TON coin surged over 30% today after Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced a sweeping fee cut on the TON blockchain. The move signals a deeper commitment from Telegram to build out its crypto ecosystem. Here’s what changed and why the market reacted so sharply.
Durov Cuts TON Coin Network Fees by 6x
According to Durov’s post on X, transaction fees on TON have been reduced by 6x compared to the previous level. This brings transaction costs on the network close to zero, allowing users to make smaller transactions at a lower cost.
This is an important change for TON coin because the network is being positioned as a blockchain for activities within the Telegram ecosystem. If transaction fees are as high as those on networks like Ethereum, it could create friction for builders in the ecosystem.
This is especially important for mini apps inside Telegram, where micropayment activities happen at a high frequency.
Telegram Will Become TON’s Largest Validator
In addition to the fee reduction, Durov also said that Telegram will become the largest validator on the TON network.
Validators are participants that process transactions and secure the network under a proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism – a system where participants lock up tokens to earn the right to validate transactions.
As of the time of writing, according to data from Tonscan, the TON blockchain has around:
- 400 validators, up 9% over the past month.
- Around $1.13B staked, which is equivalent to nearly 50% of TON Coin’s current circulating supply.
- Staking APY is also around 25.6%.
As Telegram takes on a larger role in the validator layer, the market has more reason to believe that the TON ecosystem will receive stronger support from Telegram’s resources.
According to DemandSage, as of 2026, Telegram has 1B monthly active users worldwide, with around 500M daily active users.
Why Did the TON Ecosystem Rise After the Announcement?
It wasn’t only TON coin. Tokens in the TON blockchain ecosystem also moved sharply higher because the market viewed this announcement as a positive signal for the entire network.
Lower network fees were the main reason behind this move. This encourages users to use the network more, while builders and decentralized apps (dApps) in the ecosystem may also generate more revenue from increased user activity.
What Does This Mean for TON Coin?
For TON coin, Durov’s announcement strengthens the narrative that TON can become the blockchain infrastructure for the Telegram ecosystem. Alongside this, TON’s market cap has risen above $5B, while trading volume for TON Coin stands at $835.6M.
Unlike other Layer 1 (base blockchain) networks, TON has a major advantage: Telegram’s existing user base. While other blockchains have to search for users, TON already has access to them. It only needs strong enough applications integrated directly into Telegram to bring this user base on-chain.
Applications such as wallets, payments, ecommerce, and in-app trading could become key areas that TON takes advantage of. Watch on-chain metrics like daily active addresses and transaction volume over the next quarter to gauge whether this momentum translates into real network growth.
Before the announcement from Pavel Durov, the TON blockchain recorded an average of around:
- 2M transactions per day.
- This figure jumped to 4M transactions on the day TON Coin rose by more than 30%.
This shows that transaction demand on the network surged from users, especially as memecoins on the TON blockchain led activity and attracted many degens looking for short-term trading opportunities.
What To Watch Before Deciding on TON Coin
However, this is still a short-term positive news event reflected in the price of the broader TON ecosystem. To assess its real long-term impact, watch network activity and user metrics over the next 3-6 months.
This is especially important because TON Coin’s unlock schedule is still progressing steadily and will continue at a consistent pace until 2027.
To make a more informed decision about investing in TON Coin at the current price, investors should consider the following questions:
- Where will the buying demand come from to absorb future TON Coin unlocks?
- Near-zero fees are an advantage, but they also reduce the need to use TON Coin. This creates a better user experience, but it could also make TON Coin more inflationary compared to the previous fee structure.
- DeFi on TON has almost moved backward compared to the broader DeFi ecosystem. When incentives disappear, it is understandable that users may move capital toward DeFi projects with more opportunities and newer models.
- Demand for using the TON network remains unclear. This is especially true after the tap-to-earn trend faded, as the TON blockchain has been relatively quiet compared to other narratives such as Perp DEXs, prediction markets, and memecoins.
The post Why is TON Coin Up 30% Today? Durov’s Fee Cut Explained appeared first on Memeburn.
