Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced via his personal channel that the TON ecosystem has officially launched a brand upgrade initiative, with its native token name being changed from TON to Gram. The team stated that "Gram" was the original name given to the native currency in TON's earliest whitepaper, and this renaming aims to return to the project's founding vision while ushering in a new phase of ecosystem development. For long-term followers of the project, Gram is a familiar name that carries historical weight within the TON community.
Three-Week Transition: Infrastructure and Apps to Update Gradually
According to the announcement, the brand transition is expected to be completed gradually over approximately three weeks. During this period, relevant infrastructure, wallets, and ecosystem applications will successively update the token name. TON explicitly emphasized that this adjustment only pertains to the native token's brand name, while the TON blockchain network itself will continue to operate under the name "TON (The Open Network)" without any impact. The network's technical architecture, consensus mechanism, and node operations will all remain unchanged, so users need not worry about any functional disruptions.
Step Four of the Seven-Step Strategy: More Plans Yet to Be Unveiled
The official statement noted that restoring the native token to Gram represents the fourth step in the "Make TON Great Again" seven-step strategy. This strategy aims to drive comprehensive upgrades and revitalization of the TON ecosystem through a series of orderly phased initiatives. Durov did not disclose specific details of the remaining three steps in the announcement, but confirmed that more ecosystem development plans and upgrade measures will be unveiled in the future.
The name Gram dates back to 2018, when Telegram first introduced the TON concept in its whitepaper and designated Gram as the network's native crypto asset. The project later faced regulatory challenges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), leading to a temporary halt and the suspension of Gram token issuance plans. The community subsequently took up the development mantle, continuing ecosystem construction under the names TON and Toncoin. This restoration of the Gram naming is seen as a symbolic milestone, marking the project's return to its original vision trajectory after years of twists and turns.