Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency of the Telegram-affiliated blockchain platform The Open Network, has seen a remarkable surge in activity and value in recent months. Data shows Toncoin's active addresses skyrocketed from around 1,000 in March to over 10,000 currently, indicating rapidly growing adoption and usage of the network.

The market data highlights Toncoin's momentum despite showing signs of a potential near-term pullback. As of writing, TON is trading at $6.42, down 4.85% over the last 24 hours and over 6% in the last 7 days. However, its market cap of $22.3 billion ranks it as the 9th largest crypto asset.

The price movement of TON has been equally impressive. Starting the year at just $1.87, the cryptocurrency rallied over 310% to hit $7.67 on April 11th. This impressive rise was fueled by several catalysts, including high-profile endorsements, exchange listings, and integration with the popular Telegram messaging app.

Among the driving forces was investment firm Pantera Capital throwing its weight behind TON. Pantera founder Dan Morehead declared TON as the firm's "biggest investment ever," though he did not disclose the exact figures. There is speculation that Pantera may have invested around $250 million into the protocol from funds previously earmarked for the troubled FTX exchange.

Open interest-weighted funding rates, a measure of market sentiment, show a substantial negative rate of -0.0478% for TON. This suggests bearish sentiment and a preference for short selling among traders. Toncoin's Total Value Locked (TVL) - the total value of digital assets staked or locked on the network - stands at $204.65 million. While down from its all-time high of $270 million on May 12th, this TVL figure is still substantial and indicates significant capital committed to the Toncoin ecosystem.

TON Technical Analysis 

From a technical analysis perspective, Toncoin's price action hints at potential further volatility in the near future. After the strong uptrend from January to April's peak at $7.67, TON has been correcting lower. It found support at the $4.60 level, where horizontal support and an ascending trendline converged.  

The price then rallied to test the recent highs around $7.40 before facing rejection. Analysts suggest TON may drop to fill the "fair value gap" between $5.90 and $6.30, with the possibility of testing the ascending trendline below this zone. A more severe decline could see a drop to the $4.59 level, where a double-top neckline support resides.

Despite the potential for a near-term pullback, many analysts remain bullish on Toncoin's longer-term prospects given the growing adoption and usage of the Telegram-linked blockchain. Analysts suggest that Ton coin is the best crypto to buy now with prominent investment firm Pantera Capital making a significant bet on Toncoin (TON).