The Historical Evolution of TON and the Return of Gram
The journey of The Open Network (TON) has been fraught with twists and turns. Initially, Telegram founder Pavel Durov and his team launched the “Telegram Open Network” project in 2018 and planned to issue the native token, Gram, raising $1.7 billion through an initial coin offering (ICO).However, in October 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit alleging that the sale of Gram tokens constituted an unregistered securities offering.Ultimately, Telegram reached a settlement with the SEC in 2020, paying a $18.5 million fine and refunding $1.22 billion to investors, forcing the project to be halted.
After Telegram withdrew, an independent developer community took over the open-source code, renamed the project “The Open Network” (TON), and renamed the native token “Toncoin” to circumvent the previous legal risks. The TON Foundation was subsequently established in Switzerland to oversee the network’s ongoing development and governance.
On June 1, 2026, Pavel Durov announced that Toncoin would be renamed “Gram” (ticker: GRAM), returning to its original name. This renaming was the result of a community governance vote, with approximately 81% of voting rights supporting the change.It is worth noting that this renaming only affects the token’s name, ticker symbol, and logo; the underlying blockchain remains “The Open Network” (TON), and token holders do not need to perform any token exchange or migration. This move is seen as a return to Telegram’s original vision and a symbol of the deepening integration between Telegram and the TON ecosystem.
MTONGA Roadmap: More Than Half of the Seven Steps Completed
In April 2026, Pavel Durov published a seven-step roadmap titled “Make TON Great Again” (MTONGA) on his Telegram channel. The roadmap aims to transform The Open Network (TON) into the primary payment and application layer for Telegram’s approximately 1 billion users.As of June 2026, four steps in the MTONGA roadmap have been completed:
- Catchain 2.0 Launch (April 2026): This upgrade achieved sub-second finality, reducing block time from approximately 2.5 seconds to 400 milliseconds, with finality reached in about 1 second, and increasing network throughput tenfold.
- Fees reduced by a factor of 6 (May 2026): Transaction fees were lowered to a fixed rate of 0.00039 TON (approximately $0.0005), with most future transactions expected to be fee-free to support microtransaction use cases.
- Telegram Takes Over (May 2026): Telegram replaced the TON Foundation as the primary driving force behind TON and its largest validator, shifting the focus to technical excellence.
- TON Renamed to Gram (June 2026): The native token, Toncoin, was renamed to Gram.
Durov has not yet disclosed Steps 5, 6, and 7 of the MTONGA roadmap. Market speculation suggests these may include further technical improvements (such as frictionless transactions), deeper in-app payments and commercial integrations within Telegram, enhanced developer tools, and a new ton.org website—and may even extend into the realm of AI infrastructure.
The Basis for Gram’s Revival
The confidence behind Gram’s revival stems primarily from the following factors:
Deep Integration with Telegram and Its Vast User Base
In September 2023, Telegram selected TON as its Web3 infrastructure partner and deeply integrated the TON wallet into the official Telegram app. As of March 2025, Telegram’s monthly active users (MAU) had exceeded 1 billion.By early 2026, more than 100 million users were managing digital assets through the TON wallet integrated into Telegram. Additionally, Telegram Mini Apps will run exclusively on TON, making TON the preferred settlement layer for in-app economic activity on Telegram.TON Pay, as the payment SDK for Telegram Mini Apps, also provides merchants and app teams with a clear payment pathway within Telegram.
Significant Technical Performance Improvements
The TON network achieved a significant technological leap through the Catchain 2.0 upgrade. Block times were drastically reduced, finality was improved, and throughput increased tenfold. Transaction fees were significantly reduced by a factor of six, designed to support microtransaction use cases.TON’s optimization roadmap aims to achieve 100,000+ TPS through faster block propagation, parallel transaction processing, and an updated data storage model. In July 2026, TON further upgraded its data and developer infrastructure, boosting query speeds by 2–4 times and expanding API support.
Ecosystem Expansion and Data Growth
The TON ecosystem has experienced exponential growth in both user base and economic activity. From January to December 2024, daily active addresses grew by 3,380%, rising from 26,000 to over 880,000.During the same period, daily transaction volume increased from 443,000 to 4,325,000. In May 2024, Tether (USDT) launched its native version on TON; within seven months, its supply exceeded 1.43 billion, accounting for more than 25% of trading volume on decentralized exchanges.As of May 2026, the market capitalization of stablecoins on the TON chain reached $729 million, growing by 3.5% weekly.Network data shows that the number of active wallets on-chain has exceeded 54 million, with approximately 620,000 daily active wallets and over 4.2 million daily transactions. Additionally, approximately 110 million TON are locked in liquid staking, with 410 validators distributed across 34 countries, and a total staked amount of 611 million TON.Following the Catchain 2.0 upgrade in April 2026, the network’s staking annual percentage rate (APR) surged to 16.7%, making it the highest staking APR among the top 50 cryptocurrencies.
Institutional Interest and Pavel Durov’s Personal Endorsement
The TON ecosystem has also garnered institutional attention. TON Strategy Company (Nasdaq: TONX) launched in August 2025 through a $558 million private placement aimed at acquiring TON tokens, over 99% of which have been staked (as of the first quarter of 2026).Prominent institutions such as Pantera Capital, Kraken, and Blockchain.com have all backed TON Strategy Co. More importantly, the MTONGA roadmap was personally announced and championed by Pavel Durov, marking his personal return to the helm of TON and reversing the deliberate separation established following the 2020 SEC settlement.Durov’s direct involvement and commitment provide strong confidence in TON’s revival.
Distinguishing the MTONGA Token from the Gram Token
It is important to clarify that the “MTONGA token” is not the same asset as the Gram, the native token of the TON mainnet. According to public information, the MTONGA token appears to be a meme token initiated by the TON enthusiast community, aimed at promoting the development of the TON ecosystem through community buzz and positive energy.Its market activity differs significantly from that of the mainstream Gram token, and there is conflicting information in public data regarding its circulating supply and market capitalization. The “foundation for revival” discussed in this article primarily refers to the TON ecosystem and its native token, Gram.
Regulatory and Risk Disclosures
Although the TON ecosystem has demonstrated strong momentum toward a revival, it still faces potential political and regulatory risks. Pavel Durov was arrested in France in August 2024; although his travel restrictions were lifted in November 2025, the related investigation is still ongoing.Past SEC litigation also serves as a reminder to the market that, while cryptocurrency projects are developing rapidly, they must remain vigilant regarding compliance challenges.
Where to Trade Gram
Gram (formerly Toncoin) can be traded on exchanges that support the token. According to real-time market data from CoinGecko, as of October 8, 2026, Gram is available for trading on the following platforms:
- Upbit
- WEEX
- DigiFinex
- Bithumb
- XT.COM
- Upbit Indonesia
The information regarding trading platforms in this article is subject to change based on each exchange’s listing and delisting activities; please refer to the exchanges’ official announcements for the most up-to-date information.
