Users of the instant messaging application Telegram can now buy usernames via an auction system on the Fragment platform. Some of these usernames, secured on The Open Network (TON) blockchain, are already trading for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Telegram adopts TON blockchain for usernames
Just under 3 weeks after the feature was announced, users of instant messaging app Telegram can now purchase their usernames using The Open Network (TON) blockchain.
The news was officially announced today from the Telegram app. Users of the messaging service with more than 700 million active users can now buy one or more usernames in the “@xxx” format via an auction system on the Fragment platform
Many usernames are already trading for hundreds of thousands of dollars, such as @nike ($480,000), @king ($373,000) or @esport ($258,000). The minimum price is initially set by the current holder of the username, and then the various interested parties can bid until the sale is completed.
In this way, Telegram users can be found via one or more usernames, which can then be assigned by their owners to one or more discussion groups of their choice. Unlike traditional usernames, the usernames available at auction can be less than 5 characters long for use on the platform.
The unique ownership of these usernames is secured by the decentralised blockchain TON, initially developed by Telegram teams who were forced to give it up in 2020.
In addition, Telegram’s statement to