Toncoin, the cryptocurrency tied to The Open Network, is changing its name to Gram. The rebranding, announced this week, comes with a 15% price jump for the token. Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the move is about 'returning to our roots — and starting a new chapter'.
The rebrand announcement
The Open Network, the blockchain project behind Toncoin, plans to implement the change. The shift to Gram revives a name that originally appeared in Telegram's early blockchain ambitions before regulatory tangles forced a split. Toncoin's ticker will update along with the broader identity switch, though no specific timeline for the full rollout has been given.
Investors responded quickly. The token's price climbed 15% in the hours after the news broke, adding roughly $X million to its market cap—exact figures were not disclosed.
Durov's statement
Pavel Durov, who founded Telegram and remains a central figure in the messaging app's direction, framed the rebrand as a return and a fresh start. 'Returning to our roots — and starting a new chapter,' he said. The line echoes Telegram's original 2018 Gram token project, which was abandoned after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued over an unregistered token sale. That legal fight ended with Telegram paying a settlement and handing back money to investors, while The Open Network continued independently.
Durov did not elaborate on whether Telegram itself would re-engage with the network or the Gram token, leaving that question open.
Market reaction
The price surge pushed Toncoin's value to levels not seen in recent weeks, according to exchange data. Trading volume also spiked, suggesting active buying rather than a passive lift. Some traders may be betting that the Gram name carries nostalgic weight and could signal renewed integration with Telegram's 900 million monthly users — a possibility Durov has neither confirmed nor denied.
Still, the 15% gain is a single-day move. Whether the rebrand leads to sustained growth will depend on adoption and technical execution. The Open Network's developers have not released a detailed roadmap for the name change's implementation phases.
The next step
The Open Network says it is planning to implement the Gram rebrand — but 'planning' stops short of a firm launch date. Developers are expected to release a timeline in the coming weeks. Until then, the token trades under both names, and exchanges will need to adjust their listings. The bigger unresolved question is whether Telegram will reconnect with the project it once seeded, or whether Gram will stand on its own.
