The Open Network (TON), a blockchain with ties to Telegram Messenger, is in the crypto spotlight, Bloomberg reports.

TON has surged an eye-popping 1,400% this year, primarily due to its access to Telegram’s 900 million monthly users. This has rekindled hopes that Telegram — which has long been crypto traders’ messaging app of choice — could become a “super app.”

“Telegram is the only major platform that is free of regulatory hurdles to incorporate Web3 for an open blockchain network,” says Pantera Capital Management, a TON investor.

TON’s token is now one of the top 10 by market capitalization, after tripling this year and briefly topping $1 billion.

Investors expect TON will become a crucial payments application. In February, Telegram, a rival to WhatsApp, said it would “exclusively use the TON blockchain” for payments related to an ad-sharing program it is launching. That caused the number of daily users on TON to rise dramatically to 350,000, according to TonStat data.

“These sort of payment solutions that are instant and have nothing to do with borders in terms of slowing things down just look like a killer app, says Richard Galvin, CEO of DACM, a cryptocurrency investment firm and another major TON investor.

As the world becomes more global and digital, instant payment applications will become in even higher demand, Galvin adds.

Another factor driving up assets on the blockchain are mini-apps and pay-to-earn games. Two such extraordinarily popular games are Hamster Kombat and Notcoin, whose users recently spiked to 200 million and 40 million, respectively.

Certainly, blockchain’s early appeal was centered on gaming and decentralized finance, says Panera portfolio manager Cosmo Jiang. “Going forward, we see more use cases around payments and remittance.”

Blockchain software may play an important role in consumer-facing crypto platforms in the next three years. With TON aiming to capture a third of Telegram’s users by 2028, it could emerge as one of the big winners, says Halil Mirakhmedov, chief security officer of The Open Platform and Wallet.