On June 1, 2026, Pavel Durov announced that Toncoin’s name would be changed to Gram. This is a change that only applies to crypto assets, and The Open Network will keep its name. The news sent asset prices up 13% in the first few hours. However, the most relevant data is rebrand: Durov described this as the fourth phase of a seven-phase plan he named “Make TON Great Again”, known by the acronym MTONGA.
MTONGA is neither a technical document nor a roadmap published in a repository. This is a seven-step plan Durov launched in April 2026 to create an open network. Telegram’s primary payment and application tier for approximately 950 million monthly active users. Mr. Durov did not publish the seven steps all at once. He communicated them in sequence through personal channels without setting a date in advance, creating a cycle in which each announcement brought renewed attention to the project.
Although its name alludes to the political slogan “Make America Great Again,” its purpose is cryptocurrency infrastructure. MTONGA also emerged around it as a meme-type token within the TON ecosystem, independent of Telegram and Durov speculating the story of the plan. They are two different things: Durov’s strategic plan and the token that borrows his name.
4 steps already taken
The first step was the activation of Catchain 2.0, announced on April 9th. This reduced the block time from approximately 2.5 seconds to 400 milliseconds. Transactions take approximately 10 seconds to less than 1 second to complete.
The second step took place 2 weeks later. Network fees have dropped to 0.00039 tons per transaction, a 6x reduction to less than $0.00005 at a fixed rate that does not change based on congestion. Durov noted that the long-term direction is to aim for zero commissions on most trades, but did not specify a date for that goal.
The third step, which took place on May 4, was the most important in terms of governance. Telegram replaced the TON Foundation as the primary administrator of the network and took over as the largest validator with a larger security interest than any other single entity.
The fourth step is to rebrand or rebrand grams. Gram was the name of the token during the first Telegram push in 2018when the company raised $1.7 billion in a private ICO before the SEC intervened in 2020. This change does not imply an exchange of tokens or a change in the economic status of the asset. Anyone who currently holds Toncoin will have Grams when the transition is complete (estimated within 3 weeks).
3 missing steps
Durov did not provide details about steps 5, 6, and 7, and no information has been made public so far. Analysts to track road map They cite TON Pay 2.0, a payments layer for instant microtransactions within Telegram, and TON Teleport Bridge, a mechanism that brings Bitcoin liquidity to the TON ecosystem, as potential candidates. None have been officially confirmed.
A structural risk of this plan is its dependence on Telegram as an entity. If Durov’s legal situation in Europe deteriorates or the company’s priorities change;Your participation as a validator may be reduced or redirected. In addition to this, TON’s decentralized exchange volume decreased from a peak of $1.4 billion in 2024 to $26 million in April 2026, and the total amount locked in DeFi decreased from $766 million to $55 million in the same period.
In its first four steps, MTONGA describes the technical and governance retransformation of a network that has been under community control for six years, returning it to the orbit of its original creators. The remaining three steps, yet to be revealed, will determine whether this retransformation leads to good use or remains a market story.
(Tag to translate) Cryptocurrency
