Toncoin loses $2.7 billion in market value after Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov's detention in Paris.
A digital asset from a blockchain project linked to Telegram Messenger LLP has lost about $2.7 billion in market value, reflecting the uncertainty sparked by the detention of the messaging appâs co-founder.
Toncoin, the token of The Open Network, slid more than 20% after Pavel Durov was reportedly taken into custody at a Paris airport on Saturday on suspicion of failing to take steps to prevent criminal use of Telegram.
The 10th largest cryptoasset pared some of the drop to trade at $5.69 as of 10:36 a.m. Monday in Singapore but is still down 16% as a result of the unfolding drama over 39-year-old Durov, according to data complied by Bloomberg.
The Open Network â or TON â blockchain has access to Telegramâs 900 million monthly users via a partnership and seeks to enable services such as in-app payments and games. TONâs rise spurred speculation that Telegram has a shot at becoming a âsuper-appâ in the style of Chinese giants like WeChat.
Venture Backing
The three-year-old foundation behind the project says itâs separate from Telegram. But the ties between Telegram and TON turned the latter into one of cryptoâs most-hyped initiatives. Pantera Capital Management LP in May described a purchase of Toincoin as the firmâs largest-ever investment.
Billionaire Durov is also Telegramâs chief executive officer. The Dubai-based company issued a statement saying it abides by European laws, including the Digital Services Act, and that Durov has ânothing to hide.â
Itâs âtoo early to tellâ what impact Durovâs detention will have on Telegram longer term, said Richard Galvin, co-founder of hedge fund DACM, which purchased TON tokens in a private round in early 2023. The weekend market reaction âfactored this uncertainty into the TON priceâ for now, he added.
Galvin said the key appeal of the TON-Telegram relationship âis the ability to introduce Telegramâs vast user base to crypto functionality,â and that âanything that weakens the competitive position of Telegram is negative for TON.â
Free-Speech Debate
Governments have faulted Telegramâs relatively light-touch approach to content moderation for encouraging criminality, while free-speech proponents praise the platform as a venue for open discussion. Telegram is popular with the crypto community, for instance for sharing investment tips.Â
TON on its X social-media account joined the likes of Elon Musk in expressing backing for Durov, reposting the hashtags #FreePavel and #FREEDUROV and changing its logo to the âResistance Dogâ in a further show of support.
The value of assets locked on the TON blockchain surged this year to a peak of $1.1 billion last month but the figure has now retreated to $661 million, data from DefiLlama show. Toncoinâs price more than tripled in the past year and the token has a current market value of about $14.4 billion, according to CoinGecko.
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