Maximilian Krown replaces Roman Semenov as TON Foundation CEO

The TON Foundation has announced the appointment of a new CEO — Maximilian Krown, co-founder of the payments operator MoonPay.

The Foundation for the TON blockchain has announced the appointment of Maximilian Krown, co-founder of the payments operator MoonPay, as the new CEO.

At MoonPay, Krown oversaw key areas including finance, operations, banking relationships, payment systems, and regulatory compliance. Observers note that he has strong connections with both financiers and regulators. He will now lead the TON Foundation while retaining his seat on MoonPay’s board of directors.

Recent personnel changes at TON come just a month after venture firms invested $400 million in TON tokens, with a goal of making the ecosystem more attractive to institutional players.

Earlier this year, the number of active users on the TON blockchain surged from 4 million to 41 million — although the TON token price has dropped 46% in the same period. The new CEO aims to onboard 30% of Telegram’s active users to the blockchain by 2028.

This marks TON’s second major leadership hire this year. In January, the Foundation announced the appointment of Manuel Stotz, founder of Kingsway Capital Partners Ltd, as Chairman of the Foundation. Stotz announced plans to expand TON’s presence in the U.S. and forge stronger ties with the local institutional community.