TAC, Telegram Web3, EVM dApps

Tech

TAC, Telegram Web3, EVM dApps

Coin Edition sat down for an exclusive interview with Pavel Altukhov, CEO of TAC, where he shared how its unique blockchain bridges EVM dApps directly into Telegram, simplifying Web3 for millions of users and shaping the future of decentralized finance within social platforms.

1. Pavel, what first pulled you into crypto？ And how did you become such an early builder and investor specifically within Telegrams blockchain ecosystem？

It was Bitcoin in early 2017 that first pulled me into crypto, but what truly captured my interest was the underlying technology. That curiosity led me to follow Telegram‘s blockchain efforts from the early days of the GRAM ICO in 2018. I’ve been tracking it closely ever since.

In 2022, I invested in TON, driven by the conviction that its deep integration with Telegram could unlock massive potential. I dove deeper into the ecosystem, and soon began contributing, starting with the launch of the first liquid staking platform on TON in early 2023. That experience paved the way for our next chapter: building TAC. Its been a natural evolution of our belief in TON and its future as a core part of the Telegram ecosystem.

2. What was the specific insight that convinced you bridging EVM dApps directly into Telegram was the transformative path？

Contributing to the early DeFi efforts on TON with several attempts to build a CDP-based stablecoin made it clear to me that replicating Ethereum DeFi dApp architecture on an asynchronous blockchain like TON isnt feasible. You have to redesign the dApp from the ground up. But in doing so, you lose the entire evolutionary advantage of DeFi that matured on Ethereum, the battle-tested applications, its composability, and most importantly, access to the liquidity.

Being honest, we talk about DeFi, we‘re essentially talking about Ethereum. That’s where the applications were designed, evolved through time, stress-tested, and thats why the liquidity naturally trusts them. And by liquidity, we mostly mean Ethereum-native capital, by the way.

This understanding, paired with the unmet demand for yield and DeFi primitives on TON, pushed us to design a DeFi leapfrog. One that doesnt try to clone, but instead bridges and integrates EVM blue-chip dApps into the TON and Telegram ecosystem seamlessly.

3. In plain terms, what exactly is a hybrid dApp？ How does using one actually improve the experience for someone who doesnt know crypto？

Every dApp deployed on TAC becomes hybrid by design. What this means in practice is that builders can deploy the EVM dApps, with no need to modify a single line of code. These dApps are then complemented by two sets of smart contracts on TON and TAC sides that interface with the TON Adapter.

The TON Adapter is the innovation, it allows TON wallet holders to interact with these EVM applications on TAC natively and seamlessly. Cross-chain complexity, like bridging assets or managing multiple wallets is completely abstracted away from the user.

Take a real-world example: launching a Curve Telegram Mini App inside Telegram. A user selects a token pair, taps “swap,” signs once, that‘s it. No need to bridge tokens, approve pools, or deal with multiple chains. If you are swapping TON for Bitcoin, TON leaves your wallet and BTC shows up. It’s that simple.

So TAC doesnt just solve interoperability. It meaningfully upgrades the UX, allowing users to engage with Web3 applications in a way that feels intuitive, seamless, and invisible, right where they already are, in Telegram.

4. How did you achieve that deep EVM compatibility on TON？ What does that “copy-paste” mean for developers day-to-day？

We achieve deep EVM compatibility on TON through TACs two-module architecture.

First, TAC runs a Cosmos-based Layer 1 chain with full EVM compatibility. This is where the application logic lives, developers deploy their smart contracts exactly as they would on an EVM chain, with zero changes to the code.

Second, the TON Adapter bridges EVM logic to TON. It lets any TON wallet holder interact directly with TAC deployed EVM dApps with no complexity.

For developers, the value proposition is straightforward and simple: take your existing EVM codebase, redeploy on TAC without rewriting a line, and unlock a new user base of Telegram, hundreds of millions, and reachable in-app.

5. Whats the concrete strategy to onboard these millions of users into using TAC dApps？ What does that first experience look like for a regular Telegram user？

Yeah, so we split the addressable market into two parts. First is the crypto-native TON audience. There‘s clear demand there, TON holders want yield, they want DeFi, and right now that functionality is missing. We are enabling access to the blue-chip DeFi dApps, enabling diverse and deep liquidity, swaps, lending markets and most importantly yields. The strongest product-market fit in crypto, and we’re just bringing it to TON.

But the bigger play, and the core vision behind TAC – is bringing EVM functionality into Telegram itself. We expect that to happen through Mini Apps distributing the benefits of the technology, starting with DeFi features. Consumer apps run directly inside Telegram, seamlessly distributing these benefits to the non-crypto audience – that is how we envision the next wave of adoption.

6. Beyond DeFi, what other specific use cases do you see really taking off on TAC within the Telegram environment？ Could gaming, NFTs, or DAOs thrive there？

Honestly, I believe there are only two real product-market fits in crypto, stablecoins and DeFi. That‘s why we’re focused on the latter. Our first goal is to see how far we can take DeFi adoption by simplifying the UX and distributing it through Telegram to TON investors and beyond.

That said, we do see a lot of potential in the broader consumer app layer. We can already see a range of Mini Apps from fintech to games starting to integrate DeFi features. Some of the biggest Telegram-native apps are either embedding DeFi into their game loops or planning to.

7. Looking ahead, whats your long-term vision for TAC and putting Web3 inside apps like Telegram？ How do you see social platforms and blockchain evolving？ What part do you want TAC to play？

Long-term, the vision for TAC is all about consumer distribution. We believe the way to get blockchain into people‘s hands isn’t by building new platforms, it‘s by integrating into where the users already are. And Telegram has one of the strongest, most active communities out there. So we’re betting on consumer apps, Mini Apps in particular, that can deliver the benefits of DeFi to non-crypto users without any of the friction. Our job is to kickstart that flywheel by giving builders the tools and stack they need to ship real use cases inside Telegram.

As for how I see social platforms and blockchain evolving – social is where the attention is. It‘s where users already live. And blockchain desperately needs distribution. The old model of building a community around a protocol is outdated. Same with “build it and they will come.” Our approach is: build where they already are. That’s why bringing full blockchain functionality into a platform like Telegram is so powerful.

TAC‘s role is to make that possible. We’re extending blockchain capabilities into Telegram, complementing TON with full EVM support, enabling DeFi, expanding asset access. Were here to help make Telegram the most functional Web3 environment out there.