Toncoin (TON) is undergoing a major shift in its cost structure. Pavel Durov, Telegram's founder, announced that transaction fees on the TON Blockchain will drop sixfold within a week, decreasing to 0.00039 TON (~$0.0005) per transaction. This new fee is fixed and no longer varies with network load.
Durov confirmed this is part of the broader MTONGA roadmap and stated that most transactions will become completely feeless shortly after. He wrote on X: "Zero commission. MTONGA!" This move follows the recent Catchain 2.0 upgrade on April 9, which already made TON 10x faster with sub-second finality.
The change is significant in comparison to other blockchains. TON's previous fee was 0.00234 TON (~$0.003), while Ethereum fees can range from $1 to $10+ during peak times, and Bitcoin ranges from $0.50 to $5. Even Solana, known for low fees, can spike under heavy load. At near-zero costs, TON aims to make micro-transactions practical at scale, enabling frictionless use cases like creator tipping, micro-payments, and cross-border transfers.
Despite the technical progress, TON's price has not reacted positively and is down 57% year-to-date. Analyst Ruslan Khairullin noted the weak immediate market response, while others remain bullish, highlighting TON's real-time execution with faster speeds already live. The MTONGA roadmap has five more steps, but timelines remain undisclosed.
