Telegram takes over TON: fees near zero as $TON surges 24%

Published: 2026-05-06 10:08:00 |

Telegram founder Pavel Durov says Telegram will replace the TON Foundation and become TON’s main driver, with Telegram operating as TON’s largest validator. The update also cuts TON transaction fees 6× to nearly zero, aiming at about 0.00039 TON per transaction and pushing TON toward an “almost fee-free” model. The market reacted quickly. TON rose more than 24% in 24 hours to around $2.20, per CoinGecko, the highest level since November 2025. The upgrade narrative lifted the wider Telegram/TON ecosystem: Notcoin (NOT) gained ~26%, Dogs (DOGS) jumped over 100%, and other TON-based small caps posted big daily moves. Durov also previewed execution upgrades within 2–3 weeks, including new developer tools, performance improvements, and a revamped official ton.org site—shifting focus from governance uncertainty to technical delivery. However, traders still need evidence on fundamentals: reported TON TVL is about $69M (far below the ~$800M 2024 peak), and chain usage looks light (daily active transactions under 50k; daily on-chain fees around $3.6k). For traders, the key question is whether Telegram’s validation and infrastructure role can turn TON’s traffic into sustained on-chain activity, dApp revenue, and liquidity. Watch TON fee compression, validator/decentralization disclosures, and changes in network activity as the roadmap unfolds.

Bullish

Telegram taking over TON’s roadmap and operating the largest validator is a strong catalyst for near-term sentiment, and the reported 6× fee compression “toward nearly zero” can directly improve user experience and transaction demand expectations for TON. The immediate price jump in TON and broad gains across TON-linked tokens confirm market appetite. That said, fundamentals are not yet proven: TVL is far below the 2024 peak and on-chain activity appears modest. This creates a two-speed setup—short-term upside driven by execution/fee narrative, but longer-term performance depends on whether Telegram can translate traffic into sustained network usage and revenue. Net effect: bullish for TON while the fee/validator execution story is still being repriced.