Layer-1 blockchain TON has announced its collaboration with interoperability protocol LayerZero, enabling users to transfer funds across various ecosystems, a partnership expected to boost usage and generate fees for both entities. Initially, TON will connect to 12 blockchains, including Ethereum, Tron, and Solana. Through Stargate, the largest crypto bridge, users will be able to transfer stablecoins to TON. Stargate has reportedly managed $1. 6 billion in volume within the last month, as noted by DefiLlama. Additionally, users will benefit from LayerZero's multichain liquidity, which combines funds locked across different blockchains to minimize slippage—the price variation between transaction initiation and completion—or even prevent transaction failures. Liquidity plays a critical role in decentralized finance (DeFi), with approximately $117 billion in total value locked (TVL) across all blockchains. Yet, with more than 4, 400 blockchains and layer-2 networks, as identified by DefiLlama, liquidity is dispersed per chain. This fragmentation poses challenges for trading firms wanting to lend or borrow substantial sums on specific chains, as the scale of transactions can lead to slippage or failures.

Pooling liquidity helps mitigate these risks. Crypto firms Tether and Ethena will also leverage this integration, with Ethena's flagship $5 billion asset, USDe, set to launch on TON. Tether's newly introduced USDT0 stablecoin, created to address liquidity challenges, will be transferable between TON, Tron, Ethereum, Celo, and Arbitrum via its product, the Legacy Mesh. Developers stand to gain from this integration as well, since they can deploy tokens on TON from any LayerZero chain using a single contract. Originally launched in 2018 as a project by the messaging app Telegram, TON was put on hold after two years before receiving endorsement from the now independent TON in September 2023. Telegram announced plans to incorporate the blockchain into its app's user interface and made it the exclusive blockchain for its mini apps ecosystem last month. "TON is undoubtedly one of the most exciting ecosystems today, " commented Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of LayerZero. "Following its exclusive partnership with Telegram, it now has access to nearly a billion users. "