Telegram has regained control of TON for the first time in six years.

This is not just a return of a project, but could be a major turning point for the entire crypto market.

Pavel Durov's tweet triggered a surge of attention toward the TON ecosystem.
In the announcement on May 4th, it was revealed that Telegram would take on the main driving role in place of the TON Foundation, serving as the largest validator.
Since the day in 2020 when operations had to cease due to the SEC lawsuit, finally now, six years later, Telegram has returned to steer TON once again.

Over the past two years, Telegram has gradually integrated TON through mini-apps and wallet features.
Last year, TON was officially established as an exclusive blockchain partner.
In other words, the shift from partner to leader was part of a long-term strategic extension.

Since April, a seven-stage upgrade plan called "Make TON Great Again (MTONGA)" has already achieved significant results.
The processing speed of the TON network has increased by about ten times, block generation speed by six times, and transaction confirmation times have been shortened to under one second.
Fees have also been drastically lowered, with the cost per transaction approaching nearly free at about 0.00039 TON (roughly $0.0005).

Why is Telegram investing so heavily in TON?
There are actually several reasons behind this.
First, the regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies has significantly improved, removing major obstacles for Telegram's re-entry.
Next, Telegram itself has built a stable cash flow.
Revenue in the first half of 2025 reached $870 million, a 65% increase year-over-year, providing sufficient financial strength to continue investing in TON.

Currently, Telegram has over 1 billion monthly active users, evolving from a simple messaging app into a super-platform that integrates social networking, content, commerce, and Web3.
Having TON serve as the only blockchain infrastructure on such a platform is a major advantage for its adoption.

Market reactions were swift.
Since Durov's announcement, TON's price has risen over 66% in the past 30 days, currently trading around $2.30.
MEME coins within the ecosystem have also become lively, showing significant gains in a short period.

However, there are concerns.
The TON ecosystem is highly dependent on Telegram.
Almost all activity is centered around NFT and gaming mini-apps, while infrastructure, DeFi, and AI are still in early stages.
Over-reliance on a single platform raises questions about long-term sustainability.

Furthermore, on-chain user numbers have been declining from their peak, and TVL has dropped from about $760 million to roughly $77 million.
While efficiency has improved, concerns about decentralization are also rising.
If Telegram faces global regulatory pressure, it could impact TON users and assets as well.

On the token side, Telegram has limited holdings to about 10%, with surplus tokens sold off through long-term investor lockups at discounts.
Regarding governance, Durov states that Telegram's participation will strengthen network decentralization and create conditions for other major participants to join as validators.

In any case, for a long-dormant TON, Telegram's re-entry and Durov's personal support have significantly boosted market expectations.
Telegram was originally a messaging app, but it has now transformed into a platform at the core of the Web3 ecosystem.
How far TON can grow within this environment, and future developments, are now highly anticipated.