Overview
- Telegram, which Pavel Durov said on Monday, May 4 would replace the TON Foundation, confirmed it has become The Open Network’s largest validator and will steer development of the Toncoin blockchain.
- Traders bid Toncoin from about $1.35 to as high as $2.90, lifting its market value to roughly $7.3–$7.8 billion and pushing futures open interest to about $569 million alongside record spot volumes.
- Recent upgrades cut average block times to roughly 400 milliseconds and reduced transaction fees about sixfold to near zero, a setup meant to support tiny in‑app payments and faster Telegram mini‑app activity.
- The move drew heavy on‑chain flows with about $191.8 million staked in a day and roughly $7.17 million in short liquidations, even as technical gauges flagged overbought conditions near the $3 mark.
- Analysts highlight near‑term tests that include a May 24 unlock of about 36.6 million TON, a two‑to‑three‑week validator transition to monitor, and debate over how much control a single company should hold over a public chain.