TON gains 14% amid Pantera Capital’s ‘largest investment ever’ claim

Crypto
VC
firm
Pantera
Capital
might
have
backed
the
TON
ecosystem
with
a
$250
million
check,
saying
it
has
made
the
“largest
investment
ever.”

The
Open
Network‘s
native
token
Toncoin
(TON)
soared
by
over
13%
on
May
10
amid
Pantera
Capital’s
statement
that
its
investments
in
the
project
were
the
largest
to
date.
In
a

blog
post,
the
California-based
venture
capital
giant
said
it
had
made
the
“largest
investment
in
its
history
in
TON.”

Although

Pantera
Capital
didn’t
disclose
its
funding
size,
it
might
be
well
over
$250
million,
which
the
firm

spent
on
buying
Solana
(SOL)
at
a
discount
from
the
estate
of
the
bankrupt
FTX
exchange.
Pantera
Capital
says
it
has
decided
to
invest
in
TON
as
the
platform
“has
the
capacity
to
introduce
crypto
to
the
masses
because
it
is
used
extensively
within
the
Telegram
network.”

“By
leveraging
Telegram’s
vast
user
base
and
seamless
UX
with
the
vibrancy
of
TON’s
emerging
ecosystem,
we
believe
TON
has
the
potential
to
become
one
of
the
largest
crypto
networks.”
Pantera
Capital

Amid
Pantera
Capital’s
claims,
the
price
of
TON
blasted
past
$6.8,
nearing
in
a
moment
the
$7
mark,
a
level
near
an
all-time
high
that
TON
reached
at
$7.25,
according
to
data
from
CoinMarketCap.

The
backing
of
TON
comes
shortly
after
Pavel
Durov,
co-founder
of
Telegram,

unveiled
a
series
of
new
features
at
the
Token2049
crypto
conference
in
Dubai,
aimed
at
integrating
TON
within
the
messenger.
Durov
also
disclosed
plans
to
enable
messenger
users
to
log
into
their
accounts
using
crypto
wallets.

In
October
2019,
the
SEC issued a
restraining
order
against
Telegram,
preventing
the
company
from
launching
its
planned
token
dubbed
Gram.
The
SEC
alleged
that
the
company’s
initial
coin
offering
(ICO)
violated
securities
laws
by
offering
unregistered
securities
to
investors.

Despite
the
ban,
Telegram’s
blockchain
venture
survived,
initially
driven
by
blockchain
enthusiasts
who
supported
its
principles.
Later,
however,
Telegram’s
ties
to
the
TON
ecosystem deepened,
with
the
addition
of
Toncoin,
the
project’s
native
cryptocurrency,
as
a
payment
method
in
its
advertising
revenue-sharing
system
for
channel
owners.