Durov: Telegram takes the wheel on TON — becoming its largest validator within weeks.

Pavel Durov announced that Telegram will step in as the primary driver of the <a class="ticker-mention" href="/en-US/token/ton">TON</a> blockchain, replacing the TON Foundation and taking on the role of its largest validator. The shift comes with a sharp focus on technical performance, signalling a more hands-on posture from the messaging giant toward the chain it helped birth.

Within the next 2–3 weeks, TON is expected to ship a new website, updated developer tools, and a round of performance upgrades. The move consolidates Telegram&#x27;s influence over TON&#x27;s roadmap and could accelerate the integration of on-chain features — payments, identity, mini-apps — directly into Telegram&#x27;s 900-million-user surface area.

For the broader TON ecosystem, having Telegram as the anchor validator brings credibility and infrastructure weight, but also raises questions about decentralisation that the community will likely debate in the weeks ahead.