Toncoin jumped 32% in 24 hours to $2.89 after Telegram founder Pavel Durov laid out a major strategic shift for The Open Network (TON) — including a sixfold fee cut and a plan to pull operations back under Telegram’s direct control. The native token of TON has now more than doubled since Durov first teased the changes, climbing roughly 110% from its pre-announcement level.
The 'Regime Change' announcement
Durov called the move a “Regime Change” — his phrase for bringing TON’s development and governance in-house. Until now, the network operated largely through a separate foundation and external contributors. Under the new structure, Telegram will take a hands-on role, steering technical decisions and resource allocation directly. The announcement landed with immediate market impact: Toncoin shot from around $2.19 to $2.89 within a single trading day.
Sixfold fee reduction
Alongside the governance pivot, Durov slashed transaction fees on TON by six times. The cut is meant to lower barriers for developers and users building on the network, which has long competed with faster, cheaper chains like Solana and BNB Chain. Lower fees could also push more Telegram mini-apps and bots to settle transactions on TON, a key part of the company’s push to embed crypto into its 900-million-user messaging platform.
TON under Telegram’s wing
The structural shift ends an era of relative independence for TON. Telegram originally created the network’s code but was forced to abandon it in 2020 after a legal fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The community kept it alive. Now Durov is pulling the project back into Telegram’s orbit, centralizing authority in a way that some early TON supporters worry could dilute the network’s decentralized ethos. For now, the market is betting that Telegram’s direct involvement outweighs those concerns — Toncoin’s rally suggests investors see clearer direction and faster execution ahead.
The next test will be how the new fee structure and governance model hold up under real usage. Durov hasn’t set a specific date for the full transition, but Telegram is already rolling out TON-based features in its app. Whether the “Regime Change” delivers sustained growth — or triggers pushback from the existing community — is the open question that will define Toncoin’s next move.
