Telegram becomes TON’s top validator, names TON Mini Apps-only

Telegram replaced the volunteer-led TON Foundation as the network’s largest validator, designated TON as the exclusive blockchain for its Mini Apps ecosystem and announced a sixfold fee reduction to roughly $0.0005 per transaction. Founder Pavel Durov outlined the changes alongside a package of platform updates.

Telegram said improvements to the TON website, including new developer tools and performance updates, will roll out within two to three weeks. The company framed the fee cut as a measure to lower the cost of microtransactions inside Mini Apps.

An April 2026 upgrade called Catch 2.0 shortened block finality on mainnet so that many transactions finalize in under one second, enabling near-instant payments. Telegram promoted a seven-step plan called Make TON Great Again (MTONGA) aimed at improving microtransaction efficiency in the Mini Apps marketplace.

The Telegram Wallet is scheduled for a refreshed interface, broader multi-chain asset support and simplified fiat on-ramps and off-ramps to ease deposits and withdrawals for users. Those changes are intended to support in-app payments and asset management.

Telegram’s Mini Apps run inside the messaging app used by nearly 950 million monthly active users. Mini Apps let users play games, trade and access decentralized services without leaving Telegram. Bots, native payments and the Mini Apps framework allow developers to deploy services directly to users without separate downloads or account creation. A Topics feature lets users keep multiple bot-related threads within a single private chat.

Market reaction followed the announcement. Toncoin recorded daily gains as high as 28 percent, and related tokens pushed combined memecoin market capitalization in the TON ecosystem to about $156 million. Some forecasts project TON trading above $10 by 2029 while remaining unlikely to reach $100 or $1,000 before 2031.

Developers building AI agents cited sub-second finality and low fees as practical benefits for agents that must make frequent payments or blockchain interactions. Telegram’s user base and bot framework reduce onboarding steps for users interacting with payment-enabled agents or decentralized services.

Telegram originally developed the TON protocol in 2018 and transferred control to the volunteer-led TON Foundation in 2020 after regulatory pressure. With Telegram now the network’s largest validator and the required blockchain for platform-level transactions, validation control has shifted from the community foundation to a private company.

Community members and other stakeholders raised questions about governance and decentralization following the transfer. The change concentrates responsibility for network operations within Telegram while integrating TON more tightly into the app.