The "Resistance Dog" movement has driven the Ton ecological MEME coin REDO to surge, with multiple institutions "showing their support" for TON

Author: Nancy, PANews

After Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram and TON, was arrested in France, the TON ecosystem faced setbacks. The official launched a protest movement called "Resistance Dog," which received support from various parties and also boosted the market value of the related MEME coin REDO. Although Durov still faces many uncertainties regarding legal adjustments, the spirit of resistance represented by REDO is resonating within the community.

Durov's Hand-Drawn "Resistance Dog" Goes Viral Again, MEME Coin REDO Soars Over 250%

After Durov was arrested and investigated in France, the official TON Twitter account updated both the CoinGecko and social media logos to "Resistance Dog" and called on everyone to change their profile pictures to Resistance Dog to join the global digital protest movement for Digital Resistance and Free Durov.

Subsequently, this movement gained participation and support from various individuals, including TON Foundation Chairman Steve Yun, who changed his Twitter profile picture to the Resistance Dog logo, Binance updating some pages with the TON logo, and Elon Musk posting a video with the Free Pavel tag to show support for Durov.

Resistance Dog is a dog wearing a hoodie and is also the embodiment of Durov, a liberal. It has appeared multiple times. For example, back in 2011, when Russian security agencies requested Durov to shut down the page for the protests in Russia on the social networking site VK that he created, Durov responded with a photo of a dog in a hoodie sticking out its tongue to express his protest. This also became the impetus for Durov to create Telegram to defend personal freedom and privacy.

According to reports, Resistance Dog was hand-drawn and named by Durov in 2018, symbolizing the struggle to defend personal privacy, information security, and freedom through digital resistance. It is the unofficial mascot of Telegram, aimed at maintaining user privacy and protecting freedom of speech.

The MEME coin REDO was born in January this year, and its popularity surged again due to Durov's arrest. According to Dex Screener data, the market cap of REDO once exceeded $95.7 million, with a trading volume of $17 million in the past 24 hours. Since August 25, REDO has risen nearly 254.5%. However, looking at the price trend since its launch in January, the current price of REDO is still down over 46.8% from its historical peak.

Market Cap and TVL Shrink Significantly, Multiple Entities Disclose Increased Holdings in TON to Show Support

Regarding Durov's arrest, French authorities are set to make a statement today (August 26). According to French media reports, Durov may face charges related to the operation of Telegram and the platform's lack of moderation. After Durov's arrest, the Russian embassy has contacted French authorities to request a meeting with Durov and clarify details regarding his detention. Some Russian officials have described this arrest as an indirect hostile act against Russia.

Telegram responded on its official account on the X platform, stating that it complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act, and that its moderation meets industry standards and is continuously improving. The platform emphasized that Durov has nothing to hide and that he frequently travels in Europe. Claims that "a platform or its owner should be responsible for abuses on the platform" are absurd, as nearly a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and an important source of information. The team is awaiting a swift resolution to this situation.

However, due to the ongoing fallout from Durov's arrest, the TON ecosystem has been impacted. CoinGecko data shows that since August 25, the circulating market cap of TON has shrunk by as much as $3.77 billion, briefly falling out of the top ten in market cap rankings. As of the time of writing, the price of TON has slightly rebounded by about 9.2% from its low. Additionally, DeFiLlama data indicates that the TVL on TON has also dropped significantly by over 37% in a single day to $320 million, and it has now rebounded to $390 million.

In response, several crypto leaders have significantly increased their holdings in tokens to show support. For example, DWF Labs partner Andrei Grachev posted on the X platform stating that while there is not much that can be done, he decided to provide support as much as possible and has purchased approximately $500,000 worth of TON tokens on the open market, which he will hold on-chain until Pavel Durov is released. This is not financial advice; he just wants to support decentralized technology. The Memeland team announced on Twitter that they have used $1 million from the team treasury to buy TON on the open market and will hold it until Durov is released; Three Arrows Capital co-founder Zhu Su also posted on social media that he bought TON tokens at an average price of $5.8.

Regarding the future direction of TON, Richard Galvin, co-founder of the hedge fund DACM, which participated in the TON private placement round, stated in an interview with Bloomberg that it is "too early" to judge what long-term impact Durov's detention will have on Telegram, and the market reaction over the weekend "temporarily priced in this uncertainty into the TON price."

CoinTelegraph reported that market analysis of some technical and market factors indicates that TON may experience a significant rebound in the coming weeks, similar to what happened with BNB. When news of legal disputes broke, the market experienced panic selling as traders rushed to protect their investments from potential impacts. However, once the initial shock subsides, the market will reassess the situation more rationally, and the same psychological pattern may also appear in TON.