TON, the native coin of The Open Network (TON), saw a spike in its price of more than 7 percent, following an announcement by the instant-messaging app’s CEO, Pavel Durov, saying that Telegram will replace the TON Foundation to become the network’s largest validator.
Telegram to make TON great again
In an X post published on May 4, Telegram CEO Durov announced that the instant-messaging app will become TON’s leading network validator. He added that with this move, the focus will shift to “tech superiority.”
To recall, TON, previously known as the Telegram Open Network, was launched back in 2018. However, the network had to cease its operations in 2020 amid regulatory scrutiny by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Joe Biden administration.
However, the community later launched The Open Network to independently continue its development and follow its original vision.
Later, Telegram periodically partnered with the network, bringing it more legitimacy and establishing it as the go-to network for the Mini App ecosystem.
According to Durov’s X post, transaction fees on TON have tumbled by more than 6 times, falling from around $0.0023 to close to $0.0005 for every transaction.
Durov noted that this slash in transaction fees is part of a broader technical roadmap, aptly named MTONGA – short for Make TON Great Again. He also unveiled the new website, adding that the network will soon see new developer tools and new performance upgrades.
As per the timeline, Durov highlighted that new changes can be expected within the next 2-3 weeks.
Implications of becoming largest network validator
As mentioned earlier, Durov made the statement that Telegram is set to become TON’s largest network validator. The implications of such a move are multi-faceted.
For instance, by becoming the largest network validator, Telegram will exercise the most influence over the transaction confirmation and block production on TON. As a result, it will have outsized control over the network’s security and consensus direction.
On the flipside, excessive control over the network also raises potential centralization concerns, running against the ethos of blockchain technology.
Impact on TON price
Following Durov’s announcement, TON price spiked by 7 percent, trading at $1.45 at press time (22:30 GST). The following chart shows a sharp green candle that catapulted the token’s price from around $1.37 to $1.45.
That said, it will be interesting to see how further up the digital asset goes. On the four-hour chart, TON faces resistance at around the $1.46 level. This level, if cleared, could position the token to target its next price level around $1.88.