Flipster x TON Partnership Spotlight AMA Recap
On April 1st, we hosted an engaging AMA with our Head of Product, Youngsun Shin, and Telegram’s Director of BD, Victor Mendes. If you missed the live session, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a recap of the key highlights and everything you need to know!
TL;DR
* Flipster x TON: Up to 29% APR and complete missions to earn 1,160 USDT worth of rewards
* New opportunities like Learn to Earn, APR boost, and Deposit campaign with TON
* A growing trend of AI being integrated into a variety of Web3 applications
* Next wave of adoption in crypto might be closely related to payments and stablecoins
Q: Please introduce yourselves and what you do in your respective roles.
Youngsun: Hey, my name is Youngsun and I’m the Head of Product at Flipster. Nice to meet you all. I come from a background in the tech industry, having worked as both a product manager and an operations manager. Currently, I’m doing my best to push our product to become the best in the industry.
Victor: My name is Victor, and I lead Business Development at Wallet in Telegram. Wallet in Telegram is a product by TON that works closely with the TON Foundation in their mission to put crypto in everyone’s pockets. In my current role, I’m helping the team expand the adoption of USDT on TON. Happy to be here and excited to share more with you all.
Q: Over the past few years, TON has been actively building a Web3 ecosystem within Telegram. Could you share how you’ve been overcoming key challenges in making digital ownership easy and intuitive for users?
Victor: The key point and what’s unique about TON is its close relationship with Telegram. For listeners who don’t know, TON is the blockchain that started with Telegram in 2017 and became open source around 2021. It’s now completely led by the community, including through the TON Foundation, which aims to foster the internal development of the ecosystem.
We work very closely with Telegram, and that’s something truly unique. It’s the only ecosystem that benefits from a massive distribution network, with over 1 billion monthly active users. It’s definitely the only ecosystem where you can reach so many users, and that has proven to be a very successful approach.
You mentioned gaming apps. I think that was the first big trend where we realized we could distribute through Telegram and connect it to the TON blockchain. Another strong aspect of this integration is the mini app infrastructure within Telegram. It’s not just about TON as the blockchain layer, but also about how this mini app infrastructure allows developers, projects, and entrepreneurs to build their products, use TON Connect, and distribute through mini apps accessible to any Telegram user.
This whole “sandwich” has really been a winning strategy for TON in terms of user acquisition — all working towards our mission to put crypto in everyone’s pockets.
Q: Flipster has been growing rapidly, from derivatives trading to spot trading to strategic partnerships. Can you walk us through the product vision behind this growth? What’s the long-term goal for Flipster in terms of product differentiation?
Youngsun: Flipster has always embraced a user-first philosophy. We’re really trying hard to make sure crypto users and traders have the best experience possible through our mobile app and the web. That has been the centerpiece of our strategy all along. I think the important part throughout the process is that crypto traders and our customers benefit from it. So, we try to bring in a lot of infrastructural players, as well as great foundations or blockchain networks, for our traders to experience and be incentivized to try different things out.
This is done primarily through our signature Earn Campaign, which has been running for over a year now. We’ve been trying to reward loyal users who deposit on our platform with USDT and have been supporting chain expansions and blockchain network growth on USDT with meaningful incentives in the form of APR. So that’s been ongoing.
For us, our vision has always been that if you want to gain exposure to crypto, we’re here to provide you with opportunities and scenarios where you can conveniently engage and seize those opportunities. That’s who we are.
Q: Flipster has collaborated with TON on multiple initiatives — from deposit campaigns to Launchpool and social-driven movements like #FreeDurov. Could you tell us more about how these partnerships integrate into Flipster’s product strategy? What can we expect from the TON campaign that launched today?
Youngsun: Well, two things I would say. Number one, the blockchain industry works in tandem. Centralized exchanges are mobile apps that offer users exposure to different types of crypto, but at the same time, we also need users to be able to transact — to on-ramp and off-ramp, and to move on and off chains. For us, partnering with an important network in the industry like The Open Network is really critical for our users to experience a mass adoption-ready platform and network that allows them to make payments, collect NFTs, or send crypto peer-to-peer through Telegram and TON.
