Ton Dominance Continues With 95% Surge

@Ton_Blockchain's native token $TON has posted the strongest weekly performance across the crypto market, according to CoinGecko data cited by @BSCNews. The asset climbed roughly 96% over the seven-day period, with $ZEC, $SIREN, $SKYAI, and $ONDO rounding out the top five weekly gainers.

Telegram Takes the Wheel

The rally has a clear catalyst. On May 4, 2026, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced that Telegram will replace the TON Foundation as the primary driving force behind the TON blockchain and become its largest validator. Durov confirmed that transaction fees on the network had already been cut roughly sixfold, bringing the cost per transfer down to approximately $0.0005. The announcement framed the shift as a push for tech superiority, with a revamped developer toolkit and performance upgrades promised within two to three weeks.

The move is part of the broader MTONGA (Make TON Great Again) initiative, which includes staking around 2.2 million $TON to anchor Telegram's validator position. Telegram's role was previously influential but indirect, focused on integrating wallets, promoting mini-apps, and driving user adoption. That balance is now shifting. The change formalizes a relationship that had been building for years, and markets have responded decisively.

Network Metrics Back the Move

At its peak, the price surge pushed TON's market capitalization to $7.6 billion, allowing it to briefly enter the top 20 digital assets. Trading volume surged alongside price, with daily DEX volume on the TON network hitting $46 million following the announcements. On the technical side, the earlier Catchain 2.0 upgrade cut block times from 2.5 seconds to 400 milliseconds, placing $TON among the fastest Layer 1 blockchains in terms of transaction finality.

Ecosystem tokens also moved sharply higher. TON-based memecoins Notcoin and Dogs recorded significant gains in the days following Durov's post, while staking inflows tied to the validator transition exceeded $192 million. Some analysts flag risks around the concentration of governance power in a single platform, but markets appear to be reading Telegram's direct involvement as a long-term legitimacy signal rather than a centralisation concern.

For now, $TON sits at the top of the weekly leaderboard, and the structural case behind the rally looks more durable than a typical short-cycle pump.

Sources:
CCN: Telegram Is Taking Over TON, Here's What Pavel Durov Just Announced
Bitcoin.com News: Toncoin Jumps 32% in 24 Hours as Pavel Durov Pushes Telegram Deeper Into TON
The Crypto Times: Toncoin Jumps 26% as Telegram Cuts Fees 6x and Takes Control of TON