What Is KTON? The TON Liquid Staking Token

KTON is a liquid staking protocol on the TON blockchain, and also the name of the token that protocol issues. Here’s a plain definition, how the token works, and how to check that you hold the real one.

Updated October 2026 · By KTON

KTON in one paragraph

KTON is a liquid staking protocol on the TON blockchain, and KTON is also the liquid staking token that the protocol issues. You stake Gram (TON’s native asset, ticker GRAM, formerly Toncoin) and receive KTON, a transferable token that represents your share of the staking pool. As the pool earns validation rewards, each KTON becomes redeemable for more Gram, so its value grows through a rising exchange rate while your balance stays the same. To exit, you unstake through the protocol and your Gram is returned after the current validation round finalizes, which can take up to about 36 hours.

What the KTON token represents

KTON is a standard TON jetton (the TEP-74 token standard), so it sits in an ordinary TON wallet and can be held or transferred like any other token. Each KTON represents a share of the pool’s Gram.

Behind the token, the pool lends its Gram to validator operators, who stake it with the TON Elector (the network’s validator election system) and pay interest on what they borrow. That interest is the single source of KTON’s yield. The protocol has no trading strategy and no external DeFi farming.

How KTON grows in value

KTON is a rate-appreciating token. This is the most important thing to understand about it:

• Balances do not rebase. If you hold 100 KTON, you keep 100 KTON.
• The exchange rate does the work. The rate is the pool’s total Gram divided by the total KTON supply.
• Rewards raise the rate. When a round finalizes, the net rewards are added to the pool’s total while the KTON supply stays fixed, so each KTON redeems for slightly more Gram.
• Compounding is automatic. There is nothing to claim and nothing to restake.

The rate moves in steps when a round finalizes, not second by second. There is no fixed or guaranteed APY: the return depends on validator performance, and both the exchange rate and the APY are variable and shown live in the app. If a round ever ended at a loss, the rate would step down for all holders equally, so the Gram value of KTON can fall as well as rise. The docs cover the full mechanics under yield and exchange rate.

How to get KTON and turn it back into Gram

1. Connect a wallet. Open app.kton.io with any wallet that supports TON Connect, such as Tonkeeper, MyTonWallet, Wallet in Telegram, or OKX. The KTON Telegram Mini App works too.
2. Stake Gram. You deposit Gram and the protocol mints KTON to your wallet at the current rate.
3. Hold. KTON stays transferable and keeps earning while you hold it.
4. Unstake to get Gram back. You return KTON through the protocol and receive an NFT receipt for the pending withdrawal. Your Gram is returned after the current validation round finalizes, which can take up to about 36 hours. Keep the receipt in your wallet and do not transfer or sell it, because the payout goes to whoever holds the receipt when it settles.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see TON liquid staking explained.

What fees does KTON charge?

KTON takes a 16% governance fee on staking rewards. It is a commission on yield, not on your principal, and it is deducted before rewards are folded into the exchange rate. The APY shown in the app is already net of it, so you do not pay it again when you withdraw.

There is no separate deposit or withdrawal fee beyond TON network gas. Your wallet attaches a gas budget to each transaction, and the unused part is refunded. The fees chapter of the docs explains each item and how to read the live values on-chain.

Who is behind KTON, and is it audited?

The team has run public TON staking pools since 2022 (starting with TonStake), and the KTON V2 protocol launched in 2025.

KTON’s contracts were audited by TonBit, a security assurance provider in the TON ecosystem, and KTON is the first publicly-audited TonCore LST V2. The report is dated 26 May 2025. It records 5 findings (3 Medium and 2 Informational), none of them Critical or Major, and all 5 were fixed. You can read the full audit report yourself.

The contracts are open-source under the MIT license, so anyone can compare the deployed code with the audited source. An audit lowers risk; it does not remove it. For the risk side, read the docs on security and audits and our guide Is liquid staking safe?

What KTON is not

• Not instant-withdrawal. KTON keeps almost all staked Gram working with validators, so unstaking is not instant. You wait for the current validation round to finalize, up to about 36 hours.
• Not a lending or farming token. KTON does not broadly participate in DeFi, and it is not used for lending, yield farming, or as collateral. Its only venue is a single KTON/Gram pair on STON.fi, a TON DEX. Liquidity there is thin, so it is an emergency option only and not a recommended exit.
• Not a fixed-rate product. The APY is a live estimate from recent rounds, not a promise.

How to verify you have the real KTON

A token’s name and ticker are only labels, so the reliable identifier is the contract address. The KTON documentation publishes the address of the KTON jetton master (the token contract):

EQBuIhXNNkWf9AW9miNGNTSO_uFZ23ejfIWrieXge5f733mw

• Compare the address. Open the token details in your wallet or in a TON explorer and check the jetton master address character by character. The symbol is KTON and the token has 9 decimals.
• Mint it at the source. Staking through app.kton.io has the protocol mint KTON to your wallet. Check the URL before you connect.
• Cross-check the docs. The same address appears in the contract reference.

Frequently asked questions

What is KTON?

KTON is a liquid staking protocol on the TON blockchain, and it is also the name of the liquid staking token that the protocol issues. You stake Gram and receive KTON, which represents your share of the staking pool and becomes redeemable for more Gram as staking rewards accrue.

Is KTON a coin or a protocol?

The name covers both. KTON the protocol is a set of open-source smart contracts on TON that pool Gram and lend it to validators. KTON the token is a standard TON jetton that the protocol mints when you stake. It is a token on the TON network and does not have a blockchain of its own.

Does my KTON balance go up as I earn rewards?

No. KTON does not rebase, so your balance stays the same. What changes is the exchange rate: over time each KTON becomes redeemable for more Gram. The rate and the APY are variable and are shown live in the app.

How long does it take to turn KTON back into Gram?

Unstaking is not instant. You unstake through the protocol, and your Gram is returned after the current validation round finalizes, which can take up to about 36 hours.

What fees does KTON charge?

KTON takes a 16% governance fee on staking rewards. It is a commission on yield, not on your principal, and the APY shown in the app is already net of it. There is no separate deposit or withdrawal fee beyond TON network gas.

Who audited KTON?

KTON was audited by TonBit, and it is the first publicly-audited TonCore LST V2. The audit report is public on GitHub.

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