Convert toncoin to first name gram

The Open Network has said it plans to convert its Toncoin (ton) token to Gram (gram), the initial name of the network's first white paper.

“Gram was the original name of Ton Money. We are returning to our roots – and starting a new chapter,” Telegram and Ton founder Pavel Durov said on Telegram on Monday.

The renaming “paves the way for what's to come” and the transition will take about three weeks, he added.

The change revives Toon's 2018 white paper from the original token name, which Telegram abandoned after the US Securities and Exchange Commission banned a $1.7 billion initial coin offering (ICO) in 2020.

The move follows Telegram's takeover of the network's main driver and largest verifier from the Ton Foundation in May.

The Open Network voted on the proposal on Monday, explaining that there will be no swaps, migrations, bridges, claims or conversions, and every balance, address, contract and status will remain as it is now.

At the time of writing, 1.8 million tonnes, or nearly 80%, had pledged support for the rebrand.

Ton renaming is in progress. Source: Open Network

Durov positioned the token brand as part of its “TON Great Again” roadmap. The rebrand is the fourth phase of the roadmap, with the first three coming earlier this year and an April upgrade to CatChain to increase blockchain speed, reduce transaction fees and control Telegram.

“These changes mark a major milestone for the network — and it's a natural time to revamp how the token is publicly recognized,” Toon said.

The end game at Telegram is to develop a seamless Web3 “Super App” experience for its one billion users, making the messenger a global platform for payments, mini-apps, digital ownership, AI agents and more.

Related: TON Pay aims to turn Telegram into a crypto checkout layer for TON.

Tonnes reacted strongly to the announcement, rising more than 15% to $2.25 from $1.95 in late trading on Monday.

The token fell to $2.07 by Tuesday morning, then retreated and is down 75% from its all-time high of $8.25 in June 2024, according to CoinGecko.

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