CoinClear

Notcoin (NOT)

4.8/10

Notcoin pioneered the Telegram tap-to-earn model and achieved massive adoption, but the token has limited utility beyond speculation. First-mover advantage in the TON memecoin wave gives it cultural significance, but sustainability is questionable.

Updated: February 16, 2026AI Model: claude-4-opusVersion 1

Overview

Notcoin (NOT) is a Telegram-based tap-to-earn game token on the TON blockchain that became a cultural phenomenon in early-to-mid 2024. Players tapped a virtual coin in a Telegram mini-app to earn in-game currency, which was later converted to NOT tokens at TGE. The game attracted over 35 million players, making it one of the most successful crypto onboarding experiments in history.

Notcoin is widely credited with kickstarting the Telegram mini-app meta that spawned dozens of imitators including Hamster Kombat and DOGS. While the tap-to-earn mechanic is trivial from a gameplay perspective, the distribution achievement was genuinely remarkable.

Community

Score: 7/10

Notcoin's community is the strongest among TON-native memecoins, benefiting from first-mover status and genuine cultural cachet. The project attracted a mix of crypto-native users and complete newcomers, with many users engaging with crypto for the first time through the game. Post-TGE community retention is better than competitors like DOGS and Hamster Kombat, partly because Notcoin has continued releasing new features like Notcoin Explore (a task/quest platform). Social media engagement remains active, though significantly lower than peak game period.

Liquidity

Score: 6/10

NOT is listed on all major centralized exchanges including Binance, which provided a significant liquidity boost. The Binance listing at TGE was a major catalyst for price discovery. Trading volumes are moderate and consistent, outperforming most TON ecosystem tokens. DEX liquidity on TON-based exchanges like STON.fi is reasonable for the ecosystem. The token has maintained better price stability than many airdrop tokens, though it still trades well below its initial pump levels.

On-Chain Metrics

Score: 5/10

NOT holder distribution is extremely broad due to the mass airdrop, with millions of wallets holding small amounts. Active address counts have normalized from the TGE spike but remain above average for TON tokens. The Notcoin Explore platform generates some on-chain activity as users complete quests and claim rewards. However, DeFi utilization of NOT is minimal — there are no significant lending, borrowing, or LP incentive programs. Most on-chain activity is simple transfers and exchange deposits.

Development

Score: 3/10

The Notcoin team has shown more post-TGE effort than many memecoin projects, launching Notcoin Explore as a quest/credential platform. However, the core token remains a simple Jetton with no novel technical features. The Explore platform is essentially a centralized task aggregator. There is no open-source development activity of note. The team has discussed further product expansions but concrete technical deliverables are limited. Development is more marketing-oriented than engineering-oriented.

Risk Factors

  • Memecoin fundamentals: NOT has no revenue model, cash flow, or protocol fees
  • Tap-to-earn dead end: The original game mechanic is exhausted and non-repeatable
  • TON ecosystem risk: TON's DeFi infrastructure is still nascent compared to Ethereum/Solana
  • Imitator fatigue: The success of Notcoin spawned dozens of clones that diluted attention
  • User quality: Majority of holders are low-value airdrop recipients unlikely to buy more
  • Telegram platform dependency: Changes to Telegram's mini-app policies could impact the ecosystem
  • Declining engagement: Active users continue to decline from peak levels

Conclusion

Notcoin deserves credit as a genuine crypto innovation in distribution — it proved that Telegram mini-apps could onboard millions of users into crypto. However, the NOT token itself has limited utility and no clear path to sustainable value accrual. The Notcoin Explore platform shows the team is trying to build beyond the initial game, but the token economics don't support long-term holding. NOT is best understood as a cultural artifact of the 2024 Telegram crypto wave with an uncertain future.

Sources

  • TON blockchain explorer analytics
  • CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap market data
  • Notcoin official Telegram channel
  • Dune Analytics TON dashboards
  • Notcoin Explore platform data