TON Foundation clarifies $400M fundraising reports, says it is TON held by US-based VCs

A day ago, several reports claimed that TON had secured $400M in funding from elite VCs, sparking a potential strategic pivot in the L1 race. Various accounts on X, formerly Twitter, shared the news after misunderstanding a previous post by the TON Foundation X account. 

The post created a false impression that sent the TON token surging by about 8% before it stabilized. The news has now been debunked by the TON official X page, which provided clarification earlier today.

pic.twitter.com/FKVPbwgb9c

— TON 💎 (@ton_blockchain) March 21, 2025

TON clears the air

According to TON’s X page, the reports from some news outlets claiming the TON Foundation “raised” $400 million is untrue.

Contrary to reports from some news outlets, TON Foundation has not "raised" $400 million. Instead, the Foundation has disclosed that over $400 million in Toncoin is held by some of the world’s most forward-thinking US-based venture capital firms.

— TON 💎 (@ton_blockchain) March 21, 2025

“Instead, the Foundation has disclosed that over $400 million in Toncoin is held by some of the world’s most forward-thinking US-based venture capital firms,” the statement read.

The fact that Toncoin is being held in massive amounts by forward-thinking VC firms in the US is in itself a flex for the project, reflecting investor confidence in the ecosystem. However, it’s not the same as direct fundraising.

In the comment section of TON’s clarification post, many users praised the team for ending the confusion, while others reaffirmed their bullish sentiments, making it clear the little misunderstanding has not changed how they feel about Toncoin.

Of course, there were also some who wanted to know who planted the rumor in the first place and also those who suspected foul play, as the clarification came about a day after the news had spread and caused a brief price surge for the TON token.

One user implied the rumor was planted to “hype” things up, while another implied that they waited for some time to retract the rumor so the token could pump.

Whether this is true or not is up for speculation, but it is true that the TON token pumped almost 8% as a result of the VC investment rumors. At the time of this writing, the confusion has cleared up, and TON’s price is now worth $3.61, having fallen by 2.5% over the past 24 hours.

The fundraising confusion came days after Pavel Durov left France

The confusion regarding TON receiving millions in funding from VCs comes days after Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the social messaging app Telegram, was allowed to fly home to Dubai.

The privilege does not mean he is free of all charges as the French authorities continue their unprecedented case against him.

Durov was arrested in August after he was accused of not doing enough to properly moderate his app to curb criminality, even though Telegram has previously denied having insufficient moderation.

The tech billionaire has denied not cooperating with law enforcement over drug trafficking, child sexual abuse content and fraud. The case has attracted a lot of attention as it marks the first time a tech leader has been arrested for the lawlessness taking place on their platform.

In a post on his Telegram channel, Durov expressed happiness to finally be home, but clarified that the “process is ongoing.”

He also thanked the French judges for letting him go home and praised his lawyers for their “relentless efforts in demonstrating that, when it comes to moderation, cooperation, and fighting crime, for years Telegram not only met but exceeded its legal obligations.”

His arrest happened in August 2024 as he arrived in Paris on his private jet, and French judges initially banned him from leaving France.

As for the conditions of his release, all we have to go on is what the office of the Paris prosecutor told the BBC on Monday, which is that “the obligations of judicial supervision” had been suspended between 15 March and 7 April.

Durov, who was born in Russia, resides in Dubai. He also has residences in France, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island nation of St Kitts and Nevis.

Since his arrest, Telegram has significantly altered the way it operates to deal with allegations that have dubbed it a portable version of the dark web.

It has joined the Internet Watch Foundation program, which aims to help find, remove and report child sexual abuse material being shared online.

According to an announcement from the app, it will also disclose the IP addresses/phone numbers of those who violate its rules and hand them over to police in response to valid legal requests.

Telegram has also published transparency reports about how much content is taken down – a standard industry practice it previously refused to comply with.

A Telegram spokesperson has said the company now actively moderates its platform to get rid of harmful content each day. However, despite their best efforts, criminal activity persists and will probably continue until harsher measures are considered.

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