TON Ecology Mini Game Application is a topic that cannot be avoided in the encryption industry this year. With games like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat gaining popularity, the TON Ecology has experienced unprecedented growth.
Especially with the release of Telegram game tokens like Hamster Kombat on the TON network, the number of TON holding addresses has increased from just 4.3 million at the beginning of the year to over 100 million.
However, with the prosperity of large-scale applications seemingly on the horizon, some concerns have arisen in the TON Ecology. Not only do phenomena like Hamster Kombat have many controversies, but the “followers” are also constantly disappointing players and users. It seems that the vast majority of mini applications are difficult to avoid criticism from the community and their short-lived existence.
With a market value of less than $40 million, X Empire cannot escape the curse of airdrops.
Last week, the Telegram click-to-earn game X Empire, themed around Musk, released its X token on the TON blockchain.
This game, which claimed to have 50 million players, received support from many mainstream exchanges before its launch, including OKX, Bybit, Bitget, KuCoin, Gate.io, and MEXC. However, despite the massive marketing and hype, the token’s performance did not meet expectations, leading to widespread criticism and complaints from the community.
Community complaints erupted after X Empire announced the distribution of X tokens on October 18, mainly from players who were excluded from the airdrop for unknown reasons. It is worth noting that X Empire had announced on October 8 that its player count had exceeded 50 million, but only 6 million users qualified for the airdrop.
X Empire founder Alex Falcon argued that “active friends” were the most important criterion in the final airdrop calculation, alongside hourly profits and task completion. He also stated, “Everyone who truly invests time in X Empire has the opportunity to receive this reward.” Prior to this, X Empire had informed players that they needed to pay 0.5 TON in transaction fees to claim the airdrop, but later stated that payment was not a necessary condition.
This inconsistency enraged the X Empire community, with some users directly complaining to Musk on the platform, claiming it was a scam and unfair project. Although Musk himself is not associated with X Empire, the project is filled with elements related to him.
Furthermore, after the release of X tokens, their price has been steadily declining. Many players claim to be losing money, with most only earning tokens worth less than $10. As of October 25, the price of X tokens was around $0.000054, with a total market capitalization of nearly $37 million.
Following X Empire, MemeFi and Tomarket, two Telegram mini applications claiming to have over 40 million users each, have become the focus of attention. Their tokens are set to be launched soon.
MemeFi is unique in that it chose not to release tokens on the TON network but instead opted for the Ethereum Layer 2 solution Linea. However, MemeFi suddenly announced on November 12 that it would move its tokens to the emerging Sui network. The project stated that they had partnered with the Sui network development team, Mysten Labs, to strategize the release, including marketing efforts and plans to showcase a wider Sui ecosystem.
MemeFi plans to take a final snapshot of player activities on November 6 to determine token distribution in the airdrop, with detailed information to be released on November 8.
Prior to this, the MemeFi token was scheduled to be released on October 9 but was delayed due to a strategic reassessment by the development team. The news of the token moving to the Sui network did not excite the community, with many users criticizing MemeFi’s delays.
Tomarket, scheduled to conduct its TGE on October 31, has not yet disclosed token economics and distribution details. This lack of information has frustrated the community, as Tomarket’s roadmap stated that $TOMA was to be issued and listed in October, but there has been no mention of the exchange listing.
Tomarket has also employed a strategy similar to X Empire, claiming that the fourth step of the TGE is not mandatory and that users need to pay 1 TON to purchase the “Tomarket Premium Medal.”
Tomarket founder Oliver Tomassi tweeted on October 28 that users would be able to determine their $TOMA allocation starting from November 1 and that a portion of $TOMA had already been distributed to eligible participants, although the exact amount was not yet confirmed.
Later, he tweeted “Say no to hackers, scammers, and bots.” On October 29, Tomassi tweeted again promoting the upcoming listing and stating, “Things are happening, step by step.”
Although MemeFi and Tomarket have not officially launched their tokens or been listed, given the current reputation and the experiences of Hamster Kombat and X Empire, these projects may face challenges in gaining traction.
As popular games in the TON ecosystem continue to decline, the number of active addresses has dropped significantly, according to data from analysis company IntoTheBlock. The number of active addresses in the TON ecosystem has decreased to 1.18 million as of October 28, compared to a peak of 5.16 million a month ago. The percentage of active addresses has also been declining since reaching a high of 6.52% at the end of September, now averaging 1.76% in the past 30 days.
Despite the controversies surrounding Hamster Kombat, it undeniably brought a significant number of users and traffic to the TON ecosystem, reaching a peak at the end of September. However, with the conclusion of the super airdrop for Hamster Kombat, the token HMSTR has been steadily declining.
As of October 30, the price of HMSTR was around $0.0028, with a total market capitalization of approximately $286 million, a decrease of over 67% since its launch. Many Hamster Kombat players opted to receive the airdrop and immediately sell, showing their respect for the time they invested in the project.
Perhaps, when discussing mass adoption, we should not forget that blockchain and Web3 technology should benefit more communities. If a mini application with millions of users cannot bring joy, convenience, or wealth, but instead deception, manipulation, and losses, it is unlikely to last.
Therefore, projects like these may be destined to be abandoned and thrown into the industry’s junk heap.