In recent weeks, Telegram has faced challenging times. Its founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in late August in France, accused of leading a company involved in facilitating the distribution of child abuse material, drug trafficking, and organized fraud. Although he was released after paying a €5 million bail, the incident caused the value of Toncoin, the cryptocurrency of Telegram’s blockchain network, to drop by 33%.

Despite this, there were no signs of concern in Seoul last week. In Dosan-daero, one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods, a large crowd gathered to attend a party hosted by TON. The blockchain community, made up of developers, investors, traders, and other key players, was more focused on celebrating than lamenting. Just hours earlier, during Korea Blockchain Week, it was announced that transactions on the TON network had surpassed one billion.

Surprisingly, Durov’s arrest seems to have benefited Telegram. Downloads of the app surged following the incident, and this positive momentum also extended to the TON network.

Jack Booth, co-founder of TON Society, mentioned during his speech at Korea Blockchain Week: “Even though last week was probably one of the worst in terms of news for TON, we managed to hit all-time highs in active users and transaction volume.”

A complex relationship

In theory, Durov’s arrest should not have a direct impact on TON’s development, as both Telegram and the TON Foundation claim to be independent entities. However, in practice, the connection between them is more intricate.

Originally, Durov, along with his brother Nikolai, launched TON under the Telegram umbrella. However, following a lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Telegram for an unregistered initial coin offering, the company decided to dissociate itself from the blockchain. Since then, Telegram has sought to distance itself structurally from TON.

Meanwhile, a group of developers and blockchain enthusiasts formed the TON Foundation to continue the blockchain’s development. Several entities have since emerged, such as TON Society and The Open Platform (TOP), which created the TON-based cryptocurrency wallet compatible with Telegram.

By: Nestor Castillo, ForAllTechNews Director