Key Highlights
- Catchain 2.0 activation on TON blockchain reduces block processing times to 400 milliseconds
- TON token appreciated over 5%, reaching approximately $1.30 after the consensus upgrade went live
- Telegram’s Pavel Durov designated this as phase one of his seven-stage “Make TON Great Again” strategy
- Network’s yearly inflation rate expected to increase from 0.6% to 3.6% due to accelerated block generation
- Japanese exchange Rakuten Wallet scheduled to enable TON spot trading beginning April 15
The price of Toncoin jumped over 5% to approximately $1.30 following the implementation of the Catchain 2.0 consensus mechanism on the TON blockchain. Telegram’s co-founder Pavel Durov made the announcement, highlighting a substantial transformation in the network’s transaction processing capabilities.
Prior to this technical advancement, the TON network required approximately 10 seconds for transaction finalization. Following the Catchain 2.0 deployment, block generation intervals have been compressed to just 400 milliseconds. Payment transactions now achieve settlement in about one second, while decentralized applications are anticipated to operate at performance levels comparable to centralized alternatives.
Network validators conducted their approval voting on April 8 and 9, 2026. Once the validation procedure concluded, Catchain 2.0 became operational across the network. Major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bithumb both conducted wallet system maintenance during this period to accommodate the protocol modification.
The base chain block reward remains unchanged at 1.7 TON. Nevertheless, due to the dramatically increased block production frequency, validators will accumulate greater rewards during each validation 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 initial phase of a seven-part strategic plan. The subsequent phase focuses on reducing transaction fees, potentially decreasing costs by approximately six-fold compared to current rates.
Ecosystem Expansion
TON’s growth trajectory extends well beyond the technical upgrade itself. Rakuten Wallet has confirmed it will introduce Toncoin for spot trading commencing April 15, 2026, providing Japanese retail traders access through a fully regulated trading platform.
The TON Foundation has also established a partnership with SCRYPT to deliver Swiss-regulated USDT functionality on TON for corporate clients. Meanwhile, Fireblocks and Dynamic have launched enterprise-grade wallet infrastructure specifically engineered for Telegram-integrated financial services.
Future developments on the technical roadmap include the TON Teleport Bridge enabling Bitcoin cross-chain interoperability and TON Pay 2.0, both scheduled for deployment during mid-2026.
What the Charts Show
Toncoin concluded trading near $1.2868 on the upgrade implementation date. The price action positioned itself above all three Alligator indicator bands, which are currently situated near $1.2620, $1.2509, and $1.2477. The MACD histogram has additionally shifted to positive territory, with the MACD line executing a bullish crossover above its signal line.
The immediate resistance zone traders are monitoring sits around $1.3168. A sustained close beyond that threshold could establish a trajectory toward $1.34 to $1.36, with potential extension to $1.40. Key support levels are located near $1.25 to $1.26.
Trading volume experienced a surge exceeding 35%, reaching $130.1 million. At the time of publication, TON’s market capitalization stood at $3.17 billion.
Blockchain analytics platform Santiment observed that the top 100 Toncoin whale addresses have accumulated an additional 189,730 TON throughout the previous three months, despite the token experiencing a two-thirds decline in market capitalization from its August 2025 peak.
