Kaia vs TON: Comparing Messenger Blockchains in 2026

In the comparison between Kaia and TON, the TON blockchain has a significant advantage in scale, generating 15.1 times the chain fees of Kaia over a 30-day period until early October 2026. The remittance cost for Kaia is one-sixteenth, and the DeFi value per dollar market cap is higher. For traders seeking a large network and listed perpetual futures, TON is the choice.

TON transitioned to 400-millisecond blocks in April 2026, increasing issuance as each block pays traditional rewards. On a single day in early October 2026, 571,850 GRAM were created, equivalent to 5.98 times the amount created in a day in March 2026, representing 3.97% of the total supply on an annualized basis. Kaia's net new supply for that day corresponds to an annual rate of 4.55%, resulting in both messenger chains diluting holders to a similar extent.

Overview of Kaia vs TON

|---------------------|--------------------|-----------| | Metric | Kaia | TON | | Block Time | ~1 second | ~0.4 seconds | | Number of Validators | 30 | 385 | | DeFi TVL (DefiLlama) | ~$8.2 million | ~$52.2 million | | Chain Fees (30 days) | $4,551 | $68,656 | | Annual Supply Growth Rate | 4.55% | 3.97% | | Market Cap (Early October Close) | $38.8 million | $4.1 billion | | KAIA Pair Delisting | GRAM perpetual futures and spot listing |

What is Kaia?

Kaia is a Layer 1 blockchain formed by the merger of Klaytn and Finschia, with its mainnet operational since August 29, 2024. Its reach comes from Mini Dapps operating within LINE, and according to Kaia's Mini Dapp documentation, it has over 200 million monthly users, primarily utilized in Japan and three other Asian markets.

For those looking for a LINE blockchain, Kaia is the chain where those Mini Dapps are settled.

Klaytn launched in 2019, and a previous article by Phemex titled Klaytn's Efforts for Mass Adoption describes the chain prior to the merger.

What is TON?

The Open Network (TON) is a Layer 1 developed by Telegram in collaboration with the open-source community, positioned before over a billion active users of the messenger through Telegram integration. Toncoin became Gram (GRAM) after a community vote on June 15, 2026, while the network name remained TON.

Thus, Kaia vs Gram and Kaia vs TON raise the same question, where GRAM is the coin and TON is the chain on which that coin operates.

Within Telegram, users can either hold GRAM themselves or deposit it with a custodian, and a guide on Gram Wallet and Telegram's Custodial Wallet explains the differences between the two.

Kaia vs TON: Speed and Fees

The block time of the TON blockchain was reduced from about 2.5 seconds to approximately 400 milliseconds on April 9, 2026, when the Catchain 2.0 consensus upgrade reached the mainnet. The TON sub-second finality guide sets the finality goal at around 1 second. On a single day in early October 2026, the main chain generated 209,755 blocks, producing one block every 0.412 seconds.

Kaia's consensus documentation promises a 1-second block with immediate finality, and on the same day, the chain generated 85,445 blocks, producing one block every 1.011 seconds. Kaia blocks are confirmed the moment they land, so the perceived wait time on either chain is close to about 1 second.

Fees show the opposite trend. A typical Kaia remittance used 21,000 gas at a price of 27.5 gkei, as quoted by the network in early October 2026, costing 0.0005775 KAIA or about $0.000035 at the early October close. On the TON site, GRAM remittance is set at a fixed fee of about 0.00039 GRAM, or approximately $0.00057, which is about 16 times the cost of Kaia.

Overall, the order is reversed. DefiLlama recorded TON's chain fees at $68,656 and Kaia's at $4,551 over the 30 days until early October 2026, indicating that the more active network has accumulated far more in total.

How Decentralized are Kaia and TON?

TON has a more widely distributed block generation. The validator set in early October 2026 comprised 385 validators, nearly 13 times the 30 members of Kaia's governance council.

Kaia intentionally accepts this trade-off. According to the consensus documentation, a committee randomly selected from the council signs each block, keeping message traffic low. This allows Kaia to achieve 1-second blocks with immediate finality, with the documentation stating that over 50 nodes can participate. The cost is centralization. With dozens of operators running the chain, far fewer parties are needed for coordinated decisions compared to TON.

The basics of how block producers gain status and what they verify are covered in Phemex's explanatory article What is a Blockchain Validator?.

Kaia vs TON: Scale of DeFi?

TON holds a larger pool. DefiLlama reported TON's DeFi TVL at about $52.2 million and Kaia's TVL at about $8.2 million in early October 2026.

Both pools have significantly shrunk. A year ago, the same tracker indicated $130.4 million for TON and $29.4 million for Kaia, meaning TON lost 59.9% of its DeFi value while Kaia lost 72.1%.

When measured against market cap, Kaia holds an advantage. Before the spike in early October, Kaia's DeFi deposits accounted for 3.45% of its market cap, while TON accounted for 1.34%, meaning Kaia had about 2.6 times more per dollar. In the next close, the difference was about 1.7 times, as the spike raised Kaia's market cap while deposits remained flat.

The same lens drives the Sui vs NEAR: TVL per Dollar Comparison, showing how much on-chain activity exists per dollar of coin.

How Does Toncoin's Inflation Rate Compare to Kaia?

Method: The TON network structure pays 1.7 GRAM per main chain block and 1.0 GRAM per base chain block. The base chain operated as a single shard throughout the day. Therefore, the new supply is derived from the number of blocks at the start and end of the day.

