TON officially rebrands Toncoin to Gram as Telegram deepens role in network

The Open Network community has officially approved the renaming of Toncoin [TON] to Gram [GRAM], reviving the original token identity tied to Telegram's abandoned blockchain ambitions. According to the finalized governance proposal, 81.22% of participating voting power supported the change during a community vote that concluded on June 8. The rename takes effect at 12:00 UTC on June 15, 2026. Under the proposal: the blockchain itself will remain The Open Network [TON], while the native token's name, ticker, and logo will change from Toncoin [TON] to Gram [GRAM]. The proposal also stressed that no migration, token swap, bridge, or contract redeployment is required. "There is no swap, bridge, claim, or migration," the document stated. Telegram's influence over TON continues expanding The rename arrives alongside a broader strategic shift that increasingly places Telegram at the center of TON's development roadmap. The proposal states that Telegram is becoming "the primary driving force behind TON" and is now the network's largest validator. The document ties Telegram's growing role to recent network upgrades that reportedly: increased transaction throughput tenfold, reduced fees roughly six times, and improved finality times to sub-second speeds. Telegram founder Pavel Durov has recently framed the ecosystem's direction around technical performance and protocol-level infrastructure improvements rather than purely community governance. The proposal also described the rename as part of the "MTONGA" initiative, short for "Make TON Great Again." Gram branding reconnects TON to Telegram's original vision The return of the Gram branding carries historical significance for the TON ecosystem. Telegram originally developed the Telegram Open Network and planned to launch Gram as its native token before the project was halted following regulatory action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020. After the SEC case, the independent TON community continued developing the blockchain separately under The Open Network branding. The proposal notes that "Gram" was the token name used in the original TON White Paper and has remained embedded within parts of the network's core codebase. Exchanges begin coordinated rollout The rollout will occur in phases from June 9 to June 22, with exchanges, wallets, explorers, and ecosystem applications expected to update trading pairs, interfaces, and ticker displays during that period. Projects are also being encouraged to temporarily display the asset as "Gram [prev. Toncoin]" during a three-month transition window to reduce confusion among users. The TON ecosystem additionally warned users that any service claiming users must "convert TON to GRAM" or "claim GRAM" is fraudulent. Final Summary The TON community approved renaming Toncoin (TON) to Gram (GRAM), with the change taking effect on June 15. The proposal also highlighted Telegram's expanding role as TON's largest validator and primary development force.