We want users to be exposed to this so they become more familiar with using crypto. Through that, we also share and cross-pollinate our communities and ecosystems, which has been central to our growth. So, I think that’s the first layer of what we aim to achieve through these types of partnerships.
It is actually also about using the network for transactions between centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges, or other types of wallets. When trying a new network, it can be uncomfortable because it’s unfamiliar. However, if users are incentivized to try different networks, they can discover that these networks have the speed, infrastructure, and functionality to support various ways of utilizing crypto.
For example, if you send USDT on TON from Flipster to Telegram Wallet, that’s a new experience. It unlocks different types of opportunities and vice versa. These are the kinds of things we want users to know and be aware of so that, when opportunities arise on both ends, they can easily move crypto back and forth without hassle and become more accustomed to using crypto in daily life.
When you look at our announcement post, you’ll see the details of what we’re offering. Basically, there’s a Learn to Earn campaign that we’re launching with the Community Bot. You can go through different missions and complete them, including following us and answering a quiz where you can learn about USDT on TON. It’s something we’re offering to educate our users with useful knowledge about TON and USDT — and you can earn up to 10 USDT by completing it. That’s open for everyone to try.
The second part is the APR boost. A lot of our users and new users are surprised by the huge APR on their USDT deposits. If you use TON Blockchain to send USDT to Flipster and deposit it, you can now earn up to 29% APR during the campaign duration. That’s a huge reward we’re putting forward. There’s also a Deposit to Win TON campaign, which is the final part. You can win up to 1,000 USDT worth of TON — and that’s tied to our newly opened TON spot market. If you deposit more than a certain amount, you’ll have a chance to win that prize, and we’ll deposit the TON directly into your account.
So, there are three big campaigns happening, each with its own concept, showcasing different aspects of TON, USDT, and Flipster together. Huge thanks to TON, Victor, and the team for putting this all together with us, allowing so many crypto users to experience and learn from it. Stablecoin education and using the right chain are important in the long term. This is what you can look forward to in the coming month. If you haven’t yet, please follow us, read through the campaign details, and participate — there’s definitely something you’ll be able to benefit from. Make sure to join and get rewarded.
Q: There’s been a proliferation of Web2 interest in crypto, which has been a great way to onboard users to both exchanges and blockchains. How important is it to onboard more Web2 users into the space, and how do both Flipster and TON approach this?
Victor: The proliferation of Web2 applications has gone much faster than we anticipated. Especially with the new US policies, this will open up many opportunities. However, we were already seeing this before Trump, which is great because, in such a short time frame and compared to other technologies and their adoption, it’s amazing to see how fintech in the Web2 space, based on TradFi, has been adopting crypto and building new products on top of it.
With Flipster, we’re very happy to continue educating users not just about stablecoins but also about what they can do with the power of it through TON, which brings amazing opportunities. It’s also a great way for product entrepreneurs to learn more about TON, how we do it, how we grow, and not just try to take a share of the pie, but work to grow it. This collaboration with Flipster is fundamental; it’s a base layer that allows us to reach a broader audience.
Youngsun: I think we still have a long way to go in onboarding many more Web2 users. But even as a starting point, we want to onboard as many users as possible. This is a common goal, whether you are Flipster, a new and upcoming exchange trying to make an impact in the market, or TON Blockchain, with its affiliation to Telegram, which is probably the biggest social platform in messaging services. Both of us want more users to be exposed to and using crypto, and to learn about decentralized finance.
If we continue on this path, I believe we will definitely see Web2 users getting onboarded and seizing more opportunities — whether from speculation, DeFi, P2P, crypto sending, or many other convenient services that will be unlocked through using crypto as a medium of exchange. This is something I’m really excited about. It’s a long journey, but I think TON and Telegram are really paving the way on that front, and we’re excited to help people learn more about it and transact through the network.
