The native token of The Open Network (TON) blockchain will soon receive a new name – Gram. The decision was announced by Telegram co-founder and initiator of the TON project, Pavel Durov, emphasizing that this coin was first mentioned under the name Gram in the project’s white paper.
This is reported by Business • Media
Brand update and market impact
Pavel Durov stated that the return to the original name Gram is part of a large-scale development strategy aimed at opening a new chapter for the TON ecosystem. According to him, the migration process will take approximately three weeks, while the network will remain under the name TON. The announcement of the rebranding sparked a rise in the token’s price: the price of Toncoin jumped from $1.3 to $2.9, after which it partially corrected but still remains above $2.
“Gram was the original name of the TON blockchain coin in the very first white paper. We are returning to our roots and starting a new chapter. This rebranding is important for what comes next. The migration will take about three weeks. The network will still be called TON,” Durov stated.
The brand update is being implemented as part of the Make TON Great Again strategy, announced in April 2026. The main directions of this initiative include increasing network throughput, reducing fees to nearly zero, scaling the platform, and further developing the decentralized ecosystem.
History of the Gram token and dispute with the SEC
The first-level blockchain TON was founded by Pavel and Nikolai Durov in 2018 as the Telegram Open Network. The project was conceived as an infrastructure for decentralized applications and financial services, and its first native token was named Gram (GRM).
However, in October 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Telegram Group Inc. and TON Issuer Inc., accusing them of an unregistered securities offering through the distribution of GRM. According to the regulator, Telegram raised about $1.7 billion by selling 2.9 billion GRM to 171 investors, among whom were 39 U.S. citizens. The SEC believed that the token met the characteristics of an investment contract.
In March 2020, the court supported the SEC’s position, after which Pavel Durov announced the cessation of TON development. In June, Telegram reached a settlement with the SEC, returning $1.224 billion to investors, paying an $18.5 million fine, and agreeing to inform the regulator about the issuance of any digital assets for three years. At the same time, Telegram neither admitted nor denied the allegations.
- Return of $1.224 billion to investors
- Payment of an $18.5 million fine
- Commitment to inform the SEC about digital asset issuances for three years
After the project’s closure, the source code of TON was made public, and the management of the network was transferred to the community, which retained the name The Open Network.
It is worth noting that under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the SEC issued guidance stating that most cryptocurrencies do not fall under the definition of securities.