3, 2024 3:00 am