On May 4, 2026, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, announced that Telegram itself would take over the primary development and support of The Open Network, rather than the TON Foundation.
Summary
- Durov said Telegram will replace TON Foundation as TON’s main force and largest network validator.
- TON rose about 28% in 24 hours, trading near $1.82 with $632.75 million daily volume.
- Telegram plans new TON developer tools, a website upgrade and performance improvements by late May.
Durov announced that Telegram will be the biggest validator for TON, explaining this decision is due to reduced network costs and a more promising development plan. He then stated:
Transaction fees on the TON network have decreased sixfold, now approaching zero. Telegram also plans to prioritize technological advancement for TON.
I’m hearing from Durov that TON is getting a refresh soon – a new website, better tools for developers, and some performance improvements. He’s saying we can expect these changes in roughly 2-3 weeks from the announcement on May 4th, which puts the timeline around late May 2026. Hopefully, this will be a big boost for the network!
Information is still scarce. Telegram hasn’t explained exactly how it will function as a validator, how much it plans to stake, or how the TON Foundation will be affected by these changes.
Toncoin rallies after the announcement
Toncoin (TON) increased in value after Pavel Durov spoke about it. The price went from around $1.35 to almost $1.80, briefly making it one of the top 25 cryptocurrencies by market value.
According to Crypto.news, TON was trading around $1.82 at the time of this report, up 28.10% over the past 24 hours. The token saw $632.75 million in trades today, and its market value is close to $4.8 billion.
Telegram links deepen around TON
As part of my research, I’ve been following Telegram’s increasing integration with the TON network. As we detailed in an article published on February 20, 2026, TON has been leveraging features within Telegram – like its wallet, digital gifts, and social NFT tools – to expand how users interact with the messaging app.
The report highlighted that TON prioritizes leveraging Telegram’s extensive user base rather than just focusing on the technology itself. It explained that TON allows developers to connect with Telegram’s millions of users through features like digital wallets, payment options, virtual gifts, and the ability to transfer digital assets.
As we reported in April, Telegram’s Wallet now lets users trade perpetual contracts for assets like metals, stocks, oil, and cryptocurrencies. This new feature is powered by Lighter’s technology and provides access to over 50 different markets directly within Telegram.
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2026-05-05 13:02