The Open Network Foundation (TON Foundation) has appointed former Visa executive Nikola Plecas as its new Vice President of Payments, marking a major move in its ambition to reshape digital payments for Telegram’s massive user base.
In an announcement made on May 28, the TON Foundation revealed that Plecas will be spearheading its payment infrastructure strategy. His role will involve scaling the network’s capabilities to serve over 1 billion Telegram users, managing cross-border financial partnerships, and ensuring regulatory compliance across key jurisdictions.
🚨Big move in Web3 payments: TON Blockchain just named @nikola_plecas as VP of Payments!
He’s not just any hire. Nikola helped shape Visa’s global crypto strategy. Now he’s bringing that expertise to TON to scale payments for Telegram’s 1B+ users.
He’ll focus on:
⚙️… pic.twitter.com/Wsgknwmt9U— TON 💎 (@ton_blockchain) May 28, 2025
Plecas brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at Visa, where he was instrumental in developing crypto-focused products and leading global commercialization efforts. His work at Visa included enhancing crypto on-ramp performance across multiple markets, building out digital currency models for European clients, and participating in a range of fintech and crypto issuance projects.
“Joining TON Foundation represents an incredible opportunity to shape the future of payments on a truly global scale,”
Plecas said in the announcement.
Plecas will lead the development of a globally interoperable and developer-friendly payment architecture that can support rising demand from businesses, end-users, and applications integrating with the TON ecosystem.
TON Foundation CEO Max Crown highlighted the strategic importance of the hire, noting that
“payments are a core pillar of TON’s roadmap.”
He added that Plecas’ deep industry knowledge and vision for infrastructure growth align perfectly with TON’s global ambitions.
The hire comes amid a flurry of recent initiatives by the TON Foundation to expand its ecosystem. Earlier in May, stablecoin platform Ethena partnered with TON to bring its USDe and staked sUSDe (to be launched as tsUSDe) to Telegram users, offering dollar-denominated savings directly within the app.
This follows an April 2024 collaboration with HashKey Group to further its goal of making its crypto and Web3 wallet available to everyone as TON pushes toward interoperability with major chains, including Ethereum, Solana, and Tron, as part of its plan to link with at least 100 blockchain networks.
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