One of These Top 10 Altcoins Is Not Like The Others (And It’s Toncoin)
A significant surge in altcoin activity marked St. Patrick’s Day this year, and Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency for Telegram’s messaging platform, was at the forefront with a 37% increase over the week ending March 20. This move places it as one of the top performers among the ten largest altcoins by market capitalization, outperforming even LINK, which managed a 10% gain during the same period. Meanwhile, other notable cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin and Cardano experienced downward trends, with DOGE falling 3% and ADA declining 5.3%.
As Bitcoin’s price remained stable, losing a slight 70 basis points market share among altcoins, the focus shifted to Toncoin and the factors igniting its impressive rally.
Key Drivers Behind Toncoin’s Surge
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Return of Pavel Durov’s Passport: The recent decision by the French government to return the passport of Telegram founder Pavel Durov provided a significant boost to market confidence. Durov, who had been under investigation for alleged crimes conducted by third-party users on Telegram, saw his passport returned, leading to a swift 20% spike in Toncoin’s price. Prior to that, his arrest had resulted in a dramatic 20% drop within 12 hours.
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Venture Capital Investment: The excitement continued as news broke of a monumental $400 million investment round in Toncoin, backed by prominent venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital and Ribbit. This substantial funding not only enhances Toncoin’s market position but also reduces the supply of its limited 5.13 billion tokens, potentially driving prices up in the long term.
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Reduction in Network Fees: On-chain metrics demonstrated a favorable trend with average transaction and storage fees on the TON network decreasing from 15,145 TON to 6,295 TON over the month. This welcomed change is likely attracting more users to the network, as the financial barriers for using the platform have lessened.
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Technical Recovery Indicated by Fibonacci Levels: Analysts indicated that the price rally could be partially attributed to the Fibonacci retracement levels. As Toncoin hit a low of $2.74 in mid-March, it began to rebound from historical lows, hitting about 34% of its all-time high of $8.08, a significant retracement that technical traders might have identified as a buying opportunity.
- Telegram Hits 1 Billion Users: The momentum for Toncoin gained further traction with the announcement that Telegram had reached the milestone of 1 billion active users. Durov took to his Telegram channel to celebrate this achievement, positioning Telegram as a strong competitor against rivals like WhatsApp, which he called a "cheap, watered-down imitation." This announcement, combined with Telegram’s profitable year, solidified bullish sentiment around Toncoin.
As the cryptocurrency landscape continues to evolve, these developments underscore Toncoin’s potential within the growing intersection of cryptocurrency and social media platforms. With its dynamic backing and favorable market conditions, investors are keeping a close watch on Toncoin’s future movements.
