Cypher Talks: A Conversation with Bill Qian, Andrew Rogozov, and Sasha Plotvinov
Compiled by Cypher Capital & ChainCatcher
Cypher Talks is a series of dialogues jointly launched by Cypher Capital and ChainCatcher. Bill Qian, Chairman of Cypher Capital and a member of the TON Foundation Board, will be the core speaker, engaging with the most prominent projects and ecosystem builders in the industry to explore Web3 methodology.
In previous discussions, we have had the opportunity to speak with Steve Yun, President of the TON Foundation. You can read the dialogue here: “Crafting the Heart of the ‘Web3 Super App Ecosystem'”. In this edition, we are pleased to welcome Andrew Rogozov, Founder and CEO of The Open Platform, and Sasha Plotvinov, the head of Open Builders, the team behind the popular application Notcoin.
Notcoin has rapidly taken the crypto industry by storm with an astonishing 35 million total players and a daily active user count of up to 6 million, making it a phenomenon within the community.
Andrew Rogozov, a founding member of the TON Foundation and CEO of The Open Platform (TOP), has established various projects and tools within the Ton ecosystem, such as the Wallet in Telegram, and the wallets TonKeeper and Notcoin for PC use. He previously served as the CEO of VK.com, a leading social media platform in Eastern Europe.
Sasha Plotvinov, the leader of Open Builders, is responsible for creating Notcoin, as well as other popular products on the Telegram application and the TON blockchain. Based primarily in London, Sasha’s leadership and expertise have played a crucial role in driving innovation and success in the digital domain.
Bill Qian, Chairman of Cypher Capital and Chief Investment Officer of Phoenix Group, will host this interview, where we will explore the development journey of Notcoin with its founders Andrew and Sasha, including their perspectives on rapid adoption, challenges faced, and future visions.
Bill: Could both of you share your professional backgrounds and how you entered the cryptocurrency industry?
Andrew: My curiosity about decentralized technology led me on the journey into the crypto industry. Before founding TOP, I was primarily in the tech sector, particularly in social media platforms. I served as the CEO of VK, one of the largest social networks in Eastern Europe, where we experimented with various social engagement mechanisms. These experiences laid the foundation for the work we are doing today on Notcoin.
Sasha: My journey did not begin in the crypto industry. I worked as a product manager at a startup in California and started as a designer in 2013 when I joined. As the company grew from 30 employees to 1500, I felt it was time for a new challenge. When Andrew and I discussed the possibility of collaborating with VK.com, it sparked our interest in exploring new opportunities. After considering various product ideas, such as job boards and user-friendly systems, we ultimately shifted our focus to the TON ecosystem and built from there. This decision allowed us to create a launch platform in a challenging market environment, driven by our belief in the industry’s growth potential. Over time, we expanded our platform to serve a broader Telegram community, offering a comprehensive set of marketing activities, NFT minting, token sales, and community engagement tools. This transformation began a year ago and marked a significant milestone in our journey.
Bill: Notcoin has attracted over 35 million Telegram users in just two months, achieving significant growth. What do you both believe has led to this rapid expansion?
Andrew: Rapid expansion can be attributed to several key factors. First, the simple onboarding process – users on Telegram can start using the application without any complex authentication processes. Secondly, viral spread – 94% of users are invited by others, with incentives for inviting friends and participating in teams. Lastly, leaderboards – because people enjoy competing with each other, we created a highly competitive environment. Various leaderboards within the community, teams, and invitees attract users to engage in friendly competition, especially appealing to the most active participants.
Sasha: I agree. Simplicity and viral spread are game-changers. Users can start earning rewards with just one click, making it very easy to get started. Additionally, education-wise, users can learn more about cryptocurrencies through various tasks and activities, adding significant value. Integration with Telegram’s social graph also allows users to easily share and invite friends, driving the growth flywheel.
Bill: How did you both decide on the name and logo for Notcoin? I noticed that the logo resembles the Ton Foundation logo.
Andrew: The main concept of Notcoin is to create a more educational and easily accessible way to obtain Ton tokens. By using a simple click mechanism and a playful wordplay from “Ton” to “Not,” the project aims to attract a wider community.
Bill: What was the biggest challenge you encountered when building Notcoin?
Andrew: I believe the biggest challenge was the unforeseen massive growth, necessitating a rapid expansion of our infrastructure. Telegram faced limitations due to unprecedented growth, such as limits on the number of users in group chats. To address this issue, we created separate groups for different languages and utilized the thematic features within Telegram groups. This allowed for more organized communication and enhanced user interaction. While growth brought challenges, it also prompted improvements to the Telegram platform. Expanding our infrastructure during this rapid expansion phase was the most difficult aspect. Additionally, combating bot fraud activities required complex algorithms to ensure fairness and a genuine user base.
Sasha: I’ll be honest with you, one of the biggest challenges was working without weekends for eight months, starting from showcasing a QR code pointing to the Notcoin beta version at our meeting in November. The workload surged, a pile of tasks came our way, and the process was quite challenging and exhausting. Of course, we now realize the need to change the pace, improve organization within the team, and make work more rhythmic.
Technically, handling a large number of user requests was also challenging. We had to optimize our database, distribute workloads to servers in different countries, and minimize peak times. Some days, we worked tirelessly from 8 am until 11 pm to ensure the application’s performance. While it was tough, we learned a lot as a team, especially since we had never dealt with such high traffic before. Now, we are more capable and experienced, able to confidently face new challenges, which are just another feature to be addressed.
