KTON vs Hipo: TON Liquid Staking Compared

KTON and Hipo are both liquid staking protocols on TON: you stake Gram and receive a liquid staking token (LST) that keeps earning while you hold it. Here is a fair, side-by-side look at how they differ, so you can decide which fits your needs.

Updated June 2026 · By KTON

What both protocols have in common

Before the differences, it is worth noting how much KTON and Hipo share. Both are liquid staking protocols on TON, and both let you:

• Stake Gram (the network's native asset, formerly Toncoin) and earn staking rewards.
• Receive a transferable LST that represents your staked position and stays usable while it earns.
• Stake any amount from a low minimum, so you do not have to lock up a full validator stake.
• Rely on open-source smart contracts and published third-party security audits.

New to the concept? Start with our explainer on TON liquid staking, then come back to compare the two.

How the liquid staking token works

The clearest design difference between the two is how the LST reflects rewards.

KTON

With KTON, you stake Gram and instantly receive the KTON token. It stays transferable and keeps earning the whole time you hold it, and rewards auto-compound into your position, so there is no manual claiming or restaking and no per-cycle round management on your side. When you want out, the recommended path is to unstake through the protocol to receive your Gram after the validation cycle completes (see the unstaking section below).

Hipo

Hipo issues Hipo Staked Gram (hGRAM) in return for your staked Gram. Per Hipo's documentation, it uses a value-accruing model: your balance does not increase, but the token's value rises relative to Gram as staking rewards accumulate after each validation round. Hipo also runs a permissionless validator selection process in which validators bid to receive the pooled stake, and the protocol routes deposits toward the highest return offers. Separately, Hipo has its own HPO governance token and a community rewards program (the Hipo Gang tap-to-earn game, now continued as Hipo Club).

Both LST approaches keep you liquid and earning. The practical staking difference is mostly bookkeeping: a changing balance (KTON) versus a changing exchange rate (hGRAM). Confirm current mechanics on hipo.finance and at app.kton.io.

Wallet support and getting started

How easily you can connect matters as much as the mechanics, and KTON aims to be broadly compatible here.

• KTON: supports staking from most TON wallets. Any wallet with TON Connect can connect and stake, including Tonkeeper, MyTonWallet, Wallet in Telegram and OKX. The minimum stake is 1 Gram.
• Hipo: its app connects standard TON wallets such as Tonkeeper and Tonhub, and per its docs you can stake any amount, even as low as 1 Gram. Check hipo.finance for current wallet support.

Fees

Fees directly affect your net yield, so check them carefully on each site before you stake.

• KTON: does not charge a separate deposit or withdrawal fee beyond the usual TON network gas, but the protocol takes a 16% governance fee on staking rewards (a commission on the yield routed to the protocol Treasury, not a charge on your principal). The APY shown in the app is already net of this fee. When you stake, your wallet attaches about 1.15 Gram of gas to the transaction and any unused portion is refunded, so you want about 2.15 Gram in your wallet to stake the 1 Gram minimum.
• Hipo: Hipo's documentation describes a 0% protocol fee at the time of writing and positions itself as a low-fee, high-yield option. Fee policies can change, so check hipo.finance for the current terms before staking.

We deliberately avoid quoting specific APY percentages here, because they change frequently. Always confirm live numbers on each protocol's own interface.

Unstaking and exiting your position

On TON, validation runs in cycles, so a standard unstake from any liquid staking protocol generally completes around the end of a validation round rather than instantly. This is also where the two protocols make a genuine trade-off in opposite directions, so it is worth reading closely.

KTON

The intended, recommended way to get your Gram back is to unstake through the protocol. You return KTON, the protocol mints a payout NFT receipt that is burnt automatically to release your Gram once the current validation round finalizes. A validation round lasts about 36 hours (131072 seconds), so the wait can be up to about 36 hours (one validation round); it can be faster if you unstake near the end of a round.

KTON deliberately stakes essentially all deposited Gram with validators and does not hold back an idle liquidity buffer for instant withdrawals. That is a conscious design choice: because capital is fully deployed instead of sitting idle as a withdrawal buffer, more of your Gram is actually earning, which is how KTON pursues the highest possible staking yield and best capital efficiency. The trade-off is honest: unstaking is not instant, and KTON does not offer instant-unstake. You wait out the cycle.

If you genuinely cannot wait for the unstake cycle, a KTON/Gram pair also exists on STON.fi, a TON DEX, as an emergency escape hatch. Its on-chain liquidity is limited, so it suits only small amounts and is not the recommended way to exit. KTON does not promote it as a primary liquidity venue.

