Victoria d’Este
Printed: November 13, 2025 at 8:52 am Up to date: November 13, 2025 at 8:52 am
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November 13, 2025 at 8:52 am
In Transient
Whereas most noticed crypto as distant and sophisticated, STON.fi CEO Slavik Baranov noticed an opportunity to make it human—bringing decentralized finance into Telegram and redefining simplicity for the TON era.
When most individuals nonetheless noticed crypto as one thing distant and sophisticated, Slavik Baranov noticed a possibility to make it really feel human. As CEO of STON.fi, certainly one of TON’s main DeFi protocols, he’s serving to flip that imaginative and prescient into actuality, constructing finance that lives the place customers already are: inside Telegram. On this interview, Baranov explains how simplicity turned the driving drive behind STON.fi’s design, why decentralization is each a philosophy and a technique, and the way the undertaking goals to redefine mainstream finance for the TON era.
For readers who don’t reside on TON but: what drawback did Web2 or early-crypto by no means remedy for you — and the way did that push you into constructing on TON particularly?
Again in early crypto, the whole lot felt sophisticated — too many steps, an excessive amount of jargon, too many dangers. You needed to be technically and financially educated to even begin. That complexity at all times bothered me, as a result of it meant crypto was solely accessible to a small group of individuals.
What TON does is lastly take away that barrier. By being deeply built-in with Telegram — a messenger already utilized by over a billion folks — it makes crypto really feel like simply one other digital function, not a separate universe. You don’t need to “enter crypto”; it’s already the place you might be. That’s an enormous psychological and value shift.
And this shift issues now greater than ever. Younger folks face actual monetary stress — housing, financial savings, stability — and DeFi might help them take again some management. However for that to occur, the instruments should be easy, acquainted, and reliable. TON offers us precisely that basis, and that’s why we selected to construct right here.
We would like decentralized finance to be not a privilege for the technically expert, however a pure a part of on a regular basis digital life.
The TON ecosystem is rising quickly, but competitors amongst DEXs is fierce. What do you assume actually units STON.fi aside — not simply technically, however philosophically?
Everybody in blockchain embraces the trustless philosophy — however human nature doesn’t change in a single day. For a lot of newcomers, belief nonetheless issues deeply. In TON, the place adoption is accelerating, the way in which STON.fi behaves as a protocol at present will form how folks understand the whole ecosystem tomorrow. That’s why openness is its basis.
STON.fi is in fixed dialogue with its group — sharing updates, explaining product adjustments, and being current at occasions. Individuals know they will attain out instantly and get actual solutions. A lot of its most precious enhancements got here from group suggestions — customers who examined new options, discovered points, and helped refine the product. That dynamic retains the undertaking trustworthy and grounded.
Technically, STON.fi is powerful, however with out that two-way belief, it wouldn’t imply as a lot. As a result of what actually units STON.fi aside isn’t just the tech, it’s the tradition: it’s being constructed with its customers, not away from them.
Integrating TON wallets into the STON.fi expertise feels seamless at present. However past technical necessity, what’s the deeper aim behind creating such a frictionless person journey? Is STON.fi aiming to redefine how mainstream customers work together with DeFi on TON?
For us as for the principle software program contributor, the deeper aim is to make decentralized finance really feel as pure and intuitive as utilizing any function inside Telegram. Since TON is actually the Telegram-native blockchain, our mission has at all times been to merge crypto and on a regular basis digital conduct.
Most individuals don’t wish to take into consideration liquidity swimming pools, routing, or on-chain transactions — they simply need issues to work. So the developer’s focus has been to design round that: to cover the complexity of DeFi behind a well-recognized, light-weight interface that meets customers the place they already are. That’s why we’re constructing purposes and protocols that combine instantly into Telegram mini apps and let customers swap, stake, or present liquidity in a single step, usually with only one transaction.
In that sense, sure — STON.fi is completely aiming to redefine how mainstream customers work together with DeFi on TON. All STON.fi ecosystem individuals need DeFi to cease feeling like “finance for the few” and begin feeling like a pure a part of a person’s digital expertise. That’s the longer term we’re constructing: DeFi that feels native and human.
