Toncoin enjoyed a strong rally following remarks from Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, announcing that the popular messaging app will now take a direct leading role in developing The Open Network (TON) and serve as its largest validator. This structural shift immediately triggered a notable increase in Toncoin’s price.
Telegram takes the reins on TON
In his announcement, Durov stated that transaction fees on TON have dropped nearly sixfold, approaching zero, and he emphasized that the next phase will prioritize technical performance. He explained that Telegram will be at the helm of the network’s development, with new tools and performance updates set to launch for users within two or three weeks.
Until now, the TON Foundation had acted as the main coordinator for the ecosystem. However, Telegram recently invested approximately 2.2 million TON, worth about $2.88 million, making it one of the network’s validators. With this new structure, Telegram significantly steps up its involvement in product development, technical deployment, and validator participation for TON.
“TON fees have fallen by around six times and are now almost negligible. We will leverage the Telegram community’s immense size to accelerate technical upgrades.”
Network upgrades accelerate performance
The recent organizational transition prompted a wave of technical enhancements. The Catchain 2.0 upgrade, launched on April 9, slashed block production times from around 2.5 seconds to just 400 milliseconds. This upgrade also brought major improvements to Telegram Mini Apps and payment systems, vastly enhancing user experience.
A sharp adjustment in network fees was introduced as well. On May 1, the base transaction fee was fixed at 0.00039 TON—about $0.0005. This steep reduction is expected to bolster the infrastructure for microtransactions and high-frequency activities within the Telegram ecosystem.
Toncoin’s technical outlook and future milestones
Toncoin traded between $1.42 and $1.45 today, posting a daily gain of about 7.5 percent. According to CryptoAppsy data, the token surged above its 20-day simple moving average and approached the upper Bollinger Band. Critical resistance is found between $1.47 and $1.50; a sustained close above this range could propel the price to $1.55 or even $1.60. The $1.35 mark serves as key support, and if breached, prices could pull back to the $1.26 to $1.30 area.
Technical indicators show the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 66.8, signaling strong bullish momentum. However, a reading above 70 could indicate short-term overbought conditions.
User growth within the TON ecosystem continues to soar. Over the past year, wallet numbers have skyrocketed from 2.9 million to more than 32 million. Telegram Mini Apps have become a central hub of user activity, while new infrastructure like Streaming API v2 has reduced decentralized application response times to 30–100 milliseconds, rivalling traditional mobile apps.
Another major development for the network’s roadmap will be the 2026 validator vote. Thanks to Catchain 2.0’s quicker blocks, the annual inflation rate has climbed from roughly 0.6 percent to 3.6 percent. Validators are expected to vote on proposals aimed at reducing block rewards and achieving a more balanced token supply. Proposals on the table include slashing main chain rewards from 1.7 TON to 0.35 TON and mainnet rewards from 1 TON to 0.2 TON per block.
Analysts say continued gains depend on Toncoin holding above $1.50, with $1.35 remaining a crucial support level.