Bill: Setting up a TON-based cryptocurrency wallet for users is an important step. How does this integration benefit Notcoin?Andrew: When users first enter the cryptocurrency industry, wallets are not their top priority. Instead, they may be curious about cryptocurrencies and start using them as beginners. It is important to have user-friendly tools for beginners, such as toolkits. People usually start using cryptocurrencies by engaging with interactive features, such as interacting with specific crypto assets. Most people only install a wallet after receiving tokens from others. Therefore, our project, Notcoin, has become one of the fastest-growing crypto applications globally by distributing tokens to millions of users and encouraging them to create wallets to store the tokens.
Users can choose from five different cryptocurrency wallets, including hosted wallets within Telegram and self-hosted wallets both inside and outside Telegram. This flexibility allows users to choose the wallet that best suits their preferences. Partners involved in the project have clearly seen a tremendous increase in the number of users and recognized the educational value our project possesses. Emphasizing the concept of receiving the first token is a key factor in sparking curiosity and engagement in the crypto space. Notcoin’s unique distribution model, involving a large ICO for a single token in a short period, has contributed to its success.
Bill: What part of the project surprised both of you the most? Were you surprised when it reached one million users right from the start?
Andrew: I anticipated this outcome because we launched a similar project before 2019. However, we were unsure of how it would perform on Telegram due to its unique platform and diverse user base from different countries. Each country has its way of using Telegram, some for social interaction, some for channel chats, and some for group participation. The diversity in user behavior across markets is something we had to learn and adapt to when expanding the project on Telegram, which was unexpected.
Sasha: Back in November, I had models and forecasting plans. Although not all my goals have been achieved, we are very close to our planned targets. By the time we stopped the clicker section on April 1st, we had reached 35 million users. One surprise was when we invited users to donate to Telegram, we received donations from 500,000 people, with 250,000 people donating all their tokens. This generosity inspired us to give back and promote positive wealth creation methods that benefit everyone. By nurturing a thriving ecosystem, our goal is to achieve mutual success, avoiding situations where users face failure or work without reward.
Bill: Notcoin is the first project to be listed on all major exchanges simultaneously. How do you both feel about this? What advice do you have for other projects going through the token listing process?
Andrew: For us, this is an incredible milestone. Being listed on major exchanges like OKX and Binance simultaneously has provided us with significant exposure and credibility. My advice to other projects is to focus on user value rather than tokenizing immediately. Take Telegram, for example, it did not monetize in the first seven years, allowing the community to grow in value. This strategy has proven successful, as projects can only attract exchange participation if they have a strong and engaged community. I believe founders should prioritize creating long-term, sustainable value for users, which will naturally attract exchange partnerships. It’s all about building something meaningful, letting the value speak for itself, and ultimately leading to productive partnerships that benefit all stakeholders.
Sasha: Building something viral on Telegram may not be difficult, but ensuring its sustainability, fairness, and transparency is the real challenge. In the long run, only sustainable and commitment-fulfilling projects will thrive. My advice is to not only focus on “viral spread” but also on the goals and long-term vision behind the effort. Project plans should prioritize sustainability. Test your ideas thoroughly and address any doubts or uncertainties early and comprehensively. By proactively solving problems from the start and enhancing project adaptability, you can avoid future issues.
Bill: In terms of community culture, how do users perceive Notcoin, especially new crypto users with different cultural backgrounds and perspectives on tokens? How do users view the value of Notcoin?
Andrew: I believe Sasha has played a crucial role in shaping the project’s values and community. Notcoin prioritizes its users and community rather than conducting secretive token sales or seeking investors. The project’s unique approach involves a significant token distribution, making participants feel valued and connected to the community’s success. By providing rewards and incentives to encourage users to hold onto their tokens rather than sell immediately, this sense of unity and community ownership sets Notcoin apart, emphasizing the power of cryptocurrencies and blockchain to empower individuals and foster shared success and ownership within communities.
Bill: The cryptocurrency industry evolves rapidly. What is the vision for Notcoin and the TON ecosystem in the next 12 to 24 months?
Andrew: I believe Notcoin has the potential to grow tenfold, including a thriving community, expanded token holders, and more. This growth may not necessarily lead to a tenfold increase in the number of users but could significantly impact the overall market value. As more users engage with the platform, more games and experiences will be introduced to enrich the community.
I think TON should actively attract and welcome developers into the system, providing comprehensive tool support for them. Developer tools not only offer additional incentives to developers but also benefit users participating in the ecosystem. The TON team is currently working on establishing an open alliance to assist all contributors and organizing global events to educate builders on how to collaborate and create the next Notcoin or DeFi protocol on TON, Telegram, Mini Apps, and the ecosystem. This aligns with the focus of other blockchain ecosystems, but the uniqueness here lies in combining blockchain with a platform built on shared resources.
Sasha: The most valuable part of the ecosystem is people’s attention and time. This makes me realize that the key to system growth lies in educating users and encouraging them to bring value to the ecosystem. In the next four years, my vision is to establish a series of effective and automated subsystems within the Notcoin ecosystem, including competitions, influencer collaborations, and governance processes. The goal is to make these subsystems seamlessly collaborate to collectively create and attract value within the ecosystem.
Another aspect to consider is that from the beginning, we realized that the clicker function could not sustain continuous growth and engagement in the long term. To prevent a gradual decline in Notcoin’s popularity, we decided to shift from the mining phase to a more construction-oriented phase and closed the clicker on April 1st. Our current strategy is to launch new viral social games that promote community engagement, collaboration, and competition through leaderboards. Our first game is expected to be announced and launched in June, marking the exciting new direction Notcoin is taking.
