{"id":426846,"date":"2026-05-09T17:25:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T11:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/ton-price-doubles-after-telegram-made-a-move-critics-say-cuts-against-cryptos-core-promise-crypto-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T17:29:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T11:59:29","slug":"ton-price-doubles-after-telegram-made-a-move-critics-say-cuts-against-cryptos-core-promise-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/ton-price-doubles-after-telegram-made-a-move-critics-say-cuts-against-cryptos-core-promise-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"TON price doubles after Telegram made a move critics say cuts against crypto\u2019s core promise &#8211; Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"post-box__preferred-source\"> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"cs-preferred-google-badge cs-preferred-google-badge--post-body\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=cryptoslate.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" aria-label=\"Make CryptoSlate preferred on Google (opens in a new tab)\" title=\"Make CryptoSlate preferred on Google (opens in a new tab)\"> <span class=\"cs-preferred-google-badge__text\">Make<\/span> <span class=\"cs-preferred-google-badge__brand\" aria-hidden=\"true\"> <noscript><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload cs-preferred-google-badge__brand-mark\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/themes\/cryptoslate-2020\/images\/cryptoslate-icon.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" decoding=\"async\"\/> <span class=\"cs-preferred-google-badge__brand-name\">CryptoSlate<\/span> <\/span> <span class=\"cs-preferred-google-badge__text\">preferred on<\/span> <noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"cs-preferred-google-badge__google-wordmark\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/themes\/cryptoslate-2020\/images\/google-logo.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"48\" height=\"16\" decoding=\"async\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyload cs-preferred-google-badge__google-wordmark\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/themes\/cryptoslate-2020\/images\/google-logo.svg\" alt=\"\" width=\"48\" height=\"16\" decoding=\"async\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/> <\/a><\/div>\n<p>Toncoin (<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/ton\/\">TON<\/a>) surged from roughly $1.32 on May 1 to an intraday high of $2.90 by May 7, pushing its market cap to approximately $7.8 billion.<\/p>\n<p>The catalyst was Pavel Durov&#8217;s announcement that Telegram would replace the TON Foundation as the network&#8217;s primary driving force and become its largest validator within two to three weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside that, ton.org was updated to state that the domain is \u201ccontrolled by MTONGA.\u201d Traders took the combination as confirmation that TON had, in substance, become Telegram&#8217;s chain. This means being directed by the same company whose 1 billion users would determine its value.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_535369\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-535369\" style=\"width: 917px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-535369 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/brave_iXwaBSEyjY.jpg\" alt=\"TON surges after Durov's announcement\" width=\"917\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/brave_iXwaBSEyjY.jpg 917w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/brave_iXwaBSEyjY-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/brave_iXwaBSEyjY-768x572.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 917px) 100vw, 917px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-535369\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toncoin climbed from $1.32 on May 1 to an intraday high of $2.90 on May 7 after Durov announced Telegram would take over TON&#8217;s governance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In January 2025, Telegram and TON formalized <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/telegrams-exclusivity-deal-with-ton-sparks-developer-backlash\/\">exclusivity agreements<\/a> that went far beyond branding.<\/p>\n<p>TON became the sole blockchain infrastructure for Telegram Mini Apps, TON Connect became the required wallet-connection standard for blockchain-enabled mini apps, and Toncoin became the only cryptocurrency accepted for Telegram Stars, Premium, Ads, Gateway, and certain developer and channel-owner payouts.<\/p>\n<p>Those terms gave TON a structural claim on every financial transaction running through Telegram&#8217;s platform. What the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/durov\/status\/2051315383466897663?s=20\">early-May post<\/a> added was a governance layer on top of that commercial position.<\/p>\n<p>The practical effect of the January deal became apparent only once Telegram began building the product stack to exploit it.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/toncoin\/\">TON<\/a> Pay launched in February 2026, institutional stablecoin access came through SCRYPT in April, embedded wallet infrastructure arrived via Dynamic and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/companies\/fireblocks\/\">Fireblocks<\/a> in late March, and sub-second finality went live on mainnet in April, cutting confirmation times from roughly ten seconds to approximately one second, with blocks arriving every 400 milliseconds.