Telegram CEO Pavel Durov noted the success of decentralised domain names a few months ago, and announced that Telegram might offer similar services. This is now a reality, as Telegram users will soon be able to buy usernames via the TON blockchain.
User names via the TON blockchain
The instant messaging application Telegram will soon offer usernames via the blockchain The Open Network (TON) to its users through a dedicated marketplace. As stated by Pavel Durov, Telegram’s CEO, last August, these names will be sold using a technology similar to non-fungible tokens (NFT).
More than 700 million users will be able to acquire their username on the blockchain via smart contracts similar to NFTs. A few months ago, Pavel Durov mentioned the potential that this system could have on Telegram after TON proposed decentralised domain names in the manner of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS).
Indeed, at the time, the operation was a great success. The domain name “casino.ton”, for example, sold for more than 200,000 dollars.
For the time being, the smart contract that will serve as the structure of this marketplace is being audited freely on GitHub so that it can be verified by developers who wish to do so. Developers will be able to earn a reward of between $200 and $50,000 if they manage to detect an error in the code, with the reward being proportional to the severity of the error in question.
Telegram and Web3
Initially, when TON (which stood for Telegram Open Network at the time) was created, Telegram had plans to enter Web3 by launching a digital payments platform dedicated to its messaging, in addition to eventually being able to host decentralised applications (dApps) on its blockchain.
In 2018, Telegram had managed to raise no less than $1.7 billion in a private sale of TON tokens. Later, in October 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Telegram, accusing it of offering unregistered securities, which is considered a crime.
So, under pressure from regulators, Telegram eventually abandoned the project, which was taken over by developers who continued to evolve the blockchain, which was later renamed ‘The Open Network’.
However, with Pavel Durov having been forced to abandon the project, he is far from abandoning blockchain technology, as evidenced by the announcement we are discussing today.
The TON token was not indifferent to the announcement, its price immediately jumping more than 12% following the announcement:
24 hour TON token price
Finally, no specific date has been announced for the release of this marketplace for Telegram, but it should be soon, according to the various announcements of the team in charge of the project.
