TON Rebrands to Gram, Stablecoin Giants Unite, and Tether Launches Gold Cashback Visa Card

The crypto industry is moving fast, but this week’s developments reveal something bigger than short-term market movements.On one side, major payment giants are building new stablecoin infrastructure.

Here are the stories that caught our attention this week.

Toncoin Is Becoming Gram Again

After years of operating under the Toncoin name, the native asset of The Open Network is preparing for a major rebrand.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov confirmed that Toncoin (TON) will soon officially become Gram (GRAM).

According to Durov, the transition should be completed within the next few weeks.

Importantly, only the token name is changing. The blockchain itself will continue operating as TON (The Open Network), and users will not need to exchange, migrate, or convert their coins.

Any services claiming otherwise are scams.

For longtime followers of the project, the decision feels familiar. Gram was the original name of the cryptocurrency described in the first TON white paper before regulatory battles forced Telegram to step away from the project years ago.

Durov described the change as a "return to the roots" and part of the broader MTONGA (Make TON Great Again) initiative.

Whether the new-old branding resonates with users remains to be seen, but it undoubtedly reconnects the ecosystem with its original vision.

TON Is Now One of the Fastest-Growing Blockchains

The rebranding news arrives at a moment when TON is already gaining momentum.

According to recent network statistics, TON recorded the strongest growth in transaction activity among major blockchains over the past 30 days, outperforming networks such as:

  • Sui

  • Base

  • Aptos

  • Tron

The growth reflects the increasing integration between TON and Telegram's massive user base.

While many blockchains continue competing for developers and liquidity, TON has a unique advantage: direct exposure to hundreds of millions of Telegram users.

That advantage is becoming increasingly visible in network activity.

Visa, Mastercard, Stripe and Possibly Coinbase Are Building Stablecoin Infrastructure

Meanwhile, stablecoins continue moving deeper into traditional finance.

Reports indicate that payment giants including:

  • Visa

  • Mastercard

  • Stripe

are supporting a new stablecoin platform expected to launch soon.

Industry reports also suggest that Coinbase could join the initiative.

Just a few years ago, large payment companies approached crypto cautiously. Today, many of them are actively building the infrastructure that may power future digital payments.

The direction is becoming increasingly clear.

The question is no longer whether stablecoins will be integrated into mainstream payment systems.

The question is how quickly it will happen.

Tether Wants Your Cashback Paid in Gold

Perhaps the most unusual announcement this week came from Tether.

The company is launching a new Visa card that offers cashback rewards in XAU₮, Tether's tokenized gold product.

Instead of collecting airline miles or reward points, users can accumulate digital gold simply by making purchases.

The card offers:

  • up to 6% cashback in XAU₮

  • automatic conversion of gold-backed assets into fiat during purchases

  • round-up functionality that automatically invests spare change into tokenized gold

The partnership was announced together with Fasset and represents another example of how tokenized real-world assets are beginning to move beyond investment products and into everyday consumer finance.

For years, crypto cards focused primarily on Bitcoin rewards.

Now companies are experimenting with an entirely different concept: spending fiat while gradually building a position in digital gold.

Crypto Adoption Is Becoming More Practical

Taken together, these developments highlight a broader trend.

The industry is gradually moving away from pure speculation and toward practical financial products:

  • stablecoins integrated with global payment networks

  • crypto rewards tied to real-world assets

  • blockchain ecosystems focused on user growth

  • consumer payment tools designed for everyday spending

Across the businesses listed on Cryptwerk, stablecoins continue gaining popularity as a preferred payment method, while blockchain networks increasingly compete on usability rather than just token performance.

The next phase of crypto adoption may look very different from the last one.

Less hype. More infrastructure.

And increasingly, products that ordinary users can actually use every day.