The Key to Unlocking TON’s Next Phase of Growth
The hayday of Telegram games and memes feels like it was just yesterday and we’ve witnessed how they once brought a surge of activity and prosperity to the TON ecosystem. But now, as the TON ecosystem transitions into the “post-gaming era,” the pressing question emerges:
“What’s next?”
In LayerPixel, We always believe DeFi is the key answer for the next stage growth. One undeniable fact about TON becomes clear: the maturation of on-chain liquidity provisioning and the rise of small projects are leading users’ trading behavior to be less scenario-specific. Trades and interactive activities will increasingly shift back to native on-chain exchanges so DeFi and Web3 interactions will emerge as the dominant modes of user engagement. If we look into blockchains like Ethereum and Solana, DeFi has previously driven significant and sustained growth in TVL and ecosystem prosperity, and we’re confident it will also create powerful pulses for TON as well.
The Current State of TON DeFi
TON has established a foundational layer of DeFi applications on-chain, such as DEXs, lending protocols, and liquid staking. These “first-layer DeFi Lego” protocols address the basic needs of most retail users. However, significant gaps remain, especially for advanced DeFi participants and whale farmers. The most critical issues include security risks, not-good-enough atomic swaps and scarce asset management options.
Actually, there are some mature solutions available out there in the market. However, underlying these problems is TON’s unique development complexity. Unlike EVM architecture, TON’s native asset protocol, Jetton, introduces distinct paradigms that make direct adaptation of Ethereum-based features challenging.
To address this, LayerPixel has designed the Settlement Layer — a suite of bank-like smart contracts built on the existing TON Jetton standards. Users can deposit funds into the Settlement Layer and authorize compatible third-party contracts to interact with these assets. This innovation enables asset authorization and atomic swaps. At the heart of these advancements lies PixelSwap, a DEX that encapsulates the essence of these breakthroughs. Now, we believe the moment has arrived for its grand debut.
PixelSwap: One-Stop Solution for DeFi Needs
PixelSwap is currently the only DEX on TON that supports AMM, Weighted Pools, and LBPs. It allows users to customize token exposure while providing liquidity. Additionally, PixelSwap enables direct swaps between Jetton assets even in the absence of a liquidity pool for the trading pair. Liquidity providers can also maximize their earnings through various staking pools. With seamless integration of staking, lending, and liquidity mining, users enjoy optimal returns. These features not only fulfill basic trading needs but also offer diverse asset management solutions:
- Atomic Technology: Atomic transactions ensure complete or canceled processes, eliminating fund security concerns. Good atomic swaps efficiently reduce risks like hacking, fund loss, and transaction failures for safer trading.
- Smart Routing for Optimal Trading: Smart routing technology optimizes transaction paths via smart contracts for efficient capital flow. By utilizing multiple routes, it reduces slippage and ensures secure, seamless transactions with minimal risk of failure.
- Weighted Pools and LBPs: Weighted pools allow customized asset proportions, improving capital efficiency and reducing slippage. LBPs simplify token launches, providing stable market entry and minimizing initial liquidity volatility.
- Unpermissioned Trading Pair Creation: Users can freely create and list trading pairs, promoting decentralization and market diversity. Open participation fosters innovation and expands possibilities in the DeFi ecosystem.
- DeFi Building Blocks: Flexible asset management allows staking, liquidity mining, and integration with DeFi tools for higher returns. Diversified revenue streams offer multiple strategies to maximize yields in a seamless ecosystem.
Security: A Sword of Damocles Overlooked in the Rapid Development of TON DeFi
On Ethereum, UniSwap have been audited by firms like ABDK and SlowMist, while Balancer has undergone audits by Trail of Bits and ABDK. On Solana, Jupiter has been audited by Offside Labs and Sec3, and Raydium by MadShield and OtterSec. But what about TON? The alarming truth is that almost no DEX on TON has solid audit reports, even for projects that have been live for a long time. Beneath the calm surface often lurks a giant monster, and hidden in the clouds may hang a sword of Damocles.
While DEX design is becoming increasingly mature and refined, enormous risks often go unnoticed until it’s too late. The devil, as they say, is in the details, making top-tier audits absolutely essential. PixelSwap’s audits, conducted by two leading cybersecurity audit firms, are nearing completion. We have always prioritized the security of users’ assets in our product design, striving to deliver the safest DeFi experience for TON users and eliminating any potential risk of asset loss.
