TON Surges 36% As Telegram Replaces TON Foundation

Toncoin pumped after Pavel Durov said Telegram will replace the TON Foundation as the network’s driving force, become its largest validator, and slash fees by sixfold to near-zero. The announcement set off a broad rally. TON meme coins such as DOGS and UTYA surged alongside the native token.

The market reaction was immediate because Telegram’s deeper involvement has repeatedly acted as rocket fuel for TON’s narrative and price. Toncoin climbed about 36% to around $1.86. That still leaves it more than 77% below its September 2024 peak, underlining how far the token remains from prior exuberance.

Durov said the overhaul will unfold over the next two to three weeks with a rebuilt ton.org site, upgraded developer tools, and fresh performance improvements. Telegram is positioning itself as TON’s central operator. The move also follows Durov’s legal recovery in France and his broader push into decentralized infrastructure.

Analysts caution that the spike looks more like a narrative burst than a full fundamental repricing, with $2 emerging as the near-term test. Momentum indicators are already flashing overbought signals. If traders lock in gains once the rollout lands, a pullback could arrive quickly after the upgrade window opens.

a16z Crypto Raises $2.2 Billion For Fifth Fund

Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm raised $2.2 billion for its fifth fund, betting that stablecoins, onchain finance, and clearer regulation are pushing the sector beyond speculation. The vehicle is smaller than its 2022 predecessor. The firm also promoted chief technology officer Eddy Lazzarin to general partner alongside three existing leaders.

The new pool arrives as venture capital remains selective, with investors favoring products showing adoption and revenue instead of pure narrative. a16z said the fund stays fully crypto-focused. It plans to back founders building everyday blockchain infrastructure, while rivals including Haun, Dragonfly, Paradigm, and Blockchain Capital also raise fresh money.

Coinbase Cuts 680 Jobs (14% of Staff) In AI Operations Shift

Chief executive Brian Armstrong announced that Coinbase is reducing its workforce by 14% to navigate a volatile market downturn. This restructuring affects roughly 680 employees as the firm prioritizes speed and efficiency. The company aims to return to its founding roots during this period.

Management intends to rebuild the platform as an intelligence first organization by utilizing fleets of autonomous software agents. Many technical workflows are now automated by engineers which allows the company to ship production code faster. This move mirrors a wider trend of staff reductions across crypto.

Iggy Azalea Sued Over MOTHER Meme Token Claims

Rapper Iggy Azalea faces a class action in federal court alleging she misled buyers about the utility and development of her Solana meme coin, MOTHER. The plaintiff says marketing promised real integrations. Investors claim those representations influenced purchases and masked the gap between promotion and the project’s actual functionality.

The complaint points to failed or missing features involving a casino, telecom payments, and a marketplace that allegedly never worked as advertised. MOTHER has fallen more than 99% from its peak. Plaintiffs are also probing disclosed ties to market makers, arguing buyers were not told how those relationships could affect pricing.

Data of the Day

Digital asset investment products recorded $117.8 million in weekly inflows, stretching the positive run to five weeks even after heavy selling earlier in the period. A $737 million Friday rebound changed direction. Total assets under management held near $155 billion as risk appetite improved into the close.

Bitcoin ETF products absorbed $192.1 million, while Ethereum funds swung back to $81.6 million in outflows after three strong weeks. Regional demand narrowed sharply. The United States posted just $47.5 million, Germany added $43.8 million, and Canada contributed $16 million as participation softened before recovering late.

More Breaking News

• Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti urged Europe to examine extending SEPA into tokenized payments, as the ECB builds DLT settlement rails to defend euro sovereignty.
• Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the Clarity Act still has a viable path, but warned its odds could fall sharply without a Senate markup hearing this month.
• Binance will replace fixed off-hours pricing for commodity perpetuals with an orderbook-weighted EWMA model, changing how margin and liquidations are calculated during weekends and maintenance windows.
• Google Cloud and the Solana Foundation launched Pay(dot)sh, letting AI agents discover APIs and pay fractions of a cent in stablecoins without accounts or subscriptions.
• Representative Steven Horsford said his bipartisan PARITY Act offers a narrower, more durable route for crypto tax reform as broader Senate market-structure talks remain stalled.
• Sequans sold 1,025 Bitcoin after revenue fell nearly 25% and losses widened, showing how treasury strategies can unravel when debt maturities collide with weaker operations.
• Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko said the Alpenglow upgrade could arrive next quarter, aiming to tighten transaction guarantees and push finality closer to the speed of light.
• Tether Gold grew 36% in the first quarter to more than $3.3 billion, as investors seeking hard-asset exposure pushed tokenized gold demand sharply higher.

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