Telegram’s TON Rebrand Gets Apple Boost as Durov Expands the Ecosystem

Pavel Durov has unveiled a fully native Telegram app for Apple Watch, expanding the platform’s hardware footprint. The governance vote to rename Toncoin (TON) to GRAM cleared with 81.22% support, with the rebrand taking effect on June 15.

The blockchain retains the TON name. Holders need not swap, bridge, or claim anything. Balances, smart contracts, NFTs, staking, and decentralized finance (DeFi) positions carry over automatically.

GRAM Rebrand Revives Telegram’s 2018 Vision

The GRAM name originated in Telegram’s 2018 whitepaper, before the SEC forced the project to halt and refund $1.7 billion to investors.

The community rebuilt the chain independently as Toncoin under the TON Foundation. Durov’s rebrand returns the token to its intended identity.

The rename is step four of the Make TON Great Again (MTONGA) roadmap. Earlier milestones included Catchain 2.0, which delivered sub-second transaction finality, and a sixfold fee reduction to near-zero. Telegram also took over as TON’s largest validator earlier this year.

Toncoin Price Dropped Nearly 30% Over the Past Month. Source: CoinGecko

Toncoin (TON) traded at $1.66 at the time of writing, down 7.14% over the prior 24 hours. The asset holds a market cap of $4.43 billion. The coin surged sharply after Durov’s May takeover announcements, only to pare some of those gains heading into the rebrand.

Full consistency across exchanges and ecosystem projects is expected by June 22. The three-week GRAM transition requires no technical changes to wallets, contracts, or protocols.

Apple Watch App Extends Telegram to a New Device Category

Durov announced the native Apple Watch app on X, restoring wearable support after Telegram discontinued its earlier watchOS presence years ago. The app covers messaging, voice notes, GIFs, video playback, stickers, and location sharing from the wrist.

⌚️ A fully native Telegram app for Apple Watch is out. pic.twitter.com/3wSr5igssE

— Pavel Durov (@durov) June 9, 2026

The two moves frame a deliberate strategy. The GRAM rebrand sharpens the crypto identity of Telegram’s ecosystem, while the Apple Watch launch extends the platform into consumer hardware.

Telegram’s roughly one billion users give TON’s user expansion plans one of the broadest potential footprints in the industry.

The remaining three MTONGA steps stay undisclosed, but the pairing of a product launch with a network identity reset signals Durov is advancing the ecosystem on multiple fronts ahead of June 22.