Reported by Cointelegraph: TON’s integration with LayerZero plays a key role in connecting the TON network to the ecosystem of Tether’s USDt stablecoin.
The Open Network (TON) has continued scaling its crosschain capabilities through a new integration with a major interoperability protocol, LayerZero.
The integration aims to connect TON to at least 100 chains — including Ethereum, Tron and Solana — the TON Foundation said in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on Feb. 11.
The deployment plays a key role in connecting TON to the ecosystem of Tether’s USDt stablecoin, a spokesperson for the TON Foundation said.
“This integration makes TON highly interoperable, and users can bridge assets across a wide variety of chains through LayerZero’s messaging protocol,” the representative stated.
Tether, Ethena and Stargate among key partners
The integration involves several key partners, including Tether, synthetic stablecoin issuer Ethena and the LayerZero-based crosschain bridge protocol Stargate.
The integration lets users transfer tokens like USDT from Ethereum, Tron and other supported networks directly to the TON blockchain.
The transfer is enabled through the Stargate platform, which provides an entry point for users to bridge their assets.
“This integration with LayerZero represents the first interoperability protocol to bring major applications like Stargate and Ethena to TON. For us, it marks a major milestone in expanding interoperability and connecting TON to other networks,” the foundation’s spokesperson said.
Connecting TON to the USDT ecosystem
The new development isn’t TON’s first crosschain integration effort. The TON Foundation has been actively bridging its ecosystem across many blockchains — including Bitcoin — in recent years.
One such project is the TON Application Chain, which acts as a bridge between TON and Ethereum’s developer ecosystems and is designed to simplify the building of applications within Ethereum Virtual Machine on TON.
“While previous bridging efforts did link TON to other networks, the integration with LayerZero plays a key role in connecting TON to the USDT ecosystem, making us an integral part of the bridging hub for the largest stablecoin in the space,” the TON Foundation representative said, adding:
“Beyond that, LayerZero’s support for major projects and its seamless integration of USDT0 marks a new phase of growth for TON within the multichain ecosystem.”
TON is the fourth-largest network for USDT
TON’s integration with LayerZero could allow it to tap into the massive supply of USDT running on Ethereum and Tron — the two largest networks for USDT.
According to Tether’s transparency page, the net circulating supply of USDT issued on Ethereum and Tron combined amounts to $136 billion, or 96% of all USDT in net circulation.
Solana, the third-largest blockchain for USDT, has around $1.8 billion in USDT circulating supply issued on its network since USDT first went live on Solana in March 2021.
After going live on TON in April 2024, USDT has seen rapid growth on the blockchain, surpassing $1 billion in circulating supply within just five months after launch.
At the time of writing, the TON blockchain is the fourth-largest network for USDT, with circulating TON-based USDT amounting to $1.4 billion.
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