From "King of Traffic" to "Typical Collapse": The Fall of TON in 2025
Once upon a time, TON was the hottest "traffic myth" in the crypto market—backed by Telegram's 900 million user ecosystem, it peaked upon launch, with a market value once soaring to $2.517 billion and a price reaching a historical high of $8.25. The market shouted, "TON will reconstruct the Web3 traffic entrance," and countless investors went crazy buying into its narrative of "social media + public chain."
However, the TON of 2025, suffered a near-halving crash, becoming a typical example of the industry's "collapse." As of mid-December, its price struggled in the $1.6 range, down more than 72% from its historical high; its market value was halved again to just $864 million; the total value locked (TVL) plummeted by 80% to only $14 million. From being widely sought after to being ignored, TON's fall was not accidental but rather an inevitable result of multiple severe issues such as chips, ecology, liquidity, and compliance converging.