KTON vs Tonstakers: TON Liquid Staking Compared

KTON and Tonstakers are both liquid staking protocols on TON: you stake Gram and receive a transferable liquid staking token that keeps earning while you hold it. Here is an even-handed look at how they differ on the token model, audits, fees, withdrawals, wallets, DeFi reach, and who each is built for.

Updated June 2026 · By KTON

The short answer

Both protocols solve the same core problem: they let you earn TON staking rewards without locking up your Gram, handing you a liquid staking token (LST) in return. The differences are about emphasis and footprint:

• KTON positions itself as institutional-grade liquid staking. The team has run public TON staking pools since 2022 (starting with TonStake), while the KTON V2 protocol itself launched in 2025; it is the first publicly-audited TonCore LST V2, is audited by TonBit, and ships open-source contracts. Its KTON token is a transferable LST that you receive the moment you stake and that keeps earning the whole time you hold it. KTON deliberately stakes essentially all deposited Gram with validators instead of reserving an idle buffer, so the recommended way out is to unstake through the protocol, with a thin STON.fi pair available only as an emergency hatch.
• Tonstakers is, by its own account and third-party trackers, the largest TON liquid staking protocol by total value locked. It issues the tsTON token, states it is audited by CertiK, and advertises a wide set of DeFi integrations plus an instant-unstake option.

Details current as of June 2026. Verify on each site (app.kton.io and tonstakers.com) before staking.

Positioning

KTON

KTON describes itself as the institutional-grade liquid staking protocol on TON, emphasizing verifiable security and longevity. The team has run public TON staking pools since 2022 (starting with TonStake), while the KTON V2 protocol itself launched in 2025, and it is the first protocol to ship a publicly-audited TonCore LST V2 implementation, with contracts published openly for anyone to review.

Tonstakers

Tonstakers presents itself as a leading, mass-market TON staking product, with messaging around staking “for everyone” and special terms for larger clients. According to the re:doubt TON liquid staking landscape analysis, it launched in October 2023 and grew quickly to hold the largest share of TON liquid staking TVL, though that analysis also notes its deposits skew heavily toward large holders. Confirm current standing on its own materials.

The liquid staking token: KTON vs tsTON

The end result is similar (an LST that earns while you hold it), but the token designs differ in a way worth understanding:

• KTON issues the KTON token. You stake Gram, receive KTON the moment you stake, and rewards accrue automatically through auto-compounding while you hold it. KTON is transferable, so you are never locked into managing per-cycle rounds yourself. When you want Gram back, the intended path is to unstake through the protocol; a small STON.fi pair exists only as an emergency option for those who cannot wait for the cycle.
• Tonstakers issues tsTON, described by Tonstakers and third-party sources as a value-accruing (exchange-rate) token: your tsTON balance stays the same while each token represents a growing share of the staked pool as rewards arrive each validation cycle.

Both designs are common in liquid staking and both keep your position liquid while it earns. For background on the mechanics, see TON liquid staking explained.

Audits and security

Security is the most important axis here, because an LST adds smart-contract risk on top of normal staking risk.

KTON

KTON’s contracts are audited by TonBit, a security assurance provider in the TON ecosystem, and KTON is the first publicly-audited TonCore LST V2. The contracts are open-source and verifiable, and validators are monitored 24/7. You can read the full TonBit audit report (PDF) and review the open-source contracts.

Tonstakers

Tonstakers states that it was audited by CertiK, that its smart contracts are open-source, and that it runs a bug bounty paying up to 100,000 dollars. Its FAQ links to a CertiK report and describes a high security rating. As always, read the published audit yourself and confirm the current scope on tonstakers.com.

Whichever protocol you pick, treat audits as a starting point, not a guarantee. Our guide Is liquid staking safe? walks through the risks to check.

Fee model

KTON takes a 16 percent governance fee on staking rewards, a commission on the yield routed to the protocol Treasury, not a charge on your principal; the APY shown is already net of it. KTON does not charge a separate deposit or withdrawal fee beyond the usual TON network gas. 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 minimum to stake is 1 Gram.

Tonstakers takes a commission on staking rewards. Multiple third-party write-ups, including the re:doubt landscape analysis, describe a 10 percent fee on staking profits on top of the validator share (one competitor, Hipo, is described as charging 6.25 percent). On reward commission alone, KTON’s 16 percent is higher than Tonstakers’ reported figure, so fees are not where KTON claims an edge. Tonstakers’ own pages emphasize a 1 Gram minimum rather than a headline commission figure, so confirm the live rate directly on tonstakers.com before staking.