Victor: Let me add a piece of information here that’s very relevant. When we look at Telegram and TON, what we’re doing now is going mainstream, and lots of people know about it. But one thing we haven’t realized is that Telegram was potentially the first massive Web2 application to adopt blockchain and crypto on such a large scale. This started back in 2017. So this whole concept was introduced well before many others, and you can see it, for example, in the architecture of TON technology.
At that time, Ethereum had transaction fees of $30–$50, with transactions taking 20 minutes to an hour to confirm. New products have since been introduced to solve scalability issues. Telegram didn’t just bring Web3 to a massive Web2 application; it also developed an entirely new architecture to ensure scalability, serving its user base, which was around 200 million users at the time, but with the capacity to serve billions of users in the future. This shows a lot about Telegram’s commitment to bringing Web3 opportunities to its user base. It’s really one of a kind.
Q: We can all agree that community is a fundamental aspect, especially in the crypto space. How do Flipster and TON Blockchain build thriving communities that drive success?
Youngsun: We may not have the biggest community yet, but I can confidently say that we have one of the strongest and most loyal communities I’ve seen over the course of participating in many Web3 or crypto communities. Our approach is very simple; we follow the philosophy of putting our community first. Every time we do something, we think about how it benefits our users and community. Whenever there’s an incident or issue, we always try to ensure that it’s fair for our community. We aim to make things advantageous for them and reward them as much as possible whenever we have the opportunity. It’s as simple as that for us.
Victor: To be fair, it is sort of easy work! It’s not that it didn’t take much effort; it actually did. But there was already a huge community that helped with growth from day one. However, we continue to focus on this; it wasn’t just about throwing in products and letting people use them. The TON Foundation played a crucial role in this project by building the community. We actually put a lot of work and focus into taking care of the community. You would find channels in different languages, each with moderators speaking locally.
There are communities from Vietnam, Brazil, and different places in Africa. If you go to any of these communities with a question, take Vietnam, for example, you’re very likely to get a proper answer from one of the local moderators. Taking care of our community on such a large scale is definitely one of the key components in bringing users to our ecosystem and supporting them as they learn more about TON and blockchain. I praise our team, and I see Viktor here from the TON Foundation, who plays a crucial role in this work, as do others. I’d say this is one of the key components in growing and nurturing our community.
Q: Flipster also has a lot of great initiatives and product campaigns. We’ve had a few exciting ones in the past quarter! Do you mind explaining how these initiatives help engage the community and provide our users with what they need?
Youngsun: It’s how we approach every other service or experience. A lot of times, when there’s something new, people usually have reservations about trying it out. I’m pretty sure a lot of people have experienced similar sentiments regarding a new product or service. I don’t know if people remember the early days of using new services, but that’s why a lot of mobile apps and platforms utilize premium or free-to-use services to ensure people can use and get exposed to them before committing a lot of investment or money through actual payments. So, that’s the concept or philosophy we bring to the table.
We don’t expect users to come to us and trade a ton; what we want is for them to start utilizing our platform through the Earn Campaign, optimizing their earnings via Launchpool, and experiencing transactions like this one with TON to learn about concepts like USDT and the TON Blockchain. In the process, they’ll be exposed to different aspects of our services. If people like the service and have a good experience using it to trade — especially if it’s price-competitive, convenient, and beneficial — then that’s where the conversion happens, and we are confident in our product. So, we go down the path of having people first experience the different benefits of our product, and that’s been our philosophy from day one to this day. We have a very strong retention rate across the board.
We’re going to continue investing and allowing people to be casually exposed to our service while partnering with major foundations like TON Foundation to make sure people get those incentives. We’re investing a lot, and TON is also investing heavily in this front, not just with us but generally across mass adoption for crypto.
Q: Being an exchange and a blockchain is all about understanding and recognizing trends in the space to attract users to your platforms. What are some emerging trends that Flipster and TON are actively exploring to enhance their product offerings?
