Toncoin (TON) rate: how the cryptocurrency entered the list of leading crypto-industry asset
Listing and massive crypto rally (2021)
Although the ICO (initial token offering), within the framework of which Telegram Open Network raised $1.7 billion from private investors in 2018, took place in 2018, the TON cryptocurrency itself appeared on exchanges only in August 2021 — right at the height of the "bull season" in the crypto market.
The reason for the prolonged appearance on the market was a lengthy legal battle between Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram (and, accordingly, Telegram Open Network), and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused the entrepreneur of illegally selling securities. As a result, Pavel Durov handed over the management of Telegram Open Network to independent developers, and the project itself was renamed The Open Network.
The token itself appeared at a good time, and as a result, it managed to grow about nine times in less than six months after listing on exchanges: in November 2021, the value of the cryptocurrency reached its first historical maximum (ATH) and amounted to $4.51. After a quick and significant correction to $1.85 in December 2021, the TON rate began to skyrocket again, reaching $4.34 by the very end of the year.
Crypto market decline (2022 - 2023)
Immediately after reaching its local peak at the end of 2021, the price of the TON cryptocurrency began to decline, and this continued until July 2022. During this period, TON had no significant events, so the rate of Toncoin gradually declined against the background of the general correction in the crypto market.
However, in August, the growth of TON cryptocurrency quotes resumed, and in March 2023, the price of TON reached $2.5 even though the correction in the crypto market was still ongoing. Toncoin then began to correct again until July, reaching $1.20, and returned to growth until November of that year, when the price of the TON cryptocurrency reached $2.54.
This growth was accompanied by the increasing pace of development of the TON ecosystem. According to the 2023 report provided:
- More than 150 Web3-related projects have been attracted to the TON ecosystem;
- About 2.2 million unique wallets were created;
- More than 143 million transactions were processed, with daily transactions peaking at 15.6 million on Dec. 11, driven by the growing popularity of TON-20, the bitcoin counterpart to BRC-20;
- In October, the TON blockchain set a world record of 104,715 transactions processed per second (TPS).
Also contributing to the growth were partnerships with world-renowned companies: Animoca Brands and Amazon Web Services.
However, despite the popularity of TON-20 tokens and the recent records and achievements at the end of 2023, the growth of the TON cryptocurrency has stalled; its price was sideways (flat) until February 2024.
Active growth of the TON ecosystem (2024)
After a long stagnation, the value of TON cryptocurrency began to grow rapidly, as the organization behind it, the TON Foundation, allocated significant funds for development, including the development of decentralized applications based on the TON platform.
An additional growth factor was the integration of Wallet into the Telegram application. Thanks to this, the TON ecosystem began to actively attract new users. In April 2024, the price of TON cryptocurrency reached $7.25, updating its historical maximum.
After a small correction in May, when the Toncoin rate dropped to $5.13, growth resumed after the launch of the memtoken Notcoin. This started the trend for tapas — mini-apps in Telegram. Most of these apps supported the TON blockchain, so the ecosystem's user growth intensified.
In June, Toncoin updated its ATH again, reaching $8.24 — the current all-time high as of September 2024. The price of the TON cryptocurrency was rising despite the falling quotes of many cryptocurrencies, including the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. However, immediately after reaching ATH, the price of Toncoin went back to falling and dropped to $5.44 in early August.
Pavel Durov's arrest (August 2024)
The arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France at the end of August was one of the most high-profile events in 2024, which resonated widely in the international community. Durov was charged under a variety of articles, from aiding and abetting terrorism and drug trafficking to money laundering.
According to the main version, the reason for the detention was encrypted messages in the messenger Telegram, which the French government authorities could not access, although Durov said that their moderation complies with EU regulation.
Many companies, Influencers, and other notable personalities, including Tesla founder Elon Musk, supported the messenger founder with a call for "freedom for Durov." Against the backdrop of the incident, the TON cryptocurrency collapsed to $4.65 in early September and lost several positions in the CoinMarketCap ranking, followed by the collapse of many ecosystem tokens.
However, in September, after the news of Pavel Durov's release on bail, the price of TON cryptocurrency recovered to $5.5. Durov is still unable to leave the territory of France, so as of September 2024, the story is not over yet. In the long term, regardless of how the situation with the Telegram founder develops, TON is likely to continue to grow if the crypto market remains positive, as its ecosystem has become one of the critical ecosystems in the Web3 industry.
