Durov renames Toncoin to GRAM; Telegram launches Apple Watch app

Pavel Durov announced the Toncoin token will be renamed GRAM after a governance vote that received 81.22% support. The rename takes effect on June 15; exchanges and projects are expected to align with the new name by June 22.

The TON blockchain will keep its existing name. Token holders do not need to swap, bridge or claim anything. Wallets, smart contracts, NFTs, staking positions and decentralized finance holdings will carry over automatically during the three-week transition.

GRAM traces to Telegram’s 2018 whitepaper, when Telegram planned a token called Gram before regulators halted the project and ordered a $1.7 billion refund to investors. The network was later rebuilt as Toncoin under the TON Foundation. Durov presented the rename as the fourth milestone of the Make TON Great Again roadmap; earlier milestones included Catchain 2.0, sub-second finality and a sixfold fee reduction. Telegram became the network’s largest validator earlier this year.

Durov launched a fully native Telegram app for Apple Watch, restoring wearable support that Telegram had discontinued years ago. The watchOS client supports messaging, voice notes, GIFs, video playback, stickers and location sharing from the wrist.

Toncoin traded at $1.66 at the time of writing, down about 7.14% over the prior 24 hours and nearly 30% lower than a month earlier, with a market capitalization near $4.43 billion. The asset surged after Durov’s May takeover announcements and then pared some gains ahead of the GRAM transition.

Telegram’s roughly one billion users provide a large potential audience for native token use and wallet adoption. Three remaining MTONGA roadmap milestones have not been disclosed.