On March 1, 2026, before the speed upgrade, TON created 95,647 GRAM in one day. On a single day in early October 2026, 571,850 GRAM were created from 209,755 main chain blocks and 215,266 base chain blocks, resulting in a 5.98-fold increase.

This results in Toncoin's inflation rate being 3.97% of the total supply of 5.26 billion GRAM, up from less than 0.7% before the upgrade. Calculating against the 2.82 billion GRAM that CoinMarketCap considers circulating, the new coins add 7.4% annually.

Kaia's issuance is fixed per block. It mints 9.6 KAIA per block, sending half to validators and the community, and a quarter each to the Kaia Ecosystem Fund and the Kaia Infrastructure Fund.

Kaia's unique supply counter indicates that 820,272 KAIA were minted on the same day, with 18,280 burned, resulting in a net amount of 801,992 KAIA, showing an annual rate of 4.55% with a supply of 644 million. Since the circulating supply matches the total supply, this rate does not change based on the count used.

The burn was unusually large. This spike in fees led Kaia to earn $2,197 against a daily average of $81 over the past 29 days, while on quieter days, the rate hovers around a total of 4.65%. TON also burns half of the fees, removing about 1,000 GRAM with daily fees of around $2,800, which is negligible compared to 571,850.

At the beginning of October, TON paid out about $831,000 in new GRAM on that day, which was approximately 290 times the chain fees of $2,844. Kaia's net new coins were worth about $48,000, which was 22 times the fees on the busiest day of that month.

A proposal to reduce rewards to 0.35 GRAM per main chain block and 0.2 GRAM per base chain block was put to a vote with a deadline in June 2026, but the structure is still paying 1.7 and 1.0. At the block rate in early October, the reduction would lower the daily creation amount to about 116,000 GRAM, decreasing by approximately 0.8% annually.

Is Kaia Superior to TON?

Kaia outperforms TON on two narrow metrics: transfer costs and DeFi value per dollar, while TON wins on the rest. TON has a broader validator set, a much larger fee base, and perpetual futures listed on Phemex, and the daily spike in Kaia fees does not significantly undermine TON's lead over a 30-day total.

The only place where both intersect is in supply, with both diluting holders by about 4% annually. Buyers of either coin need demand to grow at least as fast as the price before they can profit.

Kaia vs TON Price Outlook

Kaia rose by 62.60% at the beginning of October on CoinMarketCap, coinciding with the day a new listing began in the Korean won market, while GRAM rose by 5.31% and Phemex perpetual futures increased by 5.59%. In that one bar, TON's market cap lead shrank from 16.3 times to 10.6 times.

Supply is a burden that should be monitored for both. At the beginning of October, the daily issuance of GRAM alone was worth about 17 times that of Kaia, and for TON's price to remain stable, it requires more fresh buying demand daily, with the reward reduction vote being an event that could change that.

Phemex's Gram price page tracks the price and market cap of GRAM daily.

Where to Buy Kaia Crypto and GRAM

Kaia does not have live perpetual futures on Phemex, and the KAIA pair has been delisted. To hold KAIA yourself, you can swap it on a decentralized exchange on the Kaia mainnet.

GRAM is traded on Phemex with up to 20x leverage and funding rates every four hours for perpetual futures, as well as spot pairs. The guide on How to Buy Gram on Phemex explains the steps for spot purchases. Futures use leverage, and if losses reach the margin, the leveraged position is automatically liquidated. Gram Silver (GRAMS) and Datagram (DGRAM) are unrelated tokens, so check the ticker before purchasing.

What Are the Risks of Kaia vs TON?

Risks of Kaia

Kaia's DeFi base has lost nearly three-quarters of its value in a year, relying on a pool with a small lead per dollar that is decreasing. Fee income is also thin, totaling $4,551 over 30 days, with one day in early October generating nearly half of that.

Half of the new KAIA goes to two ecosystem funds, and 30 council members manage the consensus. Holding KAIA means trusting a small group to guide both the chain and its finances.

Risks of TON

Validators collecting high block rewards are the same parties voting to reduce them, and the proposal with a June deadline has not reached the chain. Until it does, GRAM holders will bear dilution close to that of Kaia in total supply, with more in circulation float.

Name changes add practical risks. Phemex's old TON market has been delisted, and buyers searching for coins under either name may end up with tokens of the same name.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Gram Crypto a Good Investment?

GRAM supports the larger of the two messenger chains, with 385 validators and perpetual futures listed on Phemex. Until the proposed reward reduction takes effect, supply will grow at 3.97% annually, so price increases must first exceed that dilution.

Where Can I Buy Kaia?

Kaia is traded on decentralized exchanges on the Kaia mainnet and can be swapped from self-custody wallets. Phemex no longer lists the KAIA pair, so there are no live KAIA perpetual futures available. Make sure to receive the native KAIA coin, not a token with a shared ticker.

Is Kaia Faster than TON?

No. TON generates blocks approximately every 0.4 seconds, while Kaia does so roughly every second. Kaia finalizes each block instantly, while TON aims for finality in about one second, so transfers are confirmed in nearly the same time for both.

Is Toncoin the Same as Gram?

Yes. Gram is the name for Toncoin since the community vote in June 2026, and the balance was carried over 1:1, so holders did not need to swap. The network itself is still referred to as TON.

Conclusion

TON purchased sub-second blocks using supply. Each fast block pays out the full old rewards, making the upgrade that gives TON an instant feel raise GRAM's dilution to Kaia's level, and validators earning those rewards retain voting rights on reductions. Traders choosing TON for its scale and live GRAM market will pay for it daily with new coins unless reductions remain off-chain.