Toncoin (TON) is rallying as messaging app Telegram takes a more direct role in the token's parent network and pushes for lower transaction costs, a shift that seems to be driving the move.

TON has rallied more than 36% in the past 24 hours, hitting a four-month high of $1.80, according to data from CoinDesk. It is the native token of The Open Network, a Layer 1 blockchain designed to integrate crypto payments and applications within the Telegram messaging platform.

The bullish sentiment has spread across the Telegram-linked ecosystem, with Notcoin gaining nearly 26%, Dogs rising more than 100%, and several smaller TON-based tokens posting even larger daily moves.

The market seems to be reacting to Telegram's decision to replace the Ton Foundation as the driving force behind TON.

In an X post on Monday, Telegram founder Pavel Durov said that the messaging platform would become TON's largest validator and take over as the driving force behind the ecosystem, with new developer tools, performance upgrades, and a refreshed ton.org expected within two to three weeks.

A validator is a specialized node or participant responsible for verifying transactions, ensuring network security, and maintaining the accuracy of a blockchain.

Becoming the largest validator is indicative of Telegram's willingness to put its own weight behind the chain’s security and direction. This likely reduces one of TON’s biggest overhangs, namely the gap between the Telegram narrative and TON Foundation's execution.

The story doesn't end there. In the same X post, Durov said TON fees have fallen sixfold to near zero, after previously announcing that transaction costs would drop to 0.00039 TON, or about $0.0005, with most transactions eventually moving toward a fee-less model.

Near-zero transaction costs matter most for the kinds of products Telegram can actually distribute, such as on-chain tips, games, bot payments, mini-app transactions, collectibles, and small retail transfers.

A fee that looks irrelevant to a DeFi whale can still kill a consumer app if users are moving cents or dollars at a time. Fixed, tiny costs make TON more usable for high-frequency, low-value activity, broadening its appeal as a blockchain among existing users.

Various tracking sites put Telegram's estimated monthly users at as much as one billion, though the company has not publicly claimed or denied those figures.

But TON's fundamentals have failed to catch up to that hype in recent years. DefiLlama data shows TON captures just over $69 million in locked value across its decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, far below its 2024 highs near $800 million. Daily chain fees sit around $3,600, DEX volume around $29 million, and app revenue near $134,000.

Data from Tonstat shows shows daily active wallet activity on TON at just under 50,000, coming from around 136,000 unique wallets. That compares with roughly 700,000 daily activities across more than 2.2 million wallets during August and September 2024, according to the data.