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- Telegram messaging app-linked Toncoin has recorded 500 percent gains over the last two years to reach a market cap of a little under $8 billion.
- The team behind the project has hailed its integration with Telegram as a critical breakthrough for the entire industry.
A Bitcoin rival has emerged with the backing of messaging app Telegram. Despite the largely bearish market over the last two years, the native cryptocurrency of the Open Network (Ton), has recorded remarkable figures. While Bitcoin has lost more than 60 percent of its value after reaching an all-time high of $69,000, Toncoin (TON) has gained around 500 percent during the same time.
Around 70 percent of these gains have come in the last month. These gains were mainly driven by the integration of Ton’s self-custodial crypto wallet, called Ton Space, into Telegram. With the social messaging app boasting of over 800 million users this is a major drive for adoption. Speaking on the integration, John Hyman, Telegram’s chief investment officer stated, “We believe users have the right to own their identities and assets. With Ton Space, users now have the technology to make that convenient.”
Steve Yun, president of the Ton Foundation, lauded the integration as a critical breakthrough for the entire industry. “On Telegram, crypto use cases will finally be able to find their users,” he added.
At the time of press, TON has recorded a marginal change of less than 1 percent in the last 24 hours and is exchanging for $2.17. This has seen the altcoin reach a market cap of a little over $7.5 billion to become the 11th-ranked altcoin in the market.
The project which was initially developed in 2018 by the encrypted messaging platform Telegram. But in 2020, the project was in the crosshairs with the U.S. regulators which led to Telegram dropping it before it was picked up by independent developers and supporters through the TON Foundation. The Telegram Open Network was rebranded as The Open Network. Despite the rocky start to the project, it has proven resilient and demonstrated its robustness.
The network has not only seen its price surge, but further examination of on-chain data reveals a surge in the volume of tokens transferred. On September 16, a staggering 1.2 million TON tokens, valued at approximately $3 million, were transferred – marking the highest such figure recorded on Ethereum since December.
Although TON has gained a lot in the last two years, the altcoin is still far from reaching its all-time high of $5.29. As the crypto community anticipates an explosive bull run over the coming months, TON investors are optimistic that the set all-time high can be tested and surpassed.
