As a result of a recent update to the wallet bot, users of the Telegram app can now buy and sell cryptocurrency without leaving the app. The wallet bot was developed by The Open Network (TON, formerly Telegram Open Network) in April. Initially, the bot allowed users to buy, sell, and trade Toncoin (TON) within the Telegram app, but a new update has added a fully functional cryptocurrency wallet to the app.
An independent team of TON developers created the wallet bot to simplify cryptocurrency transactions for Telegram users. A representative of the TON Foundation told Cointelegraph: “The creation of the wallet bot is being handled by an independent development team, and we are certainly glad that more and more projects are choosing TON as a base for creating new products,” continuing to say:
“TON is intended for millions of users, and one of our goals is to make using blockchain no more complicated than the applications users are used to.”
The wallet bot also serves as a fiat onramp, allowing users to purchase TON using their credit cards within the Telegram app. The currently supported fiat currencies for buying and selling Toncoin are US dollars, Euros, Ukrainian hryvnia, Belarusian rubles, and Kazakh tenge.
Regarding transactions within Telegram, the exchange service that facilitates them also works as a guarantee and resolves any necessary conflicts that may arise between the two parties involved in the transaction. The other party can carry out the transactions in complete anonymity; however, users must provide the bot with their mobile phone numbers before engaging in any cryptocurrency-related activity that the app may access.
The wallet bot does not charge any commission for buying crypto through Telegram, but sellers will be charged a commission equal to 0.9% of the sale price for each completed transaction. Currently, the app can only be used to buy Toncoin (TON) and Bitcoin (BTC). However, the TON Foundation plans to expand the number of cryptocurrencies available for purchase. Also, in order to transfer crypto through the peer-to-peer functionality on Telegram, users need to register with The Open Network.
When transferring crypto to someone else, users send the coins to the recipient’s Telegram handle instead of their address. The TON Foundation representative highlighted this feature, saying: “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. No need for addresses long or special applications. We believe that the future lies in projects like this.”
History of Telegram and The Open Network
Telegram Messenger grew massively in popularity within the cryptocurrency community due to its encrypted messaging and the ability to create group chats. The bot functionality also makes it easy to automate tasks within groups and chats. For example, bots can ban users, answer questions, and link users to useful resources for a project.
In 2017, Telegram started monetization plans for the app, since it didn’t use ads. As part of this plan, Telegram founders Pavel and Nikolai Durov founded the Telegram Open Network, or The Open Network, and the white paper was published in January 2018. The Open Network was developed as a platform for decentralized apps and a Alternative payment processing network to large networks like Visa.
To raise funds for the development of TON, Telegram held a private sale for GRAM, which investors could exchange for the TON token when it was launched. However, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission would later classify the token sale as an unregistered securities offering. As a result, Telegram decided to end its active participation in TON in 2020.
On June 11, 2020, Telegram and the SEC reached a settlement in which Telegram agreed to repay $1.22 billion as a termination fee on the GRAM purchase agreements and pay a $18.5 million penalty to the SEC. Telegram also agreed to provide the SEC with advance notice if the company planned to sell any digital assets within the next three years.
On May 7, 2020, Free TON was launched as an independent company to continue the development of the open Telegram network, using freely available source code. The community subsequently grew to surpass 30,000 members in January 2021, and the Telegram team subsequently transferred the ton.org domain and GitHub repository to the TON Foundation on August 4, 2021.
The TON Foundation has taken responsibility for the underlying cryptocurrency of Telegram Token (TON). Prior to this, users of the apps collaborated in a fundraising effort for the cause. As a result, they contributed over a billion dollars to the growth of the TON ecosystem, made possible by their donations.
The future of TON and Telegram
It is possible that the new update of the TON Foundation Telegram bot could pave the way for a global cryptocurrency payments service. Also, with the app boasting over 500 million active users worldwide, it can act as a catalyst for further cryptocurrency adoption if the wallet bot proves to be popular.
When asked about the future of Telegram and The Open Network, a TON Foundation representative told Cointelegraph: “Telegram is an easy-to-use platform for everyone in the world of Web3 – both for communication and for development of products using its disruptive technologies. In addition, the open platform allows developers to create working products with real-world use cases that can be deployed in the app.”
“The TON-based wallet bot is a great example of this. There are also many services on Telegram that already use TON, such as donations, mobiles and others,” they stated, adding: “A significant development is the launch of the Telegram username auction, which is a great demonstration of how the simplicity of tokenization in TON can open up many real-world examples of using blockchain technology.”
In addition to the wallet bot, The Open Network has developed other Telegram bots that serve different purposes. The donation bot allows creators to post messages accepting donations through special action buttons that will facilitate a payment process within the Telegram app. The process works when a user contacts the donation bot and follows the instructions.
The user will also have to add the bot as an administrator in the channel and submit payment information in order to receive donations. The mobile bot allows users to access the Internet when Wi-Fi is not available. The Telegram Username Auction allows users to buy and auction their Telegram handles for TON tokens.
The recent update to the Telegram wallet bot may open up a wider range of audiences to the use of cryptocurrency. It may also further cement Telegram’s reputation as one of the go-to apps for blockchain-based projects looking to build a community, especially if additional tokens are added to the platform. Telegram already has a large part of the cryptocurrency community using the app, and the ability to buy and transfer cryptocurrency could attract non-cryptocurrency users to the market.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.