TON Falls 7% as Sell-Off Tied to Musk's Dispute of Telegram, xAI Partnership Continues

Toncoin

took a sharp dive in the last 24-hours, falling more than 7% from $3.319 to a low just under the $3 mark after as excitement around a rumored Telegram partnership with Elon Musk’s xAI reversed course.

The plunge is the continuation of one that started shortly after Telegram CEO Pavel Durov hinted at a collaboration with xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company.

The speculation pushed $TON’s price up to a $3.65 high, but a swift denial from Musk sent it tumbling, after the CEO of X said that the deal hasn’t yet been signed. $TON is now down 17% since.

Markets appear to be pricing in the collapse of what could have been a major integration involving Telegram’s 700 million users shortly after, nearly reversing all of the gains $TON saw.

Despite the setback, Durov quickly replied that the deal has been “agreed in principle,” and that “formalities are pending.” $TON is the native token of The Open Network, which is heavily associated with Durov’s messaging app.

$TON’s fundamentals remain in motion. Telegram is still moving ahead with $TON-based in-app payments, offering users a way to send crypto like messages.

That exposure, while long-term, positions $TON as one of the few projects with potential access to a major mainstream user base.

Price levels between $3.00 and $3.22 are now key to watch. A breakdown or breakout from that range could signal the next move, especially as on-chain data shows significant wallet concentration around $3.24, where nearly 740 million tokens are held across 1.21 million addresses, according to crypto analyst Ali Martinez.

Telegram has this week raised $1.7 billion via convertible bonds. The firm plans to use $955 million to buy back existing bonds, and fuel its growth with the remaining $745 million.

Technical Analysis Breakdown

• $TON saw a sharp sell-off, with volume surging to over 10.6 million in a single hour, nearly tripling its average volume.
• Buyers stepped in at the $3.00 mark, helping the token climb back to $3.086, forming a V-shaped recovery.
• A brief resistance formed at $3.22, while bullish momentum pushed the token above $3.08 during an intense surge
• $TON perpetual futures open interest rose 33% to $190 million, reaching its highest point since February, indicating traders are bracing for further volatility.