Telegram sold more than $450 million worth of Toncoin in 2025, a liquidation that coincided with a steep decline in TON’s market value and contributed to a material write-down on the company’s books. The sale and subsequent market reaction matter because the volume represented a sizeable share of circulating supply and amplified negative sentiment across 2025.
According to a report published by MEXC, Telegram disposed of roughly $450 million in Toncoin during 2025, a tranche the report estimated at about 10% of TON’s market capitalisation at the time (around $4.6 billion). The large sell-off fed a supply overhang that, based on the same reporting, helped drive TON to a c.69% decline over the year.
The price contraction forced Telegram to write down the value of its remaining holdings, a factor cited as contributing to the company posting a net loss that exceeded $220 million in the first half of 2025. Market participants reported that the scale of the liquidation from a major holder created immediate liquidity pressure and magnified negative sentiment, accelerating the token’s downward trajectory across 2025.
Subsequent market dynamics and regulatory signals
By early January 2026, concerns about potential further disposals by Telegram had resurfaced, intersecting with other market forces. Short-term profit-taking followed a notable 16.8% weekly rally in TON, while reports flagged regulatory and geopolitical strains—ongoing probes in France and frozen bond assets in Russia—that added to uncertainty around the platform’s balance sheet and capital flexibility.
Countervailing pressures emerged at the same time. Reports noted technical breakouts, a rollout of Telegram’s self-custodial wallet in the U.S., and renewed institutional accumulation as bullish catalysts that supported episodic recoveries. Those factors produced a mixed and volatile performance for TON in late 2025 and early 2026, rather than a simple one-directional decline.
For traders and allocators the episode underlines two practical points: large, concentrated holdings can transmit corporate liquidity needs directly into token markets; and technical or product developments can provide only temporary counterweight to structural sell pressure.
Market participants are now watching on-chain flows, corporate disclosures and any indication of further large sales closely—additional disposals or fresh transparency from the company would be the clearest test of whether recovery momentum can be sustained.
