Popular messaging app, Telegram, will be introducing a self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet for its chat platform’s users, The Open Network Foundation (TON) has announced.
According to the foundation, the self-custodial digital wallet, called TON Space, is now accessible to the messaging platform’s approximately 800 million users. Furthermore, the Foundation has announced that projects developed on the TON platform will receive preferential access to Telegram’s advertising platform, Telegram Ads.
The wallet feature, one of many mini apps being built on top of Telegram, is currently accessible within Telegram’s settings, as stated by a TON spokesperson. A global rollout for this feature is slated to commence in November 2023 with the exception of the United States and certain other countries.
This development comes after it became possible to send the TON cryptocurrency on Telegram back in 2022. This was made possible by Telegram’s wallet bot which, apart from enabling users to send and receive TonCoin ($TON), also enables users to also purchase Bitcoin ($BTC) via the ‘@wallet’ bot.
Much like Elon Musk’s aspirations for Twitter (or “X”) to function both as a payments and media application, Pavel Durov, Co-Founder of Telegram, envisioned TON as a means to send cryptocurrencies within chats and monetize the messaging app.
Officially, The Open Network, abbreviated as TON, was founded by Telegram in 2017 to enable decentralized services such as decentralized storage, anonymous networks, DNS, and fast payments through a proof-of-stake (PoS) method. However, Telegram ditched the project in 2020 following a lawsuit from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Nonetheless, community organizations rose to sustain the vision of TON. These include entities such as FreeTon, NewTON, and the TON Chinese Community.
Telegram’s Chief Investment Officer, John Hyman, stated that providing users with ownership of their identities and assets is in line with the company’s principles regarding free speech.
“With this announcement, we are putting digital ownership rights in the hands of our entire user base while also giving TON projects the tools to reach our audience in the largest Web3/Web2 integration there has ever been.”
Steve Yun, the President of the TON Foundation, emphasized the synergistic aspects of the collaboration between TON and Telegram in a written statement.
“TON ecosystem strives to provide a simple and intuitive user experience akin to that of the popular social applications, like Telegram. Sharing the same DNA, we invite all builders to join our journey to mass adoption.”
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