<\/p>\n<p>Those releases assembled an in-app payments architecture fast enough to feel invisible inside a chat window.<\/p>\n<h2>Distribution, data, and more to cover<\/h2>\n<p>TON&#8217;s payments thesis shows that consumer crypto <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/adoption\/\">adoption<\/a> wins by embedding inside surfaces where users already spend time. This argument becomes a product roadmap when <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/companies\/telegram\/\">Telegram&#8217;s<\/a> 1 billion-plus active users are on that surface.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/people\/pavel-durov\/\">Durov&#8217;s<\/a> announcement provided traders with a specific trigger, but the trade was a bet that Telegram could convert its user base into a payment network, with TON as the settlement layer.<\/p>\n<p>DefiLlama showed $152.9 million in decentralized <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/exchanges\/\">exchange<\/a> volume for the seven days ended May 7, up 1,054% week-over-week, and $12.4 million in perpetuals volume over the same period, up 3,200%. App fees reached $1.48 million for a single day.<\/p>\n<p>Those numbers show the distance TON still has to cover, as <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/solana\/\">Solana<\/a> recorded $6.37 million in app fees on a comparable day and holds $15.4 billion in stablecoins, compared with TON&#8217;s $752.5 million.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/coins\/tron\/\">TRON<\/a>, built on dollar-denominated <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/stablecoins\/\">stablecoin<\/a> transfer volume, has $89.6 billion in assets. TON&#8217;s payment-rail footprint lags far behind the chains it would need to displace for the Telegram thesis to pay out at scale.<\/p>\n<p>The more honest peer comparison sits closer to Sui, which shows $567.2 million in stablecoins, $120,600 in app fees per day, and over $4 billion <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/market\/\">market<\/a> cap.<\/p>\n<p>The difference between TON&#8217;s current on-chain scale and its Telegram-narrative valuation is what the market is pricing in Telegram&#8217;s ability to close. If Mini App payments and TON Pay generate real adoption, that premium holds.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Chain<\/th>\n<th align=\"right\">Stablecoins \/ assets<\/th>\n<th align=\"right\">App fees (daily)<\/th>\n<th align=\"right\">DEX volume (7d)<\/th>\n<th align=\"right\">Market cap<\/th>\n<th>Core narrative<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>TON<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">$752.5 million<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">$1.48 million<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">$152.9 million<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">~$7.8 billion<\/td>\n<td>Telegram distribution bet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Solana<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">$15.4 billion<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">$6.37 million<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\u2014<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\u2014<\/td>\n<td>High-scale consumer\/app chain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>TRON<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">$89.6 billion<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\u2014<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\u2014<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\u2014<\/td>\n<td>Stablecoin transfer rail<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sui<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">$567.2 million<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">$120,600<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\u2014<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">$4.03 billion<\/td>\n<td>Closest scale peer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>The centralization problem at the center of the bull case<\/h2>\n<p>The uncomfortable dimension of Durov&#8217;s announcement is that the feature traders are buying runs structurally opposite to what most blockchain projects sell as their core value.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cs-inline-newsletter-69ff1afc3e3c2\" class=\"cs-inline-newsletter\" data-inline-newsletter=\"\">\n<div class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__inner\">\n<div class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__content\"> <span class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__eyebrow\">CryptoSlate Daily Brief<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__title\">Daily signals, zero noise.<\/h3>\n<p class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__copy\">Market-moving headlines and context delivered every morning in one tight read.<\/p>\n<p> <span><i class=\"fa-regular fa-bolt\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/> 5-minute digest<\/span> <span><i class=\"fa-regular fa-star\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/> 100k+ readers<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__form-shell\">\n<p class=\"cs-inline-newsletter__privacy\">Free. 