How to Trade TON Ecosystem Tokens? Operation Paths Within Telegram and On-Chain
Trading in the TON ecosystem follows two paths: one inside Telegram, which is convenient but has limited functionality; the other via on-chain DEXs, which offers more room for operation but requires you to prepare your own wallet and gas fees. The operation paths for the two are completely different. Beginners are advised to start with the built-in Telegram wallet.
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1. Prepare a TON Wallet: First Decide Which Path to Take
What to do: Choose the appropriate wallet based on the trading method you want to use.
How to do it:
Scenario A: Only operate within Telegram (easiest). Open Telegram directly, search for the @wallet bot and start a conversation. The bot will guide you to create a custodial wallet. There is also a Wallet entry in the Telegram menu bar. The advantage of this wallet is that you can use it as soon as you open Telegram, and it is convenient for interacting with mini-programs within Telegram. The downside is that it may sometimes show regional restrictions, requiring you to try switching networks.
Scenario B: Use on-chain DEXs (more features). Download a wallet that supports TON. Tonkeeper is recommended (widely recognized as the best TON wallet, official website https://tonkeeper.com) or imToken (version 2.17.3 and above supports TON Connect). Create a new wallet with a mnemonic phrase or import an existing wallet.
Completion criterion: Your wallet is created and you can see the TON address. TON addresses have two formats—the old format starts with EQ, the new format starts with UQ—both point to the same wallet and can be used for receiving funds.
Prerequisite: If you use the Telegram wallet, you need a Telegram account. If you use an on-chain wallet, just download and install the wallet app.
Common failure reason: Downloading a fake Tonkeeper. Only download from the official website, do not download from third-party links.
2. Acquire TON: Buy on Exchange or Use a Bridge
What to do: Transfer TON into your wallet as trading capital and gas fees.
How to do it:
Scenario A: Buy from a centralized exchange and withdraw. Major exchanges such as OKX, Binance, Bybit, Bitget all support buying TON.
Buy TON on the exchange with USDT or fiat currency.
When withdrawing, select the TON network and paste your wallet address.
Confirm the withdrawal and wait for the funds to arrive.
Scenario B: Bridge from another chain to TON. If you have assets on Ethereum or BSC, you can use the official bridge bridge.ton.org to move funds to the TON network. The fee is 5 TON + 0.25% of the bridged amount.
Completion criterion: Your wallet displays a TON balance. Note that you need to reserve some TON in the wallet as gas fees; do not use it all for trading.
Prerequisite: Withdrawing from an exchange requires completing KYC. The bridge requires connecting the source chain wallet (e.g., MetaMask).
Common failure reason: Choosing the wrong chain when withdrawing. You must select the TON network. If you select another chain (such as BSC or ERC20), the funds will not arrive at your TON wallet address and you will need to bridge again at extra cost.
Risk reminder: When transferring to a new TON wallet for the first time, a small amount of TON will be consumed to deploy the wallet contract on-chain, so the actual credited amount will be slightly less than the transferred amount. It is recommended to allow a buffer of 0.1–0.2 TON for the first transfer.
3. Acquire TON Ecosystem Tokens: Trading Path Within Telegram
What to do: If you mainly operate within Telegram, use the Wallet bot or mini-programs to buy Jettons (TON ecosystem tokens, similar to ERC-20).
How to do it:
Open the @wallet bot in Telegram or enter a mini-program that supports trading (e.g., STON.fi's bot within Telegram @ston_app_bot).
Select the swap function, input the amount of TON to pay and the token you want to buy.
Confirm the transaction and sign to complete the swap.
Check the token balance in the wallet to confirm receipt.
Completion criterion: Your TON balance decreases and the target token balance increases.
Prerequisite: The wallet has a TON balance sufficient to cover gas. TON network transfers of Jettons require an account balance of no less than 0.06 TON to initiate the transaction.
Common failure reason: Telegram wallet sometimes shows regional restrictions; switching networks can solve this.
4. Acquire TON Ecosystem Tokens: On-Chain DEX Trading Path
What to do: If you want more choices (more trading pairs, LP mining, limit orders, etc.), use an on-chain DEX.
How to do it: There are two major DEXs on TON: ston.fi and DeDust (dedust.io/swap).
Open the DEX website (visit within the mobile wallet browser, or access on a computer and scan the QR code with the wallet to connect).
Connect the wallet. STON.fi supports Ton Connect, allowing direct authorization within the wallet.
Select a trading pair, input the amount, and click Swap.
Sign and confirm the transaction in the wallet.
Wait for on-chain confirmation and check the wallet balance.
If you connect via imToken, you can enter the STON.fi URL directly in the wallet's "Browse" page, authorize, and start trading.
Completion criterion: The DEX page shows a successful transaction and the target token balance in the wallet increases.
Prerequisite: The wallet is connected to the DEX. Mobile wallet must reserve enough TON for gas. STON.fi has low transaction fees and fast confirmation speeds.
Common failure reason: The wallet is not connected to the TON mainnet. Tonkeeper and imToken default to the TON network. If you use a wallet like MetaMask, you need to manually add the TON network or switch to Tonkeeper.
Risk reminder: Participating in LP liquidity pools on DEXs carries "impermanent loss" risk—price fluctuations will change the composition of your returned assets, and you may not get back equivalent tokens.
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5. Advanced: Use Trading Bots for Fast Execution
What to do: If you need to front-run or quickly execute trades, you can use a trading bot in the TON ecosystem.
How to do it: STONKS Bot is currently recognized as the best TON trading bot. Search for @stonks_sniper_bot in Telegram, paste the token contract address, and you can buy with one click.
Completion criterion: Completed a trade through the bot.
Prerequisite: A Telegram account, and the bot needs to be connected to your TON wallet (usually via Ton Connect).
Risk reminder: Trading bots require authorization to access your wallet, posing a certain security risk. It is recommended to authorize only when trading and revoke promptly afterwards.
FAQ
Q1: What is the difference between STON.fi and DeDust? Which one to choose? Both are AMM DEXs on TON with similar features and fee structures. STON.fi has a more complete ecosystem, supporting more pools and point campaigns; DeDust has a cleaner interface. Beginners are recommended to use STON.fi because it has more comprehensive documentation and a larger community.
Q2: What are Jettons? What is their relationship with TON? Jettons are non-native tokens on the TON network, similar to ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum. Meme coins and project tokens (such as STON, DUST) in the TON ecosystem are all Jettons. Trading Jettons requires paying TON as gas fees.
Q3: Are token prices the same when buying in the Telegram wallet and on STON.fi? Not necessarily exactly the same. Swaps within the Telegram wallet usually also route through STON.fi or DeDust, but may differ slightly due to slippage settings and pool selection. If you want precise control over trading parameters (slippage, route), it is recommended to use STON.fi directly.
Next step: If you are a beginner, search for the @wallet bot in Telegram today and complete a full process of "buy a little TON → swap for a Meme coin". Keep the amount small, within $10 just to get familiar. After that, try connecting a Tonkeeper wallet to STON.fi next time to experience on-chain operation. Remember: both operations require only a tiny principal, with the goal being to familiarize yourself with the process, not to make money.