Hipo

Hipo takes the other side of this trade-off. You can request a withdrawal in the app and wait out a cooldown period (Hipo's docs cite an average of roughly 30 hours, and note returns can be much faster when the protocol holds enough free liquidity), or you can swap hGRAM back to Gram on a DEX. Per Hipo's documentation, its token is listed on TON DEXs including DeDust and STON.fi. Confirm current withdrawal timing and any minimums on hipo.finance.

The contrast is a real choice you weigh, not a winner. Hipo can return funds faster when it holds enough free liquidity, because it keeps a buffer on hand. KTON instead stakes fully to maximize yield, so you wait out the unstake cycle, with the thin STON.fi pair only as an emergency hatch. If you need fast or instant exits, a buffered protocol like Hipo may fit better; if you want maximum capital efficiency and yield and can wait out the cycle, KTON's full-stake model fits better.

DeFi usability

An LST is only as useful as the places you can put it, so it is worth being precise about what each protocol actually offers today rather than implying a broad DeFi presence.

• KTON: KTON does not currently participate in a wide DeFi ecosystem. Its only DeFi venue is a single KTON/Gram pair on STON.fi, a TON DEX, and KTON is not used for lending, yield farming or as collateral. That pair exists as an emergency escape hatch for anyone who cannot wait for the unstake cycle, not as a primary liquidity venue: its on-chain liquidity is limited, so it suits only small amounts. The recommended way to access your Gram is to unstake through the protocol.
• Hipo: Hipo states that hGRAM (hTON) is listed on more than one TON DEX, naming DeDust and STON.fi, and its app points users toward further DeFi activity such as providing liquidity. If broad DeFi placement matters to you, review which venues and pools are actually live on hipo.finance.

DEX listings, pools and integrations change often on both sides. Verify what is actually live on each project's own interface.

Security and audits

Liquid staking adds smart-contract risk on top of normal staking risk, so audits and transparency matter. Encouragingly, both protocols are open-source and have published third-party audits.

• KTON: the first publicly-audited TonCore LST V2, audited by TonBit, a primary security assurance provider in the TON ecosystem. Contracts are open-source, validators are monitored 24/7, and the full audit report is public. See the protocol docs on security and audits, or read the KTON audit report and the KTON contracts on GitHub.
• Hipo: publishes multiple third-party audits in its public HipoFinance audits repository. According to that repo, these include reviews by TonTech and Daniil Sedov (2023), ProgramCrafter (2024) and Quantstamp (2025). Review the auditors, scope and dates there.

For a deeper look at the risks that apply to any LST, see Is liquid staking safe?

Who each protocol is for

KTON leans institutional-grade: built on a TON staking lineage dating to 2022 (the team has run public TON staking pools since 2022, starting with TonStake), with the KTON V2 protocol live since 2025 as the first publicly-audited TonCore LST V2, auto-compounding and broad wallet support. Its 16% governance fee on rewards funds the protocol Treasury, and the displayed APY is already net of it. Hipo leans community-oriented, pairing liquid staking with a governance token (HPO) and gamified rewards aimed at retail users. Neither is strictly better; it depends on whether you value institutional rigor and a fully-deployed yield model or a broader community and token program.

Side-by-side summary

• LST model: KTON is an auto-compounding token; Hipo (hGRAM/hTON) is value-accruing.
• Wallets: KTON supports any TON Connect wallet (Tonkeeper, MyTonWallet, Wallet in Telegram, OKX and more); Hipo connects standard TON wallets such as Tonkeeper and Tonhub.
• Protocol fee: KTON takes a 16% governance fee on staking rewards (no separate deposit or withdrawal fee beyond network gas; APY shown is already net of it); Hipo states 0% at the time of writing.
• Unstaking: KTON returns Gram via a payout NFT receipt after the round finalizes (up to about 36h, one validation round, no instant-unstake by design), with a thin STON.fi pair only as an emergency hatch; Hipo uses an app cooldown (about 30h average per its docs, faster when it holds free liquidity) or a DEX swap.
• Exit trade-off: KTON stakes fully to maximize yield, so you wait out the cycle; Hipo can return funds faster when it keeps a liquidity buffer. Need fast exits, lean Hipo; want maximum capital efficiency and can wait, lean KTON.
• DeFi venues: KTON's only DeFi venue is its single (thin) STON.fi pair, not used for lending, farming or collateral; Hipo names listings on DeDust and STON.fi.
• Audits: KTON by TonBit, first publicly-audited TonCore LST V2; Hipo by multiple firms including Quantstamp.
• Positioning: KTON is institutional-grade (built on a TON staking lineage dating to 2022, with the V2 protocol live since 2025); Hipo is community-oriented with an HPO governance token.

Verify on each site. This comparison is intended to be fair and is based on publicly available information at the time of writing. Live rates, fees and parameters change, so confirm the current details directly on app.kton.io and hipo.finance before deciding. You can also cross-check on-chain data via DefiLlama.

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