According to CryptoPotato, Telegram reached a milestone of 900 million users this week, leading its founder, Pavel Durov, to consider an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This development may have contributed to the surge in Toncoin (TON) price on Monday and early Tuesday, breaking above $4.26. Data from CoinGecko shows that TON jumped approximately 38% on early Tuesday, hitting a high of $4.45 before retracing slightly. The last time the coin traded above $4 was in November 2021, during the peak of the crypto bull market.
In the past thirty days, TON has experienced significant price action after years of being virtually unnoticed in the crypto space. Developments and announcements from Telegram often play a crucial role in TON's price. As previously reported, TON surged 25% two weeks ago after the messaging app announced it would share 50% of ad revenue with channel owners, paid via the TON blockchain. TON is the native cryptocurrency of The Open Network, a decentralized blockchain developed by Telegram. Originally called Telegram Open Network, the project and its founders separated in 2020 due to regulatory issues with the SEC. The community supporting TON decided to continue the project and transformed it into a layer-1 with a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus model. Telegram has since integrated the network, providing users with a TON-backed self-custody crypto wallet within the platform for closer integration.
Furthermore, Durov gave his first interview since 2017 with The Financial Times, stating, 'Generally speaking, we see value in [an IPO] as a means to democratize access to Telegram's value,' and added that he expects Telegram to go public this year or the next.