According to CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday, messaging app Telegram has sold $50 million in usernames in less than a month via its blockchain-based auction platform, Fragment.
The statistic illustrates how well Telegram did on its second attempt to build its own crypto infrastructure. The Telegram Open Network, a blockchain that Durov initially abandoned in 2020 due to regulatory pressure but returning to after its community kept it alive, serves as the foundation for Fragment.
Durov is putting Telegram on a track for greater crypto buildouts, buoyed by Fragment’s robust sales. A decentralized exchange and non-custodial wallets will be developed by the company, according to him, and they might have millions of users. Many cryptocurrency traders already use Telegram as their preferred messaging platform, providing it a captive audience right now.
The declaration is the first time that Telegram’s involvement in directly integrating TON blockchain into the IM client has been confirmed. Earlier, Durov described the blockchain’s growth as a collaborative endeavor that Telegram was content to merely observe.
The system, formerly known as Newton and Toncoin, is one of two competing initiatives that sprang from Telegram’s original TON proposal. Both were created by the supporters’ group, but only one was successful.
Due to the strong sales of Fragment, Durov is positioning Telegram for bigger crypto buildouts. He claims that the firm would create non-custodial wallets and a decentralized exchange, which might have millions of users. As the favored messaging app for many bitcoin traders, Telegram now has a captive audience.
This announcement is the first time Telegram’s role in directly integrating TON blockchain into the instant messaging client has been acknowledged. Durov had before portrayed the development of the blockchain as a cooperative effort that Telegram was content to passively observe. The system, which was earlier known as Newton and Toncoin, is one of two rival projects that grew out of Telegram’s first TON proposal. The supporters’ group designed both, but just one.
