Telegram takes over the TON ecosystem! Transaction fees cut to nearly zero, TON previously surged 24%

Messaging giant Telegram announced that it would replace the TON Foundation and take direct control of the TON blockchain, while significantly cutting transaction fees by 6 times to nearly zero cost.

Telegram said it has decided to replace the TON Foundation, take charge of the TON blockchain’s leadership itself, and unleash a “killer move” of cutting transaction fees to almost zero. The news instantly ignited market enthusiasm, driving the price of the native token Toncoin ($TON) to soar sharply.

According to CoinGecko data, $TON surged more than 24% in the past 24 hours, jumping to $2.20 and hitting the highest level since last November. This rally is not only centered on TON itself, but also quickly spread across the entire Telegram ecosystem: the popular token Notcoin ($NOT) surged nearly 26%; the meme coin Dogs ($DOGS) skyrocketed by more than 100%; and other small- and mid-cap tokens issued on TON also posted stunning single-day gains.

On Monday, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced on the social platform X that Telegram will officially become the largest “validator” node on the TON network, taking full control of the ecosystem’s push forward role. He also previewed that the new developer tools, performance upgrades, and the revamped official website ton.org will be rolled out one after another within the next 2 to 3 weeks.

Becoming the largest validator node means Telegram is willing to pour its vast resources into personally endorsing the security and development of TON. This move largely eliminates a long-standing concern weighing on investors’ minds—namely the gap between Telegram’s grand vision and the TON Foundation’s actual execution power.

Fee reduction by 6 times, targeting “high-frequency micro-profit” retail investors

Pavel Durov also announced that transaction fees on the TON network have been drastically cut by 6 times, nearly bringing them to zero. He had previously previewed that the transaction fee per individual transaction would be reduced to 0.00039 $TON (about 0.0005 USD), and in the future, the vast majority of transactions will gradually move toward the ultimate goal of “no transaction fees.”

Image source: X/@durov

A “nearly zero-cost” transaction environment is crucial for the business model Telegram truly wants to promote. Whether it’s on-chain tipping within groups, blockchain mini-games, bot payments, trading digital collectibles, or small-value personal transfers, extremely low fees are needed to support it.

For DeFi whales who spend lavishly, a few dollars in fees might be nothing; but for ordinary retail users who transfer only a few cents or dozens of dollars at a time, high fees are enough to choke off the viability of a consumer-grade application. Ultra-low and fixed costs will enable the TON network to perfectly match the real economic activities of “high frequency, small amounts,” further expanding TON’s appeal among Telegram’s existing massive user base.

Fundamentals still need to be tested; monetizing 1 billion users remains the ultimate challenge

According to estimates from multiple third-party data tracking websites, Telegram has as many as 1 billion monthly active users (the official has never confirmed or denied this figure). However, the harsh reality is that in recent years, TON’s fundamentals have consistently failed to keep up with the extremely high expectations generated by this massive amount of traffic.

According to DefiLlama statistics, currently the total value locked (TVL) for various DeFi applications in the TON ecosystem is only slightly above $69 million—far from the historical peak near $800 million that it approached in 2024.

In addition, TON’s daily on-chain transaction fee revenue is only about $3,600; the daily trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEX) is around $29 million; and the dApp’s daily revenue is also only about $134,000.

Ecosystem activity is also facing challenges. Data from the blockchain explorer Tonstat shows that currently the number of daily active transactions on the TON network is fewer than 50,000, contributed by about 136,000 unique wallets. Compared with the peak period from August to September 2024—when more than 2.2 million wallets generated nearly 700,000 transactions per day—this indicates that there is still plenty of room for the ecosystem to rebound.

Now, with Telegram officially taking the helm itself, whether TON can truly convert the massive traffic of “1 billion users” into tangible on-chain economic activity is undoubtedly the next key focus closely watched by the crypto community.

• This article is reprinted with authorization from: 《Block Beast》
• Original title: 《Telegram strongly takes over the TON ecosystem! Fees cut to “nearly zero,” $TON surges more than 24% in a day》
• Original author: Block Sister MEL