DOGS, a meme coin native to Telegram, experienced a significant decline in value, dropping by approximately 30% within its first day of trading. The token began trading on August 26 and initially saw its market cap surge to over $600 million within 10 hours. However, according to the latest data, the token’s market cap remained under $630 million as trading progressed.
Impact of telegram CEO’s arrest on DOGS
DOGS 1-day price chart | Source: Coingecko
The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has had a noticeable impact on the performance of the DOGS token. Durov’s detention has led to concerns within the community, resulting in a social media campaign under the hashtag #FREEDUROV. This movement and Durov’s arrest seem to have contributed to the token’s sharp decline. Despite its initial surge, DOGS has struggled to maintain its value, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding Telegram’s leadership.
DOGS began trading on major centralized exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, OKX, Bitget, and Gate, starting at 12 p.m. UTC on August 26. Within the first 10 hours, the token reached a market cap of $624 million, with a trading volume of $1.74 billion. Despite this strong start, the token’s value fell by 30%, showing downward trends on CoinGecko’s hourly charts. The timing of the token’s launch, coinciding with Durov’s arrest, has added to the volatility, making it difficult for DOGS to sustain its initial momentum.
Ongoing DOGS airdrop and market reactions
Not all users have received their DOGS airdrop, leading to additional strain on the Ton chain. The TON and Telegram Wallet teams are currently processing these claims. Meanwhile, the project has identified and removed several accounts that used bots to claim the airdrop, unfairly freezing their tokens on exchanges. On Binance, the DOGS/USDT trading pair has been volatile, with the token’s price ranging from a high of $0.0018000 to a low of $0.0005454 within 24 hours. Over 407 billion DOGS tokens were traded during this period.
Simultaneously, Toncoin (TON), the native token of The Open Network blockchain, has declined, losing at least 7% of its value in the past 24 hours. Weekly charts indicate a 20% drop in TON’s value, further highlighting the market’s reaction to Durov’s arrest.
The DOGS token’s performance reflects the broader uncertainty in the market following Pavel Durov’s arrest. As the situation develops, the community and investors will closely monitor any further updates.