The story of Toncoin ($TON) is essentially a legendary tale of a project’s resurrection and multiple twists of fate.

Initially, it was launched by Telegram founder Pavel Durov and his brothers in 2018, called Telegram Open Network (TON), with the goal of making a splash in the cryptocurrency and decentralized application space. It was quite ambitious.

But the good times didn’t last long. The US SEC determined that its token sales constituted illegal fundraising, and Telegram was forced to shut down in 2020, also having to compensate investors. This blow directly led the company to give up on the project.

Interestingly, the open-source code of the project was picked up by community developers. These dedicated believers didn’t let the project die completely; instead, they reorganized it, renamed it "The Open Network," and changed the token to Toncoin. In a sense, it’s "switched guardians but kept the bloodline."

Even more fascinating is that, although Telegram officially has no legal ties to this, they later clearly began to support the development of the Ton ecosystem behind the scenes, using it as an internal payment system and Web3 infrastructure. It’s like "the biological parent says no, but the body is honest."

Currently, the direction of TON largely follows the Telegram ecosystem’s rhythm. Its unique origin and background give it a distinctive narrative and market presence.