Toncoin Rebrands to Gram: TON Surges 15% on Durov's Announcement

The Open Network's native cryptocurrency Toncoin (TON) is being rebranded to Gram (GRAM), reviving a name originally proposed in the project's 2018 white paper. Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced the change on Monday, sending the token's price up approximately 15% as markets reacted to the news. The rebrand restores a name closely tied to Telegram's original vision for a decentralized digital currency integrated with its messaging platform.

Gram was the name used in Telegram's initial 2018 white paper for what was then envisioned as the first widely adopted cryptocurrency for everyday consumers. After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission forced Telegram to halt the original TON blockchain project in 2020, the network was taken over by the open-source community, which relaunched it under the Toncoin ticker. Monday's announcement signals a return to the project's original branding and messaging.

The 15% price surge reflects investor enthusiasm around the consolidation of the network's identity and its alignment with Telegram's broader ecosystem. With over 900 million monthly active users, Telegram remains a critical distribution channel for TON-based applications, and the Gram rebrand is expected to strengthen the connection between the token and the messaging platform that inspired it.

Details on the technical migration, exchange listing changes, and timeline for the full transition from TON to GRAM are expected to follow in subsequent announcements from The Open Network team and its partners. Observers will be watching closely to see whether the revived brand helps drive further adoption of the network's decentralized services.