Atomic Swap Pioneers Next-Gen DeFi Innovation
TON, as an asynchronous blockchain using the Actor model, holds significant potential for scalability due to its parallel processing and relatively isolated distributed states. However, the absence of advanced atomic swaps makes DeFi development on TON exceedingly challenging, regardless of the complexity of FunC/Tact languages.
At PixelSwap, we’ve innovatively introduced a distributed transaction framework tailored specifically for the TON blockchain to address these challenges. This architecture follows the BASE principle (an alternative to ACID) and comprises two main components: the transaction manager and multiple transaction executors.
Saga Transaction Manager
The Saga transaction manager orchestrates complex multi-step transactions, leveraging the Saga pattern to overcome the limitations of 2PC, making it suitable for long-running distributed transactions:
- Lifecycle Management: Manages the entire transaction lifecycle by breaking it into smaller, independently executable steps, each with its own compensatory operation in case of failure.
- Task Allocation: Decomposes primary transactions into discrete, isolated tasks and delegates them to appropriate transaction executors.
- Compensatory Operations: Ensures that every saga includes compensatory transactions that can be triggered to reverse partial changes, maintaining consistency.
Transaction Executors
Transaction executors are responsible for executing the assigned tasks during the transaction lifecycle:
- Parallel Processing: Executors operate concurrently, maximizing throughput and balancing system load.
- Modular Design for Functional Expansion: Each executor is designed modularly, allowing various functionalities such as different swap curves, flash loans, or lending protocols. This modularity ensures seamless coordination with the Saga transaction manager while preserving the core composability principle of DeFi.
- Eventual Consistency: Ensures that the executor’s local state is synchronized and reconciled with the overall distributed state of the transaction.
With these capabilities, Pixelswap’s transaction executors deliver robust, scalable, and asynchronous transaction execution, enabling the creation of complex and composable DeFi applications on TON.
What About the Future?
In July 2024, LayerPixel/PixelSwap completed its Seed Round led by Kenetic Capital. Over the past four months, we’ve developed key functionalities and made significant progress. Moving forward, we aim to solidify the foundation of TON DeFi with the following milestones:
- 2024 Q2: Launch the testnet version, conduct stress testing, and address potential vulnerabilities to ensure system security and stability.
- 2024 Q3: Deploy on the mainnet, integrate with strategic DeFi partners, and introduce advanced features like lending protocol support to enhance financial service options.
- 2024 Q4: Plan the TGE (Token Generation Event) for $PIX, enabling user participation in governance and expanding PixelSwap’s ecosystem influence.
- 2025 Q1: Open source the core code, release developer tools (SDK and API), and implement community governance to foster innovation, transparency, and user engagement.
- 2025 Q2: Introduce cross-chain exchange mechanisms for seamless asset transfers, enabling multi-chain interaction. Token-based rewards tied to user activity will further expand ecosystem participation and benefits.
In Conclusion
From exploration to building solid foundations, LayerPixel has steadily contributed to the TON ecosystem. As the market continues to uncover value and the ecosystem map expands, the demand for foundational infrastructure in TON will inevitably grow, with DeFi upgrades becoming ever more urgent. With the arrival of PixelSwap, TON’s DeFi landscape now has a benchmark for a complete business loop — a process already integral to asset operations on Ethereum and Solana, and crucial to sustaining ecosystem value. PixelSwap aims to provide TON users with the safest, most advanced, and most versatile DEX solution for asset management.
We aspire to Create Powerful DeFi Pulses, further driving TON’s strong heart to beat faster and march forward toward a brighter crypto future together.
About LayerPixel
LayerPixel is an all-in-one DeFi protocol designed specifically for the TON blockchain and seamlessly integrated with Telegram Mini Apps. Leveraging a modular architecture, LayerPixel overcomes the asynchronous limitations of TON while harnessing its sharding benefits.
At the core of the LayerPixel ecosystem are several innovative components:
- PixelWallet — An SMC wallet with Account Abstraction (AA) features, enabling users to interact with dApps and the LayerPixel ecosystem with ease.
- PixelSwap — The first modular DEX on TON, supporting advanced trading models like weighted pools and LBP.
- Pixacle — A decentralized oracle solution delivering fast and accurate price data to dApps and smart contracts.
LayerPixel’s future plans include becoming a cross-chain solution to power DeFi experiences across all Telegram Mini Apps. By providing an all-in-one platform, LayerPixel aims to make blockchain-powered finance accessible to everyone within the TON ecosystem.
Official Links
LayerPixel: Homepage | Twitter | Channel | Community | Medium | Bot
PixelSwap: Homepage | Twitter | Channel | SWAP | Pool
PixelDAO: Twitter | Forum | Chat Group