TON and GRAM in Telegram
The network that collectible usernames, +888 numbers and gifts rest on. Live figures come from a TON indexer run by Telegram itself.
The network right now
Block height, tempo and fee come from a TON indexer inside Telegram's own network. The rate comes from an exchange — the same one as the chip up top. If a source goes quiet the tile disappears: there are no invented numbers here.
GRAM and TON are not two currencies
The network and the coin
The network is called The Open Network, TON for short. Since June 2026 its currency is called Gram, ticker GRAM. It used to be called Toncoin.
There is nothing to exchange
There was no swap. Same contracts, same addresses, same balances: 10 TON became 10 GRAM on their own. No claim, no migration, no bridges. Any offer to “exchange your TON for GRAM” is a scam.
Why everyone gets confused
The coin was renamed, not the network, and the old name still lives on in text. On Fragment the prices are already in GRAM while the description next to them still says Toncoin. Trust the ticker, not the prose.
A wallet inside Telegram
On 21 July 2026 Telegram announced a native non-custodial Gram wallet in every one of its apps: the keys stay with the owner, and Telegram never holds them. The timing was given in words — “this summer” — with no exact date. For now the wallet lives in a separate app or mini app.
The dollar on TON
USDT here is not a second network and not a second currency. It is a contract inside the same TON, and it has rules of its own.
USDT is a jetton
A jetton is TON’s token standard (TEP-74). Tether issues USDT from a single master contract. There is no “USDT network” — there is USDT on TON.
Every holder gets their own contract
Balances do not sit in one shared table. A separate wallet contract is deployed per holder, and its address is derived from the master and the owner’s address.
The fee is paid in GRAM
Gas is always charged in the network's own coin, so an ordinary wallet needs a GRAM balance. Wallets on the W5 standard get around this: the fee is taken out of the transfer itself, so USDT moves even at zero GRAM.
The comment travels separately
In a jetton transfer the comment rides in an attached payload, not in the transfer itself. The recipient learns of the credit from a separate notification — without it the transfer does not count as delivered.
What in Telegram runs on the blockchain
Not everything in Telegram lives on the network. What moved onto the blockchain is exactly what has an owner and can be handed to someone else.
A floor is known for 117 collections in the catalogue. A gift's price is GRAM at the live rate, not a separate currency.
What people usually get wrong here
Has TON always been Telegram's blockchain?
No. Telegram built the network in 2018–2020 and stepped away after the SEC case — TON carried on as an independent community project. The return was gradual: Fragment from 2022, official status as Telegram's blockchain from 2023, then collectible usernames, +888 numbers and gifts on the network. In May 2026 Telegram replaced the TON Foundation at the helm of the network and became its largest validator; in June the coin was renamed.
Toncoin became GRAM — do I need to migrate?
No. It is a rename, not an exchange: contracts, addresses and balances did not change. Nothing is required from the holder.
Is every @username an NFT?
No. Only a username that went through a Fragment auction becomes one. Many well-known names are simply absent from the collection.
Does TON do millions of transactions per second?
That is about theoretical capacity, not about load. The network's real figures are shown above — the block tempo, the height and the fee can be checked right now.
Does Telegram own the network now?
Telegram has been the largest validator since May 2026 — that part is true. But “largest” is not “only”: in May 2026 Telegram cited 400 validators across six continents, and the masterchain set is capped at a hundred by voting weight. What matters for you: the contracts, the addresses and the ownership did not change — you can check the addresses yourself under “Check for yourself” below.
Check it yourself
Everything above rests on contracts with public addresses. Here they are — with a link to a live answer from Telegram’s own indexer, no keys and no signup.
USDT master contract
The Tether contract whose supply is shown in the tile above. This address is named in the TON documentation.
EQCxE6mUtQJKFnGfaROTKOt1lZbDiiX1kCixRv7Nw2Id_sDsOpen the indexer’s answer“Telegram Usernames” collection
The contract that holds collectible usernames. A name that went through a Fragment auction becomes an NFT in this collection.
EQCA14o1-VWhS2efqoh_9M1b_A9DtKTuoqfmkn83AbJzwnPiOpen the indexer’s answer+888 numbers collection
The contract holding anonymous numbers used to sign up without a SIM card. A separate collection — not the one that holds usernames.
EQAOQdwdw8kGftJCSFgOErM1mBjYPe4DBPq8-AhF6vr9si5NOpen the indexer’s answerPayment request
A link that opens a wallet with the form already filled in. No keys, no signup, and the money goes straight to the recipient — we take no part in the transfer.
The link sends nothing by itself: it only opens a wallet with the form filled in, and the person confirms the transfer on their own device. Whether they confirmed or closed the wallet cannot be learned from such a link — that is a property of the scheme, not of this page.