Toncoin Is Now Gram: What the TON to GRAM Rebrand Means for Blockchain Gamers

• Toncoin (TON) officially became Gram (GRAM) on June 15, 2026
• The community vote to approve the change passed with 81.22 percent support
• Holders do not need to swap, migrate, or claim anything. Exchanges update the ticker automatically
• The blockchain itself retains the name The Open Network (TON)
• The MTONGA (Make TON Great Again) roadmap covers 7 steps; the first two are already live
• Network improvements include 10x faster transactions with under one second finality and fees cut six times to a fraction of a cent
• The rebrand reclaims Gram's original 2018 identity, abandoned after a 2020 SEC settlement forced the name change to Toncoin
• The Telegram gaming ecosystem, which reaches roughly 900 million users, now transacts in GRAM rather than TON

On June 15, a blockchain rename six years in the making finally happened. Toncoin changed its name to Gram, with the ticker switching from TON to GRAM at 8:00 PM UTC on June 15, 2026, following a community vote that passed with 81.22 percent support. source For blockchain gamers, this is worth paying attention to, not because you need to do anything right now, but because the roadmap behind the rebrand is already delivering real network improvements.

What Actually Changed and What Did Not

The short version: the token's name changed. The blockchain did not.

The blockchain itself stays The Open Network (TON). It is a name and ticker change only: there is no token swap, no migration, no claim. Holders do not need to do anything. source

If you held Toncoin (TON) before June 15, you now hold Gram (GRAM). Your balance is identical. Centralized exchanges updated their tickers, decentralized protocol references to TON will gradually update, and any game UIs that displayed "TON" as a currency label will eventually show "GRAM" instead.

The practical disruption for gamers is minimal in the short term. If a game you play uses the TON network for wallet transactions or token payments, those transactions still work the same way. You are just paying in GRAM now rather than TON.

Why Gram and Why Now

The Gram name is not new. By reviving Gram, Pavel Durov is reclaiming the identity the project was forced to drop in 2020 after regulatory pressure, tying the token more visibly to Telegram and its roughly 900 million users. source

The backstory matters. In 2018, Telegram raised $1.7 billion to build a blockchain and token called Gram. The SEC intervened in 2019, arguing it was an unregistered securities offering. Telegram settled in 2020, returning investor funds and abandoning the Gram name. The network relaunched as The Open Network, the token rebranded as Toncoin.

Durov has spent 2026 systematically reclaiming that original vision. In April, he began publishing a roadmap on Telegram under the name Make TON Great Again, or MTONGA, a seven-step plan to upgrade the network and tie it directly to Telegram. The first two steps are already done. Step one was a major technical upgrade called Catchain 2.0 that made the network roughly ten times faster, cutting transaction finality to under a second. Step two cut transaction fees roughly six times, to a fraction of a cent. source

The rebrand itself is the most visible step. The remaining four steps on the MTONGA roadmap have not been published in detail.

The Telegram Gaming Ecosystem Now Runs on GRAM

This is where the rebrand matters most for our audience.

The Telegram gaming ecosystem is one of the most active corners of blockchain gaming by user count. Tap-to-earn mini-apps, farming games, and casual play-to-earn titles inside Telegram collectively reach hundreds of millions of users via Telegram's built-in wallet and TON-based payments. That entire ecosystem transacts in what is now called GRAM.

Games like Walken, a move-to-earn title distributed primarily through Telegram, operate within this ecosystem. The rebrand reconnects the token's name directly to Telegram, making "send GRAM in-game" a much more intuitive concept for mainstream users who associate Telegram with its core product. source

The network improvements underneath the rebrand are what will actually drive gaming adoption. Catchain 2.0's sub-second finality means in-game transactions confirm almost immediately, which is table stakes for any game where players expect instant feedback. The fee reduction to a fraction of a cent makes microtransactions viable at scale without eating into small reward amounts.

For context: if a game rewards players with $0.05 worth of tokens per action, a $0.01 transaction fee is tolerable. A $0.10 fee makes the economics absurd. The fee cuts in step two of MTONGA bring game economy math into a much healthier range.

What This Means for Players

If you hold GRAM (formerly TON), the most important thing to understand is that you do not need to take any action. Your tokens are still there, now with a different name on the label.

The MTONGA roadmap is what to watch. Durov has published a seven-step plan, and the first two steps are already live. Steps three through seven remain unpublished in detail as of this writing. Historically, Telegram and Durov have delivered on technical roadmap items faster than skeptics expected. In our assessment, the remaining steps likely involve deeper Telegram wallet integration, potentially making GRAM the default currency for all Telegram transactions, which would be the single largest user onboarding event in blockchain history if it happens.

For Telegram-native games specifically, the rebrand should improve discoverability and onboarding. Telling a new user "buy GRAM to play" is more intuitive than "buy Toncoin" because it directly references Telegram. That branding clarity matters at the top of the funnel.

For the broader blockchain gaming market, GRAM's 900 million potential Telegram users represent a scale no other gaming blockchain can match right now. Whether that user base converts into engaged gamers rather than passive wallet holders is the open question.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to swap my TON tokens for GRAM?

No. The rebrand is a name and ticker change only. Your existing TON tokens are now called GRAM and carry the GRAM ticker. You do not need to do anything. Exchanges and wallets handle the update on the backend.

Will blockchain games that accepted TON still work after the rebrand?

Yes. The underlying network, transaction protocols, and smart contracts remain unchanged. Games built on The Open Network continue to function normally. The change is in what the token is called, not how it operates at a technical level.

How does the GRAM rebrand affect gaming token prices and the broader GameFi market?

The rebrand itself is a naming event, not a tokenomics change. No new supply was created, no burn occurred, and no vesting schedule was altered. Any price movement around the rebrand date reflects market sentiment about Telegram's long-term gaming ambitions rather than a fundamental change in token mechanics.

What games should I watch that use the GRAM ecosystem?

Move-to-earn titles distributed through Telegram are the most directly affected. Games like Walken that operate via Telegram's user base now transact in a token with stronger brand alignment to its distribution platform. Watch for gaming announcements that specifically reference GRAM integration as developers update their language and UIs in the weeks following the rebrand.

What are the remaining steps in the MTONGA roadmap?

Steps three through seven of the MTONGA roadmap have not been publicly detailed as of June 20, 2026. Pavel Durov has been releasing roadmap steps on a rolling basis through his Telegram channel. Following his channel directly is the most reliable way to get updates on upcoming network changes.