TON Chain in 2026: Is the Telegram Ecosystem Still Growing Fast?

In May 2026, Telegram founder Durov announced that Telegram would officially take over the operational leadership of TON. The positioning underwent a fundamental shift from a "closely related public chain" to a "payment network directly driven by Telegram." In June, the community voted with over 81% support to rename the native token from Toncoin to Gram, reconnecting with the vision of the original 2018 whitepaper. These moves have prompted the market to reassess TON. However, the challenges are straightforward: Telegram has over 1 billion monthly active users, while TON has approximately 1.78 million monthly active wallets, a conversion rate of only about 0.12%. The traffic funnel is huge, but the proportion of people actually using the chain is very low. This article neither hypes nor dismisses, using data to break down TON's real situation.

What Actually Changed After Telegram "Took Over"

On May 4, 2026, Durov announced on social media that Telegram would replace the TON Foundation as the primary driver of TON and become the network's largest validator, staking approximately 2.2 million GRAM. The market reaction was immediate — TON's price rose about 79% within a week.

The significance of this change goes beyond just "support." Previously, the relationship between TON and Telegram was relatively loose, with the foundation leading ecosystem expansion and Telegram providing the traffic gateway. Now, Telegram directly enters the realm of network security and node governance, shifting the development focus from foundation-led external expansion to Telegram's internal product-scenario-driven growth.

Following this, in June, the community voted to rename the token from Toncoin to Gram with 81% support. This is both a brand restoration and a clear structural adjustment to distinguish between the "network (TON)" and the "currency (Gram)," more closely resembling the relationship between Ethereum and ETH.

What the Data Says: The Huge Gap Between Two Numbers

TON's biggest selling point is Telegram's user base. Telegram has over 1 billion monthly active users — a traffic gateway that any public chain dreams of. According to a CoinShares report, TON has about 1.78 million monthly active wallets, a conversion rate of about 0.12%. Note that this is not cumulative registered wallets, but monthly active ones. Many accounts were registered once and never used again.

In Q1, TON's average daily active addresses fell 8.8% quarter-over-quarter to 90,800. There was no significant new user growth. However, engagement among existing users increased — the number of transactions per address rose from 19.2 to 21. This means the existing user base is becoming "stickier," but not enough new users are coming in.

In terms of transaction volume, the average daily transaction count was about 2.16 million, with weekly active transactions around 3.8 million, a 32% increase quarter-over-quarter. USDT average daily transfer volume fell 32.5% to $77 million, but the average daily number of transfers remained at about 73,600. This suggests that peer-to-peer transfers and Mini App micropayments are replacing large DeFi transactions — the direction is right, but the volume is still small.

Ecosystem's "Two Extremes": Strong Apps, Weak Finance

The TON ecosystem has a clear structural characteristic: the application layer is strong, but the financial layer is weak.

Tap-to-Earn projects have produced astonishing data. Notcoin reached approximately 35 million users, with about 2.8 million on-chain holders; Hamster Kombat claims over 300 million players; Catizen has over 39 million users and more than 18 million monthly active users, becoming the first consumer-grade Web3 application to surpass 1 million paying users. These projects demonstrate the powerful user distribution capability of Telegram Mini Apps.

But the data on the other side is sobering. As of May 2026, the total value locked (TVL) in TON chain DeFi was about $79.43 million, with DEX daily trading volume only $8.18 million. In comparison, the total stablecoin supply was about $752 million, of which USDT accounted for about $580 million. The stablecoin scale is an order of magnitude higher than DeFi TVL — money is coming in, but it's not circulating on the chain.

This indicates that TON currently functions more like a "payment channel" than a "financial network." Users deposit, transfer, and withdraw, but there is no DeFi composability, lending depth, or yield scenarios. If Ethereum L2s are "financial cities," TON is currently more like a "high-speed toll station" — high traffic, but short dwell time.

Challenges for Mini Apps: What Happens After They Arrive?

Projects like Notcoin expose a core problem of the TON ecosystem: traffic comes fast, but it also leaves fast. Tap-to-Earn games can bring users into wallets, tasks, and airdrop systems, but often experience activity decay after the Token Generation Event (TGE) or airdrop ends.

If the TON ecosystem remains stuck in the cycle of "game user acquisition — token distribution — user exit," Telegram is only providing short-term attention, not a sustainable network effect.

The truly critical question is: Can Notcoin, Hamster Kombat, and Catizen steer users toward higher-frequency scenarios like payments, trading, staking, and lending? Currently, this conversion chain has not been proven.

Payments and AI Agents: The New Story Telegram Wants to Tell

Behind the token rename to Gram is a more important signal — TON is re-emphasizing its "currency" attribute. Telegram is evolving from an "application platform" to a "digital economy platform," with payment networks and AI Agent economies as new keywords.

TON Pay already supports cryptocurrency transfers and micropayments within Telegram, with fees around 0.00039 TON (extremely low). TON Pay 2.0 is planned for launch in 2026, expected to add more payment features. Telegram Stars also make it easier for new users to get started.

Meanwhile, the rise of AI Agents (programs that can automatically execute tasks) could become a new demand scenario. Future value exchanges between bots, digital goods payments, and in-app settlements may all be conducted using Gram.

This direction has significant imaginative potential, but the risks are also considerable. The large-scale implementation of payments and AI Agents will take time, possibly involving multiple iterations and adjustments along the way.

A Conclusion That Requires a Calm Perspective

Returning to the title's question: Is the TON chain still growing fast?

From the perspective of wallet base, transaction volume, and ecosystem revenue, the growth rate is indeed slowing. In Q1 data, declines in daily active users, TVL, and USDT transfer volume are objective facts. A Messari report also pointed out that Q2 will be a critical observation period to test whether infrastructure upgrades can drive broader user conversion.

But from another angle, TON is undergoing a transition from a "traffic narrative" to an "economic closed loop." Telegram's deep involvement, token brand reshaping, and the directional adjustment toward payments and AI Agents are all paving the way for this transition.

For ordinary users and investors, TON's long-term outlook hinges on whether Telegram can convert even 1% of its 1 billion monthly active users into on-chain active users. With the current conversion rate of 0.12%, there is indeed room for improvement. However, achieving this leap requires not just better technology, but also the simultaneous advancement of products, compliance, and user education.