Telegram losing terrain in Asia, Toncoin drops to $3

The Russian government’s warnings to its citizens about their internet usage are growing ever louder, and internet blackouts are becoming more frequent. As messages on WhatsApp and Telegram, the most popular apps in Russia, cannot be monitored by the government, the Kremlin has now introduced a new app of its own (called Max). As a result, the price of Toncoin, Telegram’s official cryptocurrency, is plummeting.

Vladimir Putin appears to be taking complete control of social media, just as Xi Jinping has already done in China with WeChat.

Telegram and WhatsApp

Between 2022 and 2024, Toncoin was one of the biggest stars on CoinMarketCap’s rankings. This small cryptocurrency was practically the only way to invest directly in Telegram, the popular social media platform with some 800 million users in Asia (along with WhatsApp, it’s the most popular app in Russia) and which provided updates from Russia to the “West” (aka America and Europe).

However, after Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, was arrested in France last year and the platform had to make adjustments to continue operating in “Western” markets, Toncoin’s price has reversed. While Bitcoin and Ether are climbing higher and higher, Toncoin’s value is steadily declining.

The Kremlin has copied Beijing’s modus operandi and is now widely disseminating its own “super app” in order to keep control over its citizens. Beijing has WeChat, Moscow is now urgently ordering its citizens to install “Max.” This app, launched in March of this year, functions similarly to WhatsApp and Telegram, but allows the government to monitor the messages Russians send to each other.

Toncoin reflects investors’ perceptions of Telegram’s future in Asia, and the price of this small cryptocurrency is therefore steadily declining since Max’s launch in March. Yesterday, it dipped below $3 for the first time in a long time.