According to Invezz, TON, the native token of The Open Network, rose about 4% over the past 24 hours, marking the strongest daily move among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The gains come as TON benefits from a slate of network upgrades, fee reductions and Telegram’s push to expand TON’s role in governance. In a broader crypto environment where gains have been uneven, TON’s technical setup also points to near-term upside, with bullish momentum visible on multiple timeframes.
In a separate development, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov announced that TON will be renamed Gram, returning to the currency’s original branding as outlined in the project’s early white paper. Durov shared the news in a Telegram post, framed as part of his ongoing “Make TON Great Again” initiative and a return to the project’s roots. Despite the branding shift, the network itself will continue to operate under the The Open Network name, while the native token adopts the Gram branding. The rebrand is expected to take around three weeks to complete and marks the fourth milestone in Durov’s seven-step MTONGA plan.
Telegram has previously signaled a plan to upgrade the TON network to deliver faster performance, lower transaction costs and deeper ecosystem stewardship. The project aims to make TON ten times faster and cut fees by roughly sixfold, with Telegram positioned to become a key ecosystem steward and validator within the network. TON’s revival in branding sits within this broader push to re-energize developer and user activity around the platform.
From a technical standpoint, TON/USD has established a constructive setup. TON traded around $2.015 on the last check, with the four-hour chart showing bullish momentum relative to peers. A solid base near the $1.70 area provides a cushion for continued upside, while the immediate upside hurdle sits near $2.286, the Monday high referenced in market pricing. If buyers sustain pressure beyond that level, the next objective sits near $2.903, a swing high recorded on May 7th. On the downside, a break of support around $1.865 could invite a test toward the $1.708 level, identified as a key transactional liquidity and support zone.
Key takeaways
– Price move: TON rose roughly 4% in the past 24 hours, outpacing other top-20 cryptocurrencies.
– Catalyst: Rebrand to Gram, coupled with Telegram-backed upgrades and fee reductions; longer-term governance expansion for TON.
– Implication: A bullish technical setup suggests further upside toward the $2.90s if resistance at $2.286 is cleared, with near-term risk managed around $1.70–$1.87 support zones.
What drove the move
– Upgrades and cost reductions: The Open Network is pursuing a network upgrade designed to dramatically boost speed and lower fees, making TON more usable for everyday transactions and decentralized apps. The plan, which Telegram has described as a core pillar of its ecosystem expansion, includes narrowing transactional costs by a factor of about six and lifting throughput. Taken with other efficiency improvements, the upgrade prospects are feeding a more favorable investor backdrop.
– Governance and ecosystem push: Telegram’s broader agenda to place TON more centrally in its ecosystem—through greater governance involvement and validation roles—adds a strategic overlay to the technical and branding shifts. The company has positioned TON as a vehicle to power a broader Telegram payments and app platform, aligning incentives for developers and users to participate more deeply in TON’s ecosystem.
– Rebranding as Gram: Durov’s restart of the Gram branding taps into the project’s original vision, potentially reinforcing brand recognition and user recall. While the change is cosmetic in naming, it signals a renewed emphasis on TON’s currency and a return to foundational branding, which can support broader marketing and user engagement efforts as the network scales.
Market reaction
– The immediate market response has been constructive. The 4% intraday move places TON at the vanguard of the crypto space’s performance among large-cap tokens, underscoring investor appetite for tokens tied to active network upgrades and a visible governance narrative.
– Technical positioning supports the upside narrative. With TON trading near $2.015 and momentum indicators showing positive territory, bulls have a clear price path to key resistance at $2.286. A sustained move through that level could open the door to retesting the swing high around $2.903, revisiting levels last seen in May. Conversely, failure to defend the $1.70–$1.87 zone would raise the risk of a deeper pullback toward support near $1.708, a line that would need to hold to maintain the near-term bullish thesis.
Bigger picture
– Context within crypto markets: TON’s outperformance occurs amid a selective momentum backdrop for layer-1 and ecosystem-focused tokens. The upgrade-focused narrative—embracing lower costs, higher speeds and stronger governance—aligns with macro themes of efficiency and utility in blockchain networks, even as the sector remains sensitive to rate expectations and regulatory developments.
– Historical arc and regulatory context: TON’s journey is notable for its legal and regulatory touches. The original TON initiative, launched in 2018, faced a high-profile setback in 2020 when the U.S. SEC challenged Telegram’s token sale; Telegram refunded investors and pivoted to The Open Network. The current push preserves a link to that founding vision while seeking to embed TON more deeply within Telegram’s messaging and payments ecosystem.
Closing: what to watch next
– Rebranding progress and upgrade milestones: The Gram branding rollout should be completed within the three-week window noted by Durov, with market participants watching whether branding coherence translates into broader user engagement and developer activity on TON.
– Upgrade timetable and ecosystem adoption: Investors will gauge the timing of the network upgrade and any real-world performance improvements, particularly throughput and fee reductions, and how Telegram’s governance involvement evolves in practice.
– Price and risk management: Traders will monitor $2.286 as a near-term hurdle and the $1.70–$1.87 region as a critical support zone. A sustained breakout above $2.286 could shift the narrative toward a test of the $2.90 area, while a break lower would reintroduce downside risk to the mid-$1.70s.
For investors, the evolving Gram branding and the planned network upgrades present a connected set of catalysts. If TON can translate branding into broader participation while delivering tangible improvements in speed and cost, the token could sustain a longer bullish run within the volatile crypto landscape. The next few weeks will be telling as the MTONGA roadmap advances and the Gram rollout unfolds.
Source: Invezz.
