GRAM, previously called Toncoin, has a cliff unlock scheduled for September 22 amounting to approximately $52.68 million. The total amount of GRAM to be released is 36.58 million tokens, representing about 1.3% of the circulating supply.
The significance of this unlock lies not in its dollar value but in its scale relative to trading activity. The release comprises approximately 83% of GRAM's 24-hour trading volume, which DeFiLlama reports at $63.27 million. At the time of reporting, GRAM traded at $1.44 with a market cap of $4.045 billion.
Historical Context on Token Unlocks
Research into token unlock events presents mixed findings about their market impact. A survey by The Tie of over 12,000 unlocks found that the median unlock represents just 0.20% of average daily trading volume, with 95.6% of events occurring with lower trading volume than GRAM's scheduled release.
Studies by Keyrock analyzing more than 16,000 unlock events found that 90% created negative price pressure, though effects often began approximately 30 days before the event. A 2026 study of 52 unlocked cryptocurrencies on Binance found that 88.5% produced negative returns, with an average return of −16.97% within 72 hours. These results are correlational and do not establish direct causation.
However, research by Tokenomist on 236 token unlock events concluded that established tokens with higher liquidity show minimal unlocking effects, with greater vulnerability among early tokens with lower trading volume.
Unlock Schedule and Supply Pipeline
DeFiLlama has scheduled the TON Believers Fund release for 7:19 PM UTC on September 22, while Tonviewer indicates the next batch release of approximately 37 million GRAM on October 7, with monthly allocations expected to continue for three years. The TON Believers Fund currently holds close to 1.25 billion GRAMs valued at approximately $1.82 billion, with 12 of 36 distribution periods already completed.
The GRAM and TON Distinction
On June 15, 2026, Toncoin was renamed GRAM following community approval. The Open Network retained the name TON for its blockchain. GRAM functions as the network's asset for fees, staking, and payments linked to Telegram.
Potential Demand Factors
Pavel Durov announced in July that Telegram would embed a fee-free, non-custodial GRAM wallet across its apps, potentially reaching more than 1 billion users. GRAM rose more than 8% following the announcement. However, Telegram has not explained how it would cover zero-fee transaction costs, leaving the demand effect prospective rather than demonstrated.
Market Context
Against a global cryptocurrency market cap of approximately $3.04 trillion, the $52.68 million GRAM release remains too small to constitute a systemic market event. The key question is whether GRAM's liquidity can absorb the scheduled supply without sharp local price reaction.
