Telegram has officially taken the reins of the TON blockchain, replacing the TON Foundation as the network's lead developer and validator. The messaging giant slashed transaction fees by roughly six times, bringing them close to zero. The move ignited a sharp rally: TON's native token ($TON) surged over 24% in the past 24 hours to $2.20, its highest level since November 2025.
The bullish momentum quickly spread across the Telegram ecosystem. Notcoin ($NOT) gained nearly 26%, while the meme token Dogs ($DOGS) skyrocketed more than 100%. Other TON-based small-cap tokens also posted double-digit gains. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced on X that the company will become the largest validator on the TON network, committing its own resources to secure and develop the chain. He promised new developer tools, performance upgrades, and a revamped ton.org website within the next two to three weeks.
Fees Cut 6x to Target Micro-Transactions
Durov also revealed that TON's transaction fee has been reduced to 0.00039 $TON (roughly $0.0005), with a long-term goal of making most transactions feeless. The near-zero cost model is designed for high-frequency, low-value use cases such as in-group tipping, blockchain mini-games, bot payments, digital collectibles, and small personal transfers. For ordinary users sending pennies at a time, even a few cents in fees can kill an app's viability. By slashing costs, Telegram aims to make TON the go-to chain for real-world micro-economies.
On-Chain Fundamentals Still Weak Despite Price Surge
While the token price rallied, TON's underlying metrics remain subdued. According to DefiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) in TON DeFi protocols stands at just over $69 million, a far cry from the nearly $800 million peak in 2024. Daily on-chain fee revenue is only about $3,600, DEX daily volume hovers around $29 million, and dApp revenue per day is just $134,000. Tonstat data shows less than 50,000 daily active transactions, generated by roughly 136,000 unique wallets. During the August–September 2024 boom, those numbers were over 2.2 million wallets and 700,000 daily transactions. With Telegram now in direct control, the question remains whether it can finally transform its 1 billion monthly active users into meaningful on-chain economic activity.