Telegram-linked crypto tokens Toncoin (TON) and Notcoin (NOT) are both down more than 20% over the week after co-founder and CEO of the mobile app, Pavel Durov, was arrested in Paris.
The Open Network, which uses Toncoin (TON) as its native currency, was originally theorized by Telegram in 2018 with the release of its whitepaper for the âTelegram Open Network.â But the mobile app company abandoned the project after the SEC claimed the project would have been considered an unregistered security.
This was when the community stepped in, using TONâs code accessible on GitHub, to push the project over the finish lineârenaming the project to The Open Network.
Late on Saturday, according to local media, Durov was arrested on various allegations that Telegram had not prevented illegal conduct by Telegram users. This has caused Toncoinâs price to plummet 21% and the networkâs largest token Notcoin (NOT) to similarly fall 20%.
Telegram has been the home of a crypto mobile gaming craze led by the tap-to-earn game Notcoin. Players are encouraged to click a gold coin over and over again as they accrue in-game points which eventually led to the largest crypto gaming airdrop of 2024âhitting a $2.97 billion market cap.
The success of the project, along with important updates from Telegram, has led to a slew of similar projects creating Telegram-based games with the promise of future airdrops. Following the recent arrest of Durov, some Telegram games such as Notcoin and Hamster Kombat have shown solidarity with the founder by way of in-game features, stickers, and social media posts.
Toncoinâs logo has been changed to the networkâs Resistance Dogâa token used to symbolize âdigital resistance.â The TON Society encouraged other projects and community members to join them in changing their Twitter avatarâs to the Resistance Dog. The team shared a post with the hashtag #FreeDurov, referring to the detained Telegram CEO, with the free emoji. This post has garnered over 210,000 retweets so far.
In turn, the Resistance Dog (REDO) token is up 94% over the week, hitting a $67 million market cap and becoming the fifth largest token on the network excluding stablecoins.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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