Withdrawals and liquidity

This is one of the clearer practical differences, and it comes down to a deliberate design choice about where your Gram sits.

• KTON unstaking (the recommended path): To get Gram back, you return KTON through the protocol. A payout NFT receipt is minted and then burnt automatically to release your Gram once the current validation round finalizes. A round lasts about 36 hours (131072 seconds), so the wait can be up to roughly one full round (about 36 hours); it can be faster if you unstake near the end of a round, and you can watch the live on-chain state to see exactly where the current round stands. KTON deliberately keeps essentially all staked Gram working with validators rather than reserving an idle buffer for instant withdrawals. That is a conscious choice: full deployment means more of your Gram is actually earning instead of sitting idle as a withdrawal buffer, which is how KTON pursues the highest staking yield and best capital efficiency. The trade-off is honest: unstaking is not instant, and KTON does not offer instant-unstake. If you genuinely cannot wait for the cycle, a KTON/Gram pair also exists on STON.fi, a TON DEX, as an emergency option. Its on-chain liquidity is limited, so it suits only small amounts and is not the recommended way to exit.
• Tonstakers withdrawals: Tonstakers offers a standard end-of-cycle withdrawal plus an instant unstake option that swaps tsTON back to Gram from a reserve liquidity pool. By its own description, the instant route works only when that pool holds enough liquidity; otherwise you wait for the regular cycle.

The honest contrast: Tonstakers enables faster exits by holding back a reserve liquidity buffer, whereas KTON deliberately 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 instant exits, a buffered protocol may fit you better; if you want maximum capital efficiency and yield and can wait out the cycle, KTON’s full-stake model is built for that.

Wallet support

KTON supports staking from most TON wallets. Any wallet that supports TON Connect can connect and stake, including Tonkeeper, MyTonWallet, Wallet in Telegram, and OKX, among others, so you can usually stake with the wallet you already use. Tonstakers is reachable through its own dApp, a Telegram mini-app, and integrations such as Tonkeeper and OKX. Both aim to be easy to reach from popular TON wallets, so wallet choice is rarely the deciding factor.

DeFi usability, compared honestly

This is the dimension where the two genuinely diverge, and it is worth being precise.

• KTON: KTON does not run a broad DeFi program. KTON is not used for lending, yield farming, or as collateral. Its KTON token is a transferable LST whose only DeFi venue is a single trading pair on STON.fi, a TON DEX, and that pair exists as an emergency escape hatch rather than a promoted liquidity venue: its on-chain depth is thin, so it suits only small amounts and is not the recommended way to exit. The intended way to get Gram back is to unstake through the protocol. The pitch is the staking layer itself (institutional-grade, publicly audited, open-source, fully deployed for yield), not a wide DeFi surface.
• Tonstakers: Tonstakers advertises a wider DeFi footprint, describing “20+ Web3 integrations” and strategies it markets as leveraged staking, collateral staking, and DEX liquidity provision. If deploying your LST across many venues is a priority, Tonstakers verifiably offers more breadth today.

Target user: retail vs institutional

• KTON is engineered around institutional-grade requirements: a verifiable TonBit audit, open-source contracts, and a TON staking lineage dating to 2022, while staying easy for individual stakers to use from any TON Connect wallet.
• Tonstakers leads with a retail, mass-market message and offers separate terms for large clients, though independent analysis notes much of its TVL comes from very large depositors.

If verifiable, institutional-grade security and a TON staking track record dating to 2022 matter most, KTON’s positioning is built for that. If you want the largest TON LST by TVL with a wide DeFi footprint, Tonstakers is worth evaluating.

How to decide

There is no single “best” protocol. It depends on what you weight most. Ask:

1. How important is institutional-grade, publicly-audited security? KTON’s honest edge is being the first publicly-audited TonCore LST V2, audited by TonBit, with open-source contracts and a TON staking lineage dating to 2022.
2. How much DeFi reach do you need? KTON keeps a deliberately narrow surface: you unstake through the protocol to get Gram back, with only a thin STON.fi pair as an emergency hatch and no lending, farming, or collateral use. Tonstakers advertises a broader set of integrations. Match this to where you plan to use the token.
3. What are the live fees and APY right now? These change. Read them on each official site rather than trusting any third-party number, and remember both protocols take a commission on rewards: KTON charges a 16 percent governance fee on rewards (the displayed APY is already net of it), which is higher than Tonstakers’ reported figure, so fees are not where KTON wins.

Related guides

Comparison details are current as of June 2026 and may change. This page is independently maintained by KTON. Verify all competitor facts on tonstakers.com before making any staking decision.