Telegram Founder Durov Announces Toncoin Rebrand to Gram
Telegram named its blockchain token Gram in a 2018 white paper, but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued in 2019 to block its launch. Telegram settled in 2020, agreeing to return more than $1.2 billion to investors and pay an $18.5 million penalty. The community-led TON project subsequently adopted the name Toncoin, and the return to Gram has prompted debate over whether the old settlement terms still apply.
In July 2026, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced that TON’s native token, Toncoin, would be renamed Gram as the fourth step in a seven-part “Make TON Great Again” plan. The change won support from 81% of the TON community in a vote, and the token’s price rose as much as 15% after the announcement. Officials stressed that holders do not need to migrate or swap their tokens and warned them to beware of fraudulent token-swap schemes.
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The history behind this eventTelegram Founder Says TON Has Fastest Finality as Token Surges Back Into Top 20
TON, or The Open Network, was initially developed by the Telegram team before its operations were continued by the community and TON Foundation. Its adoption has expanded through Telegram’s built-in wallet and Mini Apps ecosystem. Because blockchain finality directly affects payment efficiency and user experience, the market has closely watched TON’s performance and level of platform integration.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov recently said TON achieves finality in just 0.6 seconds, the fastest among major Layer 1 blockchains. As Telegram deepened its integration and network fees were sharply reduced, the TON token rose about 80% at one point, lifting it back into the world’s 20 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The reports did not provide an exact date or market-cap figure.
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