Telegram Introduces Gift and Verification Features as Toncoin Struggles

Despite Telegram's recent announcement of new features, Toncoin has not seen a positive price surge.

The messaging platform has introduced a gift feature, allowing users to send gifts to friends, with recipients able to showcase them on their profiles or convert them into stars. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov noted that some gifts are limited in supply and announced plans to enable users to turn these gifts into TON-based NFTs.

In addition to the gift feature, Telegram unveiled a platform for businesses to verify customer phone numbers and enhanced its reporting interface to better handle violations of its terms of service. This upgrade enables moderators to take down millions of offending content more effectively, with new details and categories for violations.

Telegram also announced improvements to video chats on iOS, enhancing battery life and performance, while Android users will now benefit from livestreaming support with RTMP, a feature previously exclusive to iOS and desktop users.

Despite these exciting updates, Toncoin has struggled in the market, currently trading at $5.22—down 2.7% in the past 24 hours and over 10% for the week, according to CoinGecko. Typically, significant announcements correlate with price increases, but TON has failed to reverse its downward trend, having previously traded above $8 in mid-2024 before experiencing a decline following Durov's arrest. Although the price is slowly recovering, the overall performance remains muted.