Toncoin surges as Telegram strikes $300M Grok AI deal
- The Open Network's native token, Toncoin, surges in double digits as broader market consolidation continues.
- Telegram partners with Elon Musk’s xAI in a $300 million deal to integrate Grok AI into the messaging app.
- The TON Foundation appoints Nikola Plecas, a former Visa executive, as its new vice president of payments to streamline the platform’s infrastructure.
Toncoin (TON) price is rising sharply to around $3.35 on Wednesday, supported by a strategic deal between Telegram and Elon Musk’s xAI.
Telegram partners with Elon Musk’s xAI
The instant messaging app Telegram has struck a deal with Elon Musk’s xAI, which will see the Grok AI service integrated within the platform.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov announced the deal in an X post, revealing that the one-year partnership will bring Grok to billions of active users on the messaging app.
Durov stated that the strategic partnership will involve Telegram receiving $300 million in cash and equity from xAI, in addition to 50% of the revenue generated from subscriptions purchased through the messaging app.
Telegram and xAI have agreed to a 1-year partnership to distribute Grok to Telegram’s billion+ users and integrate it into its apps. Telegram will receive $300M in cash and equity from xAI, plus 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram. Together, we win! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/JxTNQr4MTy
— Pavel Durov (@durov) May 28, 2025
The collaboration with xAI comes amid plans for Telegram to raise up to $1.5 billion via a bond offering backed by key investors such as BlackRock, Mubadala and Citadel. Telegram intends to use the proceeds to repurchase a debt from its 2021 bond issue.
Telegram boasts over 1 billion active users. The company reported $540 million in profit, with revenue exceeding $1.4 billion for the year 2024.
Meanwhile, the Ton Foundation has announced the appointment of former Visa executive Nikola Plecas as the organization’s vice president of payments.
Plecas will help shape and streamline the Ton Foundation’s global payment strategy by overseeing the design, development and scaling of the infrastructure across the ecosystem.
“With a focus on interoperability, reliability, and innovation, he will collaborate closely with ecosystem partners to deliver new payment rails and expand global access to TON-based financial products,” the Ton Foundation said in a blog post.
Toncoin’s price responded impressively to the news, especially the partnership between Telegram and xAI, rallying over 13% on the day to $3.35.
Technical outlook: Can Toncoin extend gains after breaking trendline resistance?
Toncoin’s price holds slightly above the descending trendline, currently positioned to offer support.
A buy signal from the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator supports the bullish outlook. The signal, which occurred when the blue MACD line crossed above the red signal line on Tuesday, encourages traders to buy TON, contributing to the bullish momentum.
Slightly above TON’s current market value of $3.35 is the 12-hour 200-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA), highlighting resistance at $3.45. A daily close above this level is required to ascertain TON’s uptrend strength as traders gauge the potential for a breakout past the hurdle at $3.50, marked in red on the chart.
TON/USDT 12-hour chart
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is near an overbought position at 64, hinting at a strong uptrend. However, a reversal could be in the offing because overbought conditions often precede pullbacks.
In that case, traders would be on the lookout for a potential RSI reversal toward the 50 midline, which will signal fading bullish momentum, possibly due to profit-taking. If TON slides below the descending trendline, the next areas of interest would be the 100-period EMA at $3.18 and April’s lowest support area around $2.77.
(This story was corrected on May 29 at 06:25 GMT to say that Telegram partnered with xAI, not the TON Foundation. It was also corrected to say that Toncoin is the native token of The Open Network, not of Telegram, and to remove a reference that stated Telegram is behind The TON Foundation.)
Cryptocurrency prices FAQs
Token launches influence demand and adoption among market participants. Listings on crypto exchanges deepen the liquidity for an asset and add new participants to an asset’s network. This is typically bullish for a digital asset.
A hack is an event in which an attacker captures a large volume of the asset from a DeFi bridge or hot wallet of an exchange or any other crypto platform via exploits, bugs or other methods. The exploiter then transfers these tokens out of the exchange platforms to ultimately sell or swap the assets for other cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. Such events often involve an en masse panic triggering a sell-off in the affected assets.
Macroeconomic events like the US Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates influence crypto assets mainly through the direct impact they have on the US Dollar. An increase in interest rate typically negatively influences Bitcoin and altcoin prices, and vice versa. If the US Dollar index declines, risk assets and associated leverage for trading gets cheaper, in turn driving crypto prices higher.
Halvings are typically considered bullish events as they slash the block reward in half for miners, constricting the supply of the asset. At consistent demand if the supply reduces, the asset’s price climbs.
Author
John Isige
FXStreet
John Isige is a seasoned cryptocurrency journalist and markets analyst committed to delivering high-quality, actionable insights tailored to traders, investors, and crypto enthusiasts. He enjoys deep dives into emerging Web3 tren