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Welcome aboard.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Durov framed Telegram&#8217;s validator role as a net positive, arguing that a credible anchor would attract more participants and lock more TON into staking at roughly 20% APR.<\/p>\n<p>The case for decentralization-through-concentration relies on Telegram executing on its commitments without extracting monopoly rents from the network it now leads.<\/p>\n<p>The Financial Times <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/36a37387-cb71-4851-a56f-de2571d520d8\">reported<\/a> earlier this year that Telegram&#8217;s revenue was already tied to Toncoin-linked exclusivity agreements, and that a writedown in Toncoin&#8217;s value contributed to a net loss.<\/p>\n<p>That entanglement means Telegram&#8217;s balance sheet and TON&#8217;s price move together, which is the same corporate dependency that makes the bull case intuitive, and it is also what makes Telegram a self-interested steward. Telegram has direct economic reasons to deepen TON&#8217;s value, making it a financially invested principal with skin in every <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/price-watch\/\">price move<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Three near-term risks could end that acceptance before the bull case proves itself.<\/p>\n<p>DefiLlama flags a May 24 unlock of approximately 36.58 million TON, worth roughly $93.65 million at current prices, or 1.36% of float. For a rally built on an announcement, that supply overhang arrives at a vulnerable moment.<\/p>\n<p>Durov&#8217;s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/legal\/\">legal<\/a> exposure adds another layer of uncertainty, as he received a Russian criminal summons naming him as a suspect, and earlier reporting documented an <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/french-prosecutors-charge-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-with-complicity-in-child-exploitation-drug-trafficking\/\">ongoing French inquiry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A founder whose personal freedom is contested cannot provide the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/ton-foundation-seeking-400m-to-setup-public-treasury-company-to-accumulate-toncoin\/\">stable governance anchor<\/a> that Telegram&#8217;s central validator role requires.<\/p>\n<p>The 2-to-3-week timeline Durov cited for the validator transition also means the market bought an announced intention, one that only settles once on-chain stake data confirm the move, and sell-the-news dynamics could punish any delay.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Risk<\/th>\n<th>What happens<\/th>\n<th>Why it matters<\/th>\n<th>Timing<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>May 24 token unlock<\/td>\n<td>~36.58 million TON enters circulation, worth about $93.65 million, or 1.36% of float<\/td>\n<td>Creates supply overhang into a rally driven by announcement momentum<\/td>\n<td>Near-term<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Validator transition execution risk<\/td>\n<td>Market bought Durov\u2019s announced intention before on-chain stake data confirms the move<\/td>\n<td>Delay or weaker-than-expected follow-through could trigger sell-the-news pressure<\/td>\n<td>Next 2\u20133 weeks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Durov legal exposure<\/td>\n<td>Russian criminal summons and earlier French inquiry keep governance tied to founder risk<\/td>\n<td>Weakens the idea of Telegram as a stable central anchor for TON<\/td>\n<td>Ongoing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Centralization discount<\/td>\n<td>Market may decide Telegram control deserves a discount rather than a premium<\/td>\n<td>Re-rates TON toward current fundamentals instead of Telegram-linked future upside<\/td>\n<td>Medium-term<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The bear case rests on the market&#8217;s conclusion that Telegram control warrants a centralization discount and prices TON based on current fundamentals.<\/p>\n<p>At that point, TON&#8217;s stablecoin base, app fees, and validator structure place it in mid-tier territory, priced for a future that has yet to materialize.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Make CryptoSlate preferred on Toncoin (TON) surged from roughly $1.32 on May 1 to an intraday high of $2.90 by May 7, pushing its market cap to approximately $7.8 billion. The catalyst was Pavel Durov&#8217;s announcement that Telegram would replace the TON Foundation as the network&#8217;s primary driving force and become its largest validator within [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[274,273,272,244,266,271,268,270,269,267],"class_list":["post-426846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-de-fi","tag-crypto-finance","tag-decentralized-finance","tag-liquidity","tag-metamask","tag-pancake","tag-slippage","tag-sushiswap","tag-tronlink","tag-trust-wallet","tag-uniswap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426846"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":426848,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426846\/revisions\/426848"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}