Telegram Reclaims TON: Token Rebranding to Gram Announced

Telegram rebrands Toncoin back to Gram and assumes a leading role in the network's governance under Pavel Durov's new 'Make TON Great Again' strategy.

This shift represents one of the most significant milestones in the project’s history since its separation from Telegram in 2020. It signals a much deeper commitment from the company toward the future development of the network.

For users, the transition will be entirely administrative. There will be no token swaps, balance conversions, or technical changes required for wallets, staking positions, or DeFi applications. The only change involves the asset’s identity, which will gradually begin appearing as Gram across exchanges, wallets, and market platforms.

The blockchain itself will continue to operate under the name The Open Network (TON), while Gram will become the official name of its native cryptocurrency.

Telegram Tightens Control Over the Ecosystem

The rebranding is a core component of a broader strategy that Durov calls “Make TON Great Again”—a seven-step plan designed to accelerate network development and transform it into an infrastructure capable of serving hundreds of millions of users.

A pivotal element of this transformation is Telegram’s increased involvement in the blockchain’s governance.

According to the presented plan, the company will gradually take a leading role in network maintenance. This includes deploying new validator nodes, participating in transaction validation, and exerting a more active influence over future protocol updates.

This marks a substantial departure from the previous model, where Telegram maintained a relatively distant stance toward the project following its legal dispute with US regulators several years ago.

Durov justifies this new approach by the need for faster infrastructure growth. Among the stated goals are reducing transaction fees to fractions of a cent and achieving near-instant payment processing through new technological improvements to the network.

Returning to the Name Regulators Once Blocked

The choice of the name Gram carries heavy symbolic weight.

It was the original name of the token Telegram intended to launch during its massive initial offering in 2018 and 2019. At that time, the company raised approximately $1.7 billion from investors, but the project was halted after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intervened.

The resulting settlement forced Telegram to return a significant portion of funds to investors and officially terminate its direct involvement in the project.

Subsequently, an independent community of developers continued the open-source development under the name Toncoin, which has been used until now.

The current return to the Gram brand is viewed as a symbolic restoration of the project’s original vision and a signal that Telegram is no longer willing to stand on the sidelines of its evolution.

The market reacted positively to the news. Following the announcement, the token surged by approximately 19%, continuing an upward trend that began with the first signals of Telegram’s deeper involvement in the ecosystem. At the time of writing, TON is trading at $2.19.

Investors appear to view these changes as an attempt to accelerate TON’s development at a time when competition among blockchains for mass consumer adoption is intensifying. With over one billion potential users within the Telegram ecosystem, the network aims to position itself as one of the few platforms with a genuine chance for global distribution beyond the traditional crypto audience.

In the context of market volatility and uncertainty, selecting a secure crypto wallet remains critical for investors. For a more detailed analysis of asset protection solutions, see the article “Best Crypto Wallets for 2026,” which reviews various options based on security, convenience, and functionality.