Binance has officially wrapped up its transition from Toncoin to Gram, with GRAM deposits and withdrawals going live on July 2. The rebrand, which began in mid-June, marks the completion of one of the more unusual ticker changes in recent crypto history: a token reverting to the name it was supposed to have all along.

The original “Gram” name dates back to Telegram’s 2018 whitepaper, before regulatory battles with the SEC forced the messaging giant to abandon its blockchain ambitions entirely. Now, years later, the community that inherited the project has voted to reclaim that identity.

How the transition worked

Binance first announced support for the rebrand on June 11. The mechanics were straightforward: every TON token held on the exchange was automatically converted to GRAM at a 1:1 ratio. Users didn’t need to lift a finger.

TON trading pairs were suspended on June 30, and GRAM pairs went live two days later on July 2, alongside the opening of deposits and withdrawals.

The underlying blockchain itself still goes by The Open Network, or TON. Nothing changed at the infrastructure level. Wallet addresses, smart contracts, staking positions: all untouched. This was a cosmetic rebrand of the token ticker and name, not a chain migration or a fork.

The governance vote that started it all

The rebrand wasn’t a top-down decision by a foundation or a CEO. It came from a community governance vote held on June 8, where 81.22% of participants voted in favor of restoring the Gram name.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced the rebrand in early June, framing it as a return to roots. The original Gram token was central to Telegram’s vision for a decentralized messaging economy before the SEC sued in 2019, arguing the token sale constituted an unregistered securities offering. Telegram settled for $18.5 million and walked away from the project.

The community picked up the pieces. Independent developers forked the code and launched what became known as Toncoin under The Open Network banner. The project grew substantially, fueled by Telegram’s eventual re-engagement with the ecosystem through mini-apps, in-app wallets, and TON-based payments.

What GRAM looks like on the market

As of early July, GRAM is trading in the $1.56 to $1.62 range. Its market capitalization sits between approximately $4.2B and $4.4B, placing it comfortably in the top tier of layer-1 tokens by market value.

What this means for investors

Telegram has nearly a billion users. The platform has been steadily weaving TON-based functionality into its app, from crypto wallets to payment rails to a thriving mini-app economy. Renaming the token to Gram strengthens the brand association between Telegram and its native cryptocurrency.

The 81% governance approval rate also sends a signal about community cohesion. A supermajority agreeing on a branding decision suggests the community is relatively aligned, at least on this issue.

The risk side is worth acknowledging. Rebrands can sometimes signal a project trying to escape a troubled history rather than build on a strong one. In this case, the motivation appears more straightforward: reclaiming an original identity that was abandoned under legal duress, not running from bad press.