The End of the Illusion: Telegram Owns TON

Pavel Durov has announced that Telegram will take over governance of the TON blockchain from the TON Foundation. At first glance, this may look like a step away from decentralization - but in reality, it’s hard to call it that.

First, if the blockchain already had something like a control panel or command center, then what kind of decentralization are we even talking about? It wasn’t really there to begin with.

Second, after Telegram officially shut down the original Telegram Open Network project, its technology lived on in two separate networks: FreeTON and The Open Network (Toncoin). Telegram chose to integrate Toncoin into its ecosystem, clearly signaling where its allegiance lay. What’s happening now is simply the removal of the last illusion that the blockchain was being run by independent developers.

So rather than a shift in direction, this looks more like Telegram publicly acknowledging responsibility for a blockchain it has effectively controlled all along.

Interestingly, this goes against the broader trend among commercial and corporate blockchains, where teams try to involve the community more in governance. Think of BNB Chain or Hyperliquid, whose developers have been gradually loosening their grip - at least on paper. Here, it’s the opposite: the implicit message is that community governance is nice, but direct control is more reliable.

And that approach may actually make TON more appealing to traditional businesses, which tend to value clear and predictable governance structures. If so, TON could be well positioned to attract more serious, institutional users.

As a reminder, you can exchange any cryptocurrency for Toncoin at the best rates on rabbit.io.