STON.fi not too long ago obtained its DAO alive — a giant step for any DeFi protocol. What impressed the transfer towards decentralization of governance? Was it a philosophical alternative, a strategic one — or each?
It’s positively each. From day one, STON.fi has been constructed to be one thing larger than a single undertaking — a spine others can construct on, hook up with, and develop with. So decentralization of governance is a pure step in that evolution.
Philosophically, STON.fi has at all times believed that true DeFi can solely exist when decision-making energy is distributed among the many group that really makes use of and helps the product.
On the identical time, it’s a strategic transfer. Because the TON ecosystem grows, we’re seeing extra builders, liquidity suppliers, and purposes constructing on prime of its infrastructure. A DAO ensures that every one these stakeholders have a voice in how the protocol evolves. It aligns incentives, creates transparency, and builds long-term belief.
Belief and transparency are the whole lot in DeFi. How does STON.fi architect its safety — each on-chain and off-chain — to safeguard customers’ property and information?
First, at STON.fi Dev we’ve a world-class engineering group that builds for optimum resilience and safety. However inside experience is rarely sufficient — that’s why we herald exterior auditors for each main launch.
STON.fi V2 good contracts handed a complete audit by Path of Bits, some of the revered cybersecurity companies in blockchain. As well as, we preserve ongoing bug bounty packages with Certik and HackenProof to always take a look at our programs in opposition to real-world assault situations.
Safety isn’t a one-time occasion — it’s an ongoing means of iteration, overview, and enchancment. That’s the mindset we preserve every single day.
If we fast-forward two or three years, what does STON.fi appear like — each as a product and as a community-led ecosystem?
Right now, STON.fi sits on the coronary heart of TON’s DeFi — powering liquidity and swaps behind the scenes for apps like TON Pockets, Tonkeeper, Tonco, Swap Espresso, and plenty of others. However it isn’t solely infrastructure. STON.fi can be the go-to protocol for customers themselves — the place the place anybody on TON can immediately swap tokens in a number of faucets, securely and transparently.
Wanting forward two or three years, I see STON.fi evolving into one thing even larger — the default liquidity layer of TON and a gateway for tens of millions of latest customers getting into Web3 by way of Telegram. And it isn’t stopping there. The subsequent chapter for STON.fi is cross-chain growth. The aim is to make Omniston, its liquidity aggregator, an engine that connects TON with the broader Web3 world. Think about with the ability to entry liquidity throughout a number of blockchains with the identical simplicity and velocity you expertise on TON at present — that’s what STON.fi is constructing towards.
On the identical time, the DAO will make governance extra open and community-driven. When priorities come from the builders, liquidity suppliers, and customers themselves, the protocol turns into smarter, extra responsive, and extra resilient.
In the long term, I see STON.fi turning into each the financial layer and the onboarding layer of TON — connecting liquidity, customers, and concepts into one seamless ecosystem. That’s the way it turns decentralized finance into one thing actually mainstream.
Lastly, what message would you prefer to share with customers, builders, and traders who’re watching the evolution of STON.fi — maybe deciding whether or not to hitch the motion now or later?
Each know-how has a brief second when it’s nonetheless being outlined — earlier than the patterns set in, earlier than issues get too huge to alter. TON is in that second now.
For builders, it’s a uncommon window: you possibly can form the requirements of an ecosystem nonetheless defining itself. For customers, it’s the primary time DeFi feels easy and human. And for traders, it’s an opportunity to help the infrastructure that makes this whole motion scalable.
That’s why I say: be part of now. As a result of this second — this precise stage of TON — won’t ever repeat.
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About The Creator
Victoria is a author on a wide range of know-how subjects together with Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her intensive expertise permits her to write down insightful articles for the broader viewers.
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Victoria d’Este
Victoria is a author on a wide range of know-how subjects together with Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her intensive expertise permits her to write down insightful articles for the broader viewers.
