Why Toncoin Was Zooming Higher on Wednesday

Major financing news from the company it's associated with helped drive the price of Toncoin (CRYPTO: TON) well higher on Wednesday. As of 4 p.m. ET, the coin was up by nearly 14% in price and outperforming a great many other cryptocurrencies. It was also trouncing quite a few stocks, as the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) had closed the trading day 0.6% lower.

$1.5 billion worth of support

Although it's now a separate entity, Toncoin was originally developed by the team behind secure-messaging app Telegram. This is why the coin is used as the native currency for Telegram services.

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This connection is a major reason for Toncoin's Hump Day surge. According to a report published that day in The Wall Street Journal, Telegram is seeking to raise a minimum of $1.5 billion in debt financing -- and lenders are lining up to provide it. This is despite the fact that Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov is facing serious criminal charges for a range of offenses both related to his company, and outside it.

Citing unnamed "people familiar with the matter," the financing would take the form of a bond issue. The bonds would have a five-year maturity, and yield 9%, and their proceeds would be used to retire debt from a 2021 bond issue floated by Telegram.

The article's sources said that U.S. financial services heavyweight BlackRock and Mubadala (Abu Dhabi's state-owned investment management company), both existing Telegram bondholders, are among the entities interested in buying into the new issue. Other interested parties include hedge fund Citadel.

What's good for the balance sheet is good for the crypto

That said, $1.5 billion sure is a lot of financial support for a business, and of course, the stronger Telegram's balance sheet, the more secure Toncoin should be. I don't think this news bolsters the case for Toncoin as a useful currency outside the Telegram ecosystem; however, it's encouraging that the business it's closely associated with will soon receive a pile of new borrowings.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends TON. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.