TON doubles in a week as Telegram seizes network control — but centralization risk looms large!

Toncoin surged from $1.32 on May 1 to an intraday high of $2.90 by May 7, pushing its market cap to roughly $7.8 billion, after Pavel Durov announced Telegram would replace the TON Foundation as the network's primary governing force and become its largest validator within two to three weeks. Traders read the move as confirmation that TON had, in substance, become Telegram's chain — one backed by a platform with over one billion active users and a structural claim on every financial transaction running through it.

The commercial groundwork was already in place. January 2025 exclusivity agreements made TON the sole blockchain for Telegram Mini Apps, Toncoin the only accepted currency for Stars, Premium, and Ads, and TON Connect the required wallet standard. What Durov's announcement added was a governance layer on top. On-chain activity responded: DefiLlama recorded $152.9 million in DEX…