The Telegram Open Network (TON) is currently facing significant operational issues, having halted the validation of new transactions and failing to produce any blocks for over three hours. This disruption has been linked to a surge in market activity driven by the recent launch of a new memecoin named DOGS.
The last successful transaction on the TON network was recorded in block 45341899. Since then, no new blocks have been created, as indicated by the network tracker. The community platform associated with TON has suggested that the ongoing outage is likely due to an unusually high volume of activity stemming from excitement surrounding the DOGS token, which became available just one day before the onset of these issues.
Launched on August 27, the DOGS memecoin quickly gained traction, amassing a trading volume of approximately $1.7 billion within the initial ten hours and achieving a peak market capitalization of $891 million. The memecoin’s price soared to $0.0014 shortly after its introduction but has since retraced to around $0.0012.
This surge in attention for DOGS coincided with the TON Society’s recent rebranding efforts aimed at showing support for Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, who was arrested in France on August 24. In this rebranding, TON Society introduced the Resistance Dog as a symbol of free speech, a reference to events from 2011 when Durov faced governmental pressure to censor posts.
In addition to rebranding efforts, TON Society has initiated an “Open Letter Mini App” on Telegram, calling for Durov’s release and advocating for user privacy and freedom of expression. This initiative has reportedly gathered 1.48 million signatures thus far.
In light of these events, the value of TON’s native cryptocurrency has decreased by 24% since Durov’s detention, with current trading reflecting a 1.7% decline to reach $5.22, according to CoinMarketCap data. This situation raises concerns regarding the impact of political developments on cryptocurrency stability and investor sentiment.
