The market value of TON tokens associated with Telegram evaporated by $2.7 billion after the arrest of Telegram's CEO

According to Bloomberg, the market value of digital assets related to the blockchain project associated with Telegram Messenger LLP has shrunk by about $2.7 billion, reflecting the uncertainty caused by the detention of Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov. It was reported that Pavel Durov was detained at Paris airport on Saturday for allegedly failing to take measures to prevent Telegram from being used by criminals. Subsequently, The Open Network's token Toncoin (TON) fell more than 20%.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, as of 10:36 a.m. Singapore time on Monday, TON had narrowed some of its losses and traded at $5.69, but with the ongoing development of the Durov incident, this asset still fell 16%. Richard Galvin, co-founder of hedge fund DACM said it is "too early" now to judge what long-term impact Durov's detention will have on Telegram; his fund purchased TON tokens in a private placement in early 2023. He added that weekend market reaction "temporarily factored this uncertainty into TON price".

Data from DefiLlama shows that the value of assets locked up on TON blockchain soared earlier this year to a peak last month at $1.1 billion but has since fallen back down to $661 million currently. According to CoinGecko data, Toncoin's price has more than doubled over the past year and currently holds a market cap around $14 billion.