What is Gram (prev. Toncoin)? Gram is the native cryptocurrency of The Open Network, a Proof-of-Stake layer-1 blockchain designed for payments, decentralized applications and consumer-scale services. TON originated as Telegram’s blockchain project, but the network is now maintained by an open-source community and supported by the TON Foundation.
Core technology and architecture
TON uses a multi-chain structure comprising a Masterchain, workchains and shardchains. The Masterchain coordinates network configuration, validator information, stakes and the state of other chains. Workchains can support different account formats and virtual machines, while dynamic sharding splits or merges shardchains as demand changes.
The network uses asynchronous message-based execution, allowing transactions and smart contracts to operate in parallel. Its smart contracts run on the TON Virtual Machine, and developers can use tools and languages including FunC, Tact, Tolk and Acton. TON also supports Jettons, NFTs and other digital assets.
What is Gram (prev. Toncoin) used for?
Gram pays transaction fees, smart-contract gas charges and storage costs. It is also used for validator staking, delegation through nominator pools, peer-to-peer transfers, digital goods, games, decentralized finance, stablecoins and Telegram Mini App payments.
TON Connect links wallets to decentralized applications and Mini Apps without giving applications control of users’ private keys. This makes Gram part of a broader Telegram-based ecosystem that includes wallets, payments, collectibles and consumer applications.
Who is behind Gram (prev. Toncoin) and where is it based?
The original TON project was initiated by Telegram in 2017 and 2018. Telegram founder Pavel Durov was its principal public figure, while Nikolai Durov authored the technical whitepaper and led the protocol design. Telegram raised capital for the project in January 2018, but the SEC filed an enforcement action on 11 October 2019 over the proposed Gram offering.
Telegram stopped working on the original project in 2020 after the regulatory dispute. Independent developers continued development through the open-source TON Community, initially known as New TON. Anatoliy Makosov and EmelyanenkoK are identified as early New TON developers.
The Open Network Foundation, commonly called the TON Foundation, was established in Switzerland in 2023 as a nonprofit organization. Its listed leadership includes Max Crown, Steve Yun and Barbara Schübach. Switzerland is confirmed as the foundation’s jurisdiction, but the broader developer community is globally distributed and does not have one confirmed operating country. Telegram remains an important ecosystem partner, but available sources do not establish that it controls the foundation or blockchain.
Tokenomics and network security
CoinStats reports a circulating supply of 2,816,522,096 GRAM and a total supply of 5,258,388,596 GRAM. Historically, about 98.55% of the supply was made available through Proof-of-Work Giver contracts after Telegram’s withdrawal, while about 1.45% was allocated to developers and testers.
Gram has an inflationary issuance model because validators receive newly created tokens for producing blocks. TON also burns at least part of network fees, so the net supply effect depends on validator issuance, transaction activity and fees burned. One Gram is divided into one billion nanograms.
TON secures the network through Proof-of-Stake. Validators lock Gram, participate in block production and confirm shardchain activity. Its Catchain 2.0 consensus design uses Byzantine fault-tolerant agreement, validator signatures and Masterchain coordination. Penalties for invalid or malicious activity provide an additional economic security incentive.
Partnerships, advantages and development
Telegram is TON’s defining integration. In 2025, TON became the exclusive blockchain infrastructure for Telegram Mini Apps, while TON Connect became the exclusive wallet-connection protocol for blockchain-enabled Mini Apps. Telegram Wallet and TON Space support Gram and other assets, and USDt on TON provides dollar-denominated transfers and payments.
TON’s main advantages are Telegram distribution, dynamic sharding, asynchronous execution, low-cost payments and integrated wallet connectivity. Its trade-offs include architectural complexity, competition from other layer-1 networks and ongoing validator-driven issuance.
Development activity in 2025 and 2026 focused on validator infrastructure, payment networks, wallet technology, Toncenter API improvements, Tolk and the Acton developer toolchain. The roadmap also includes research into sidechains, interoperability, storage, payments and layer-2 systems.
As of 1 October 2026, Gram trades at $1.49, with a +0.88% 24-hour change. Its market cap is $4.20B (rank #42), 24-hour volume is $147.73M, and its all-time high is $8.25, the current price is 81.91% below it.