Gram (ticker GRAM; known as Toncoin, ticker TON, from 2021 to 2026) is the native cryptocurrency of the The Open Network blockchain. It is used to pay fees, for staking, voting, and settlements within the ecosystem. It has 9 decimal places; the smallest unit is called the "nanoton" or "nano."
History#
The coin has traveled the path Gram (2018) → Toncoin (2021–2026) → Gram (2026). In 2018 the Telegram team, led by Pavel Durov, developed the Gram token; after the SEC block (2019) and Telegram's exit from the project (2020), an independent community revived the code. In May 2021 the token was renamed Toncoin, in June 2022 the network switched to Proof-of-Stake, and in June 2026 the coin was renamed back to Gram.
A detailed timeline, the Toncoin era, and distribution via the PoW Giver are covered in the article Toncoin (2021–2026).
Tokenomics#
The maximum theoretical supply is about 5.1 billion coins. The initial distribution according to the whitepaper:
- 4% (200 million) — the Telegram team;
- 52% — protection against speculation;
- 44% — public and private sales.
After Telegram's departure, the tokenomics was reassembled. The whitepaper planned for an emission of about 2% per year at a 20% validation yield; it was expected that no more than 10% of the total supply would be locked in staking. As of the source's data, the actual inflation rate is 0.5% and the annual yield for stakeholders is about 4%.
Total circulation as of the source's data was about 3.5 billion Gram. Of this:
- ~1.3 billion are locked in the TON Believers fund (locker contract) for 2 years, followed by a 3-year vesting period;
- ~0.5 billion are locked for validation;
- 1.08 billion (20% of the total supply) were frozen for 4 years by a community vote — these were the inactive wallets of early miners;
- a significant portion is locked in DeFi protocols.
The emission is partly offset by burning. Half of the fees the network earns from transactions and from storing data in smart contracts is destroyed. This is a balancing mechanism between the need to reward validators and curbing inflation.
The idea of a separate stabilization fund, TON Reserve, mentioned in early documents, was never implemented. The token's price remains volatile: a low of $0.3906 was recorded in 2020, and a high of $7.65 in 2024.
Wrapped Gram#
Wrapped Gram (wTON) is a version of the coin that exists on other blockchains. It is created by locking the original token on TON and issuing an equivalent on another network; the reverse action burns the wrapped token and unlocks the original.
Wrapped Gram exists on the TON, Ethereum, and BSC networks. Use cases: transfers between blockchains, swapping on a DEX in other ecosystems, and voting in cross-chain DAOs. The value of the wrapped version equals the value of the original.
Usage#
The main use cases for Gram:
- paying network fees (gas for smart contracts);
- trading on DEXs within TON and on CEXs;
- staking — a deposit for validation that earns rewards;
- bridges — moving liquidity to other blockchains;
- LP pools and farming on STON.fi, DeDust;
- P2P exchanges of fiat for Gram;
- paying for Telegram Premium subscriptions and services within Telegram;
- buying NFT on Getgems;
- auctions of Telegram usernames and anonymous numbers on Fragment;
- swapping for Jetton tokens;
- voting in TON Vote.
The first Telegram username, @auto, was sold on Fragment for 900,000 Gram.
Where to store#
The preferred option is non-custodial wallets. The most popular is Tonkeeper. Among custodial solutions is @wallet, built into Telegram.
Explorers#
You can track coin movements through the explorer catalog on ton.app. The TON Whales site offers analytics on the largest holders, early miners, and the movements of the TON Foundation wallet. The distribution of wrapped versions is tracked in the explorers of the respective networks.