Victor: I’d say payments, simply because I’m deeply involved in it. Of course, there are many other things happening around Telegram and TON like SocialFi and GameFi — which, as mentioned, are already big winners. But all in all, I think the next wave of adoption will be closely related to payments. We know that stablecoins are probably the best way for cross-border, international payments, but this trend will likely emerge in many regions for local payments as well.
This is simply because traditional banking infrastructure has been lagging behind for years, and with blockchain and Web3 going mainstream, people are becoming increasingly confident in the technology, thanks to much better reliability and UX. All of this contributes to a new wave of adoption focused on real use cases.
Of course, it’s great to have fun with games and earn from them or use SocialFi applications to reward yourself. These are all things empowered by blockchain. But when it comes to real-world needs, I believe payments will play a very crucial role. And powered by blockchain, this really opens the gate for very successful stories.
Youngsun: I would say three things. First, social. Crypto trading or investing is pretty solitary, and that’s why a lot of people gather around in communities to share thoughts, sentiments, views, logic, or speculative viewpoints. Trading, especially in crypto, combined with social elements, is a powerful trend that has been growing and will likely continue to grow in the foreseeable future.
We’re investing in that space, and within our product, we’ve introduced new features around social, like the Leaderboard, which has received a lot of love from our users. The view counts and engagements in those areas have been really impressive. We also launched FOMO rolling banners showing the profited positions of recently closed trades by fellow users. Additionally, we offer top traders’ position details through social profiles. All of these are designed to help users feel like they’re part of a community.
Think of it like Facebook or Instagram: when you scroll through the feed and see people posting in real-time, you feel connected. But when you’re trading, it can feel isolating because all you’re doing is staring at a chart. You know there are others placing orders, but it’s not visibly engaging in the same way. So we’re trying to make trading feel more socially integrated. That’s the number one trend I’m really excited about and one we’re exploring heavily.
The second part is trading ideas. I know a lot of users listening in have either been rekt or have seized really good opportunities through coins like $TRUMP or from other recent market volatilities. Every cycle brings a trend, and with that comes different types of trading ideas.
Recently, the macro environment has had a significant impact on crypto prices. NASDAQ-listed companies like MicroStrategy are accumulating Bitcoin, and some countries or institutions are showing interest in buying Bitcoin or Ethereum through ETFs. There’s also a coupling between macroeconomic announcements like CPI data or employment figures and crypto price movements. When these metrics are released, they affect prices immediately.
By identifying and sharing these key moments, we can help users speculate more effectively and give them better opportunities to capitalize on volatile market movements. I believe this kind of trading idea will become increasingly active in crypto trading specifically.
The third part is more general and not necessarily exchange-specific. It is AI. Crypto moves 24/7, and trends change at hyper speed. Something that’s trending today might be gone tomorrow. As a casual crypto user, it’s impossible to keep up with these trends in real time unless you’re a super degen and glued to your screen 24 hours a day.
What we want to do is expand the ecosystem beyond heavy degen users to include more casual users, giving them at least a comparable experience or opportunity. To make that possible, AI agents and AI-powered technologies will play a huge role in the crypto space. I’m seeing a growing trend of AI being integrated into a variety of crypto applications.
Q: Before we draw this AMA to a close, please share any final words you may have with our listeners!
Youngsun: First of all, I’m very excited for the upcoming month of festivities and campaigns with TON. I’d really like to thank Victor — and the other Viktor as well — on stage. I think the Wallet team is pretty pumped about what we’ll be bringing to our users. For those listening in, this is a great opportunity, and we’ll continue to double down on initiatives like this. So make sure to follow Flipster, TON, and stay in touch. That’s how you’ll eventually be able to earn and get that initial buck for your effort. Good luck for the coming month!
Victor: We’re really excited about this activity we’ve started with Flipster. If any of you haven’t had the opportunity to try their products, you definitely should. Beyond this, TON is a very inclusive and user-friendly ecosystem. You can start by using the TON Network to deposit and withdraw USDT on Flipster, but there’s much more to it. I invite you to hop onto Telegram, check out the Telegram App Center, and discover some of the most interesting applications being built on our network.