Key Highlight:
- Telegram Integrates Crypto Transaction
- Telegram users can buy or sell crypto using the in-house wallet bot;
- How the wallet bot works;
- The journey from GRAM to TON;
- The price action of the TON token,
- The road ahead for TON.
A recent news report from Cointelegraph shows that Telegram users can now buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly on the messaging app. This is major news considering that for the past seven months, users could send Toncoin, the native token of The Open Network (TON), within the app.
Source: SuperCryptoNews
The new upgrade involving a crypto transaction bot (@Wallet) makes the Telegram app a proper crypto wallet application.
Telegram Integrates Crypto Transactions : The Basics of the Telegram Wallet Bot
According to official sources, the primary aim of the wallet bot is to make crypto transactions easier for Telegram users. Speaking to the press, a TON Foundation representative said: “The creation of the wallet bot is handled by an independent development team, and we are certainly happy that more and more projects are choosing TON as the basis for creating new products.” They added:
“TON is intended for millions of users, and one of our goals is to make the use of blockchain no more complicated than using applications that users are used to.”
The wallet bot can be described as a fiat on-ramp that allows users to buy crypto using fiat currencies such as the dollar, euro, Ukrainian hryvnia, Belarusian ruble, and Kazakhstani tenge within the Telegram app.
While the Telegram wallet allows users to facilitate transactions in complete anonymity, a degree of identification is held by the platform through the cell phone number used in registering for the transaction. This comes in handy in the event of disputes between two parties, where TON could step in as a moderator and offer solutions.
Interestingly, users are not charged any fee for purchasing crypto on the platform, but a 0.9% fee is charged on all crypto sale transactions. For now, Telegram users can only buy or sell TON and Bitcoin (BTC), but the TON Foundation has said that the list of available cryptocurrencies will increase over time.
Describing the ease the Telegram wallet bot brings to crypto transactions, the TON Foundation noted:
“The @wallet bot team is making great strides in this direction, as you can now buy, exchange, and send Toncoin to your contacts without leaving Telegram. There is no need for long addresses or special applications. We think that the future lies in projects like this.”
From GRAM to TON
In a bid to create a monetization channel for the Telegram ecosystem, considering it did not allow ads, Telegram began working on a platform to host decentralized applications and also serve as a payments processing network to finance networks. This was the birthing idea of The Open Network, formerly the Telegram Open Network, which was launched in early 2018.
Given the ICO craze at the time, the Telegram team felt the best way to raise funds for the new project was through a private sale of GRAM, which investors could swap for TON after it launched.
However, this plan did not come to fruition after the US Securities and Exchange Commission descended on Telegram for organizing an unregistered securities offering, which it deemed illegal.
Source: Cointelegraph
After a futile back and forth, Telegram gave in to the pressure from the regulatory agency and severed its involvement with TON in 2020. In mid-2020, Telegram agreed to settle out of court, reimbursing about $1.22 billion as a termination fee in GRAM purchase agreements and paying $18.5 million to the SEC as a penalty.
Source: SEC
As history would have it, this was only a hitch on the journey to launching its network, as Free TON came online as an independent venture a month after the settlement with the SEC. Free TON continued the development of the Telegram Open Network by utilizing the open-source code of the protocol.
Source: Telegram Info
By January 2021, the TON community had grown to over 30,000 members, with Telegram transferring the ton.org domain and GitHub repository to the TON Foundation by August of that year.
What’s Next for TON?
Describing how they see the future of the project, the TON Foundation stated in a comment that “Telegram is a user-friendly platform for everyone in the Web3 world—both for communication and developing products using their disruptive technologies. Furthermore, the open platform allows developers to create working products with real-world use cases that can be deployed in the app.”
The organization further narrated: “The wallet bot, based on TON, is a great example of this. There are also many services on Telegram that already use TON, such as donate, mobile, and others,” adding:
“A significant development is the launch of the Telegram username auction, which is a great demonstration of how the simplicity of tokenization on TON can open up many real-world examples of the use of blockchain technology.”
TON’s Performance in 2022
With the current state of things in 2022, even a success story such as TON’s is not enough to keep the bears away. At press time, the TON/USDT pair is trading at $1.73, down by 57.8% year-to-date (YTD).
Source: TradingView | TON/USDT Daily Chart
Interestingly, the recent TON-Telegram integration appears to have resonated well with investors, as a sharp spike in trading volume can be seen in mid-to-late November. However, this increased activity has failed to translate into price gains or drops for the fledgling cryptocurrency.
Regardless, TON has done fairly well in the market, securing a position as the 27th largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. It would be interesting to see how TON fares after some of the bearish market factors subside.
Final Word
The recent update to the wallet bot has set Telegram on the path to becoming a reputable platform for blockchain projects and crypto enthusiasts. Already, Telegram has several cryptocurrency communities using the platform. Telegram Integrates Crypto Transactions through wallet bot.
With over 700 million active users globally, TON currently sits on a goldmine that could lead to significant adoption for the cryptocurrency if its bot wallet goes mainstream.
Source: Statista
