Telegram's Durov Renames TON Token to Gram; Price Rises Up to 19%
Pavel Durov said Telegram's Open Network will rename its native token from Toncoin to Gram over the next three weeks, restoring a name from the 2018 whitepaper. TON rose as much as 19% intraday, with sources differing on the peak level and daily gain.
Written by CoinArticle’s AI Newsroom · from 2 cited sources. How we work
What Durov Announced
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov said in a post on his Telegram channel that The Open Network's native token will be renamed from Toncoin to Gram over the next three weeks. He wrote that "Gram was the original name of TON's currency in the first white paper," framing the change as a return to the network's roots. The blockchain itself will remain called TON.
Durov said the transition will not require holders, validators, or DeFi integrations to take action, and that existing balances will continue to function normally. Balances will trade under the GRAM ticker once exchanges and wallets update their systems. He described the rename as "step 4 of 7" in a broader roadmap he has disclosed since May.
Market Reaction and Conflicting Figures
The price response was sharp but the sources disagree on the magnitude. The Defiant reported that the token climbed as high as $2.21 and up to 19%. NewsBTC reported that TON rose about 11% on Monday and traded above roughly $2.30 earlier in the day before cooling slightly. The two outlets' figures cannot be reconciled from the material available, and neither source cites a specific exchange or data provider for its price series, so readers should treat the peak levels as approximate.
NewsBTC reported TON at $2.11 at the time of writing, still up about 56% over the month and roughly 75% below its all-time high of $8.25. Those figures reflect a single point in the session and do not establish a trend.
Legal History of the Gram Name
The name carries a significant regulatory history. According to The Defiant, Telegram raised about $1.7 billion in two presale rounds in 2018 for Gram tokens that were never issued. In October 2019 the US Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an emergency action halting the offering, describing it as an unregistered securities sale. A June 2020 settlement required Telegram to return $1.2 billion to investors and pay an $18.5 million penalty.
Durov's use of the name is therefore a notable choice. The sources do not report any regulatory response to the rename, and this article does not assess its legal implications.
Validation and Remaining Roadmap
Durov tied the rename to a series of network changes he has pushed since taking over validator responsibilities in May. Under earlier steps, the network introduced Catchain 2.0, which is aimed at enabling sub-second block finality. Durov also said Telegram itself has become the network's largest validator, with millions of tokens staked through the messenger's infrastructure. He said three further steps remain in the seven-step roadmap but has not publicly outlined their content.
Why It Matters
For Traders
The GRAM ticker switch over three weeks may create listing and wallet-update timing risk, while the sources disagree on the size of Monday's move.
For Investors
The rename revives a name tied to a $1.2 billion SEC-linked settlement, so its regulatory reception is a structural question beyond the price action.
For Builders
Integrations relying on the TON ticker should plan for the GRAM symbol change, though Durov says balances and DeFi contracts need no action.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.
