The Open Network and its native asset, Toncoin (TON) have gained tremendous traction among investors this year. This trend appears to be resilient despite the current market downturn.

Over the past month, TON has recorded approximately 23% surge as it looks to reclaim its recently established peak above $8. As a result, this momentum has attracted the attention of whales.

TON Whales Remain Bullish

According to the latest data shared by popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez, these whales collectively added over 45 million TON in the past week alone, worth around $346 million. Such a trend suggests increased optimism among the tokens investors even as the broader market movement remained dull.

TON is currently the eighth-largest crypto asset by market cap after surpassing the OG meme coin Dogecoin the rally was fueled by increased network activity and significant adoption, as well as the debut of several Play-to-Earn games on Telegram, all of which played crucial roles in its recovery.

In yet another milestone, The Open Network protocols total value locked (TVL) exceeded $700 million on June 30th owing to blockchain-powered gaming such as Notcoin, Hamster Kombat, and Yescoin, among others, which has slowly emerged as a crucial part of the TON ecosystem capturing the attention of those seeking to earn extra income.

Kazakhstans Financial Services and Regulatory Committee (AFSA) approved TON for trading on regulated exchanges following an audit that confirmed the token met the necessary listing criteria. The development enabled TON to join the roster of over 100 government-approved cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, TRON, Avalanche, etc.

Telegram-TON Integration

One key reason TON is an outlier amid the downturn is its integration with Telegram, which has given the asset a greater advantage by leveraging the social messaging apps infrastructure and user base. This association, however, is a double-edged sword.

As reported earlier, SlowMist founder Yu Xian recently highlighted the rising phishing attacks on The Open Network, which are mainly propagating through group chats. Scammers employ deceptive tactics such as fake airdrops to breach users’ TON wallets and steal assets.