Red alert: Toncoin price flips key support as death cross nears

Toncoin price continued its downward trend, crossing a key support level as cryptocurrencies dropped.

Toncoin (TON) fell by 15% on Sep. 4, making it the worst-performing top-ten cryptocurrency. The price dropped to a low of $4.60, down more than 44% from its 2023 high. Its market cap has fallen from a peak of $23 billion to $11 billion.

TON’s decline coincided with a drop in funds secured in its decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Total value locked (TVL) decreased from a year-to-date high of $770 million to $318 million, its lowest point since June. In TON terms, TVL fell from 115 million TON to 66.1 million.

The TON Blockchain has also slipped from being a top 20 chain in the DeFi industry, overtaken by networks like Linea, Mantle, Aptos, and Cronos.

Its monthly performance has also been weaker than other chains. Its total value locked have dropped by 33% in the last 30 days while Solana (SOL), Base, Avalanche (AVAX), and Sui (SUI) has risen by over 26%. 

Additionally, the volume of assets traded on TON’s decentralized exchanges has fallen more sharply than on other chains, dropping by 62% in the past seven days to $144 million. By contrast, the trading volume on Ethereum (ETH) and Solana decreased by less than 30%.

TON’s recent performance may have been negatively influenced by the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France. Authorities accused him of complicity in serious crimes, including aiding organized crime and refusing to comply with law enforcement orders. If convicted on all charges, Durov could face over ten years in prison.

Looking ahead, the next potential catalyst for the Toncoin price will be this month’s Tapswap and Hamster Kombat airdrops. Hamster, the popular tap-to-earn mini-app will launch its airdrop on Sep. 26. TapSwap’s airdrop date has not been confirmed but the developers have committed to do so in the third quarter, which ends this month. 

Hamster and TapSwap are some of the most popular tap-to-earn platforms with over 300 million and 65 million users, respectively. Therefore, TON could see more activity when the two start trading. 

Meanwhile, on-chain data shows that the number of active wallets in TON has risen to a record high of 14.6 million while the total TON supply has soared to 5.1 billion.

TON price crossed a key support

Technically, signs suggest that Toncoin may continue to decline. The price crossed a key support level at $4.76, which was the lowest swing in May and August, and formed the neckline of a head and shoulders pattern—a bearish signal in technical analysis.

Additionally, the 200-day and 50-day Exponential Moving Averages are nearing a death cross pattern, further indicating a potential downtrend. The next key point for TON being $4.00