Toncoin Gains Popularity Amid Crisis in Russia

Key Insights

• Toncoin grows in popularity in Russia amid harsh sanctions on the country.
• This popularity fails to provide enough support to Toncoin. 
• It remains to be seen whether recent developments will be positive for Toncoin, which declined from $3.00 to $2.00 in just a month.

The recent collapse of the Russian ruble due to harsh sanctions on Russia has pushed Russian users to search for alternatives in crypto. One of the coins that attracted interest was Toncoin, an offspring from the unsuccessful attempt of the popular messenger Telegram to launch its cryptocurrency Gram.

What Is Toncoin?

Toncoin was launched after SEC halted a $1.7 billion “unregistered digital token offering” of Telegram’s Gram. The TON (Telegram Open Network) blockchain, which was developed by Telegram team, had a high level of development. A group of enthusiasts continued to work on the project under the name Ton Foundation.

Currently, Ton Foundation aims to create a project that will unite the blockchains and the internet into one global network, and its coin is named Toncoin.

At this point, the coin is a bet on the project’s long-term success rather than on the immediate usability of the coin. While Toncoin is sometimes advertised in Telegram, it will not play a role in the popular messenger’s ecosystem, and it is not meant to replace Gram.

Recent Events Failed To Provide Enough Support to Toncoin

Toncoin has been moving lower recently and has stabilized near the $2.00 level. Notably, the recent events have not provided support to Toncoin.

The potential reason for this is the rapid collapse of the ruble. As Toncoin is denominated in U.S. dollars, its price in rubles has increased, and it has become more expensive for Russian users.

From a technical point of view, Toncoin is moving lower in a downside channel, which was formed after Toncoin failed to settle above the $3.00 level. A move below $2.00 may lead to a sell-off as there are no material support levels in the nearby.

To have a chance to gain sustainable upside momentum, Toncoin must get out of the downside channel and move above $2.30. In this scenario, it will head towards the major resistance level, which is located just below $3.00.

According to the TON Community Telegram channel, the number of TON accounts grew from 84,177 in September to 312,000, a growth of 270% in just half a year. The number of searches for Toncoin in Russia’s Yandex increased from 976 in September to 105,450 in January, while the number of followers on CoinMarketCap grew to 180,000.

However, it remains to be seen whether this increase in popularity will help the coin in the current environment as Russian users may lack the money to increase the coin purchases. Meanwhile, users from other countries may focus on the multitude of other projects.