A blockchain project associated with Telegram Messenger LLP has seen its digital asset, Toncoin, lose approximately $2.7 billion in market value, following the reported detention of the messaging app's co-founder, Yahoo Finance reports.

Toncoin, the token linked to The Open Network (TON), dropped more than 20% after news broke that Pavel Durov had been detained at a Paris airport over suspicions of failing to curb criminal activity on Telegram.

Despite a partial recovery, Toncoin was still trading at $5.58 as of 2:11 p.m. on Monday in London, marking a decline of over 16% due to the controversy surrounding 39-year-old Durov, according to Bloomberg data. The TON blockchain, which is integrated with Telegram's vast user base of 900 million monthly users, aims to offer services like in-app payments and games. This integration had fueled speculation that Telegram could evolve into a "super-app" similar to China's WeChat.