TON Slides 7% Following Sell-Off Linked to Musk’s Telegram Disagreement, xAI Partnership Moves Forward

Toncoin (TON) saw its rally unravel Friday, tumbling over 7% to below $3 after Elon Musk refuted claims of an imminent partnership between his AI venture xAI and Telegram. The token had surged earlier in the week on speculation, only to reverse course sharply as the narrative collapsed.

TON dropped from $3.32 to $2.98 in the past 24 hours, marking a 17% retracement from its weekly high of $3.65. The sell-off intensified as traders exited positions built on expectations of a strategic integration between The Open Network and Telegram’s massive user base—expectations now thrown into question.

Musk’s public statement denied any finalized agreement, contradicting comments from Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who insisted the deal was “agreed in principle” and pending only final formalities.

The market’s swift repricing underscores just how much weight was placed on the potential for TON to gain traction through xAI exposure. With no official partnership confirmed, investors appear to be reassessing the near-term value proposition of the token.

Despite the setback, Telegram’s broader crypto roadmap remains active. The platform is rolling out TON-based in-app crypto payments, reinforcing the token’s real-world utility. Meanwhile, Telegram recently raised $1.7 billion via convertible bonds—allocating $745 million for growth initiatives that could include deeper blockchain integrations.

Technical Snapshot

A sharp hourly sell-off pushed TON below $3.00, with intraday volume tripling to 10.6 million tokens.
The token briefly recovered to $3.08, but resistance around $3.22 capped further upside.
Open interest in TON perpetual futures rose 33% to $190 million—its highest level since February—signaling traders are bracing for more volatility.
Wallet clustering remains dense at $3.24, with over 740 million tokens held across 1.21 million addresses, according to Ali Martinez.

As traders await clearer confirmation on any potential partnership, TON’s fate may hinge on whether it can reclaim the $3.20–$3.24 range—or continue sliding under the weight of fading speculative momentum.