TON Drops 8% Following Verb Technology’s Reserve Announcement

The native token of The Open Network (TON) fell by 7.9% following the announcement of plans by Nasdaq-listed Verb Technology to become the first publicly listed holder of the coin as a primary reserve asset.

At the time of writing, TON is trading at $3.4, according to CoinGecko. The market capitalization of the coin stands at $8.1 billion.

According to the press release, Verb Technology will rebrand to TON Strategy and raise $558 million through a private placement. The majority of the funds will be directed towards purchasing TON and generating income from staking.

The investment round was led by Kingsway Capital with participation from Blockchain.com, Vy Capital, Ribbit Capital, Graticule, Pantera, ParaFi, Animoca Brands, and other industry players.

The planned assets in TON will account for about 5% of the market value of the circulating supply. Meanwhile, 77% of the raised funds will be retained in cash reserves by the company.

Manuel Stotz, head of Kingsway Capital and president of the TON Foundation, will become the executive chairman. Peter Smith, CEO of Blockchain.com, will join as a special advisor. The CEO position will be filled by former TON Foundation advisor Veronika Kapustina, and Sarah Olsen from JPMorgan will become the CFO.

Back in July, authorities in the UAE denied the announcement by The Open Network Foundation regarding the issuance of “golden visas” for staking Toncoin. The foundation clarified that the program is a private initiative and not affiliated with the country’s government.