The cryptocurrency market witnessed significant fluctuations in Toncoin (TON) following the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in Paris last month.
The market reaction to Durov’s legal troubles had a noticeable impact on TON, but selling pressure began to ease in early September, according to a recent analysis by Kaiko.
The turmoil began on August 24, when Durov was detained and later placed under formal investigation on 12 charges. While Bitcoin remained relatively stable, TON experienced a dramatic increase in trading activity.
Immediately after Durov’s arrest, TON’s trading volume increased from approximately $10 million to $156 million, reaching an all-time high of $169 million on August 28, when Durov was officially put under investigation by French authorities. During this period, TON’s price fell by over 20% in just three hours between 7 and 10 a.m. on August 24, and continued to decline in the following weeks.
Kaiko’s analysis showed a sharp negative shift in TON’s cumulative volume delta (CVD) at the end of August. The CVD, which measures the difference between hourly buy and sell volumes, revealed that the market was dominated by net selling during this time. This trend was particularly evident in TON-USDT and TON-USDC trading pairs on exchanges like OKX and Bybit. In contrast, the TON-FDUSD pair on Binance saw net buying, mirroring patterns observed in other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, during the broad sell-off in August.
Despite the initial sell-off, pressure began to ease in early September, even as funding rates turned negative. However, the analysis points out that the sell-off in TL markets continues, indicating that some investors continue to act cautiously and reduce the risk of their positions.
*This is not investment advice.
