Key Highlights
- Catchain 2.0 upgrade on TON blockchain reduces block times from 10 seconds to 400 milliseconds
- TON token price increased over 5% to approximately $1.30 after the upgrade went live
- Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced this as step one of a seven-phase “Make TON Great Again” initiative
- Network inflation expected to increase from 0.6% to 3.6% annually due to accelerated block generation
- Japanese exchange Rakuten Wallet scheduled to list TON for spot trading starting April 15
The Toncoin cryptocurrency experienced a price surge exceeding 5% to approximately $1.30 following the successful deployment of the Catchain 2.0 consensus mechanism on the TON blockchain. The upgrade was revealed by Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram, and represents a significant transformation in the network’s transaction processing capabilities.
Prior to this network enhancement, transaction finality on TON required approximately 10 seconds. Following the Catchain 2.0 implementation, block production time has been compressed to just 400 milliseconds. Payment settlements now complete in roughly one second, while decentralized applications are anticipated to operate at performance levels comparable to centralized alternatives.
Validator consensus for the protocol upgrade occurred on April 8 and 9, 2026. Following successful completion of the voting process, Catchain 2.0 became operational across the network. Major cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance and Bithumb conducted wallet maintenance procedures during this period to accommodate the technical changes.
The base chain block reward remains unchanged at 1.7 TON. Nevertheless, the dramatically increased block production rate means validators will receive substantially higher aggregate rewards per cycle. Consequently, the network’s annual inflation rate is forecast to climb from approximately 0.6% to 3.6%.
Durov characterized this development as the inaugural phase of a seven-stage enhancement plan. The subsequent phase will focus on reducing transaction fees, with a targeted cost reduction of approximately six-fold compared to current levels.
Ecosystem Expansion
TON’s growth extends beyond the technical upgrade. Rakuten Wallet has announced the addition of Toncoin for spot trading commencing April 15, 2026, providing Japanese retail investors access through a regulated financial platform.
The TON Foundation has also established a partnership with SCRYPT to provide Swiss-regulated USDT access on the TON network for commercial entities. Meanwhile, Fireblocks and Dynamic have launched enterprise-grade wallet infrastructure specifically designed for Telegram-integrated financial applications.
Future developments on the roadmap include the TON Teleport Bridge for Bitcoin interoperability and TON Pay 2.0, both scheduled for mid-2026 deployment.
What the Charts Show
Toncoin concluded trading near $1.2868 on the upgrade deployment date. The price positioned itself above all three Alligator indicator lines, currently situated near $1.2620, $1.2509, and $1.2477. The MACD histogram similarly turned bullish, with the MACD line crossing above the signal line.
The immediate resistance level stands around $1.3168. A sustained close above this threshold could establish a pathway toward $1.34 to $1.36, with potential extension to $1.40. Support levels are identified near $1.25 to $1.26.
Trading volume surged more than 35% to $130.1 million. TON’s market capitalization registered at $3.17 billion at the time of reporting.
Blockchain analytics provider Santiment observed that the 100 largest Toncoin whale wallets have accumulated an additional 189,730 TON tokens over the preceding three-month period, despite the asset declining by two-thirds from its August 2025 local peak.
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