Toncoin price has risen by 45% from its lowest level this month after Pavel Durov was allowed to leave France after months. 

Toncoin (TON) rose to a high of $3.6240 on Saturday, its highest level since Feb. 24, bringing its market cap to over $8.4 billion. 

Pavel Durov leaves France

The surge happened in part because of the ongoing crypto prices rebound and after French authorities gave Durov his passport, allowing him the freedom to leave the country. 

Durov was arrested in 2024 in France and was accused of several crimes, including complicity in managing an online platform that enabled illegal transactions. Allegations include refusal to cooperate with authorities, drug trafficking and money laundering.

Following Durov’s arrest, many in the crypto community rallied in his defense.

Still, there are risks that the Toncoin price surge may be short-lived because of its fairly weak on-chain metrics. Data compiled by TonStat shows that the TON inflation has continued rising and currently stands at 0.40%, up from 0.33% in October. This inflation has jumped as the total supply has surged to over 5.124 billion. 

More data shows that the number of transactions per day crashed to 2.15 million from almost 20 million in September last year. 

The number of active wallets in the TON Blockchain has continued to drop. Also, the total value locked in its DeFi ecosystem has dropped to $180 million from almost $800 million a few months ago.

STON.fi, its biggest DEX network, has a small market share, handling $7.1 million in the last 24 hours.

One reason for this performance is that most tokens in the TON Blockchain, like Hamster Kombat (HMSTR), Catizen (CATI) and Tapswap, have crashed — erasing billions of dollars in value. 

The Toncoin price may also drop as investors sell the Durov release news. Historically, traders initially overreact to major news and then sell after a while. Recall when Cardano’s price rose after being named one of the tokens included in President Trump’s stockpile (the coin tumbled by double digits a few days later).

Toncoin price analysis

The daily chart shows that the TON price has bounced back after bottoming at $2.3650 this month. It rose to a high of $3.50, which coincided with the 50-day moving average, a sign that it has found substantial resistance. 

Toncoin price also found resistance at the weak, stop and reverse point of the Murrey Math Lines. Therefore, the token will likely resume the downtrend and move below $3 as the Durov news starts to fade. 

Leverage Shares by Themes has launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) stock despite a downturn in the crypto-related shares.

The Leverage Shares 2X Long Coinbase Daily ETF (COIG) is designed to deliver twice the daily return of Coinbase’s stock price, offering traders an amplified exposure to the U.S.’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The ETF, which carries an expense ratio of 0.75%, is listed on Nasdaq, according to a press release.

The launch comes amid a significant cryptocurrency market downturn that saw bitcoin (BTC) drop by around 19% over the last three months, from over $105,000 to now stand at wrought $84,000. COIN shares saw even worse performance, losing nearly 42% of their value during the same period.

The new ETF allows investors to take advantage of Coinbase’s stock performance volatility without directly holding shares.

These types of single-stock leveraged ETFs, for both longs and shorts sides, are typically used for short-term trading due to the high levels of risks associated with daily compounding. The profits and losses for both types of these are amplified when the prices of the underlying stocks move significantly.

Read more: Leveraged ETFs Tied to Strategy See Trading Volume Surge as Bitcoin-HODLer MSTR Teeters on 200-Day Average

Crypto asset manager 21Shares is set to liquidate two actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to bitcoin and ether futures amid a wider market downturn.

The funds slated for liquidation are the ARK 21Shares Active On-Chain Bitcoin Strategy ETF (ARKC) and the ARK 21Shares Active Bitcoin Ethereum Strategy ETF (ARKY). Investors can trade shares until the market closes on March 27, with liquidation expected to take place “on or around March 28,” according to a press release.

The actively managed ETFs, which have an expense ratio of 1% and 0.93%, respectively, are set to be liquidated as U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs saw over $1.66 billion in outflows so far this month. The outflows come as cryptocurrency prices plunge. Bitcoin is down more than 12.8% year-to-date, while the broader CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) has lost around 24% of its value over the same period.

Shareholders who hold onto their shares until the liquidation date will receive payouts equal to their portion of the fund’s net asset value, the document adds.
Read more: Bitcoin Price Drop to $80K: Crypto Market Analysis, ETF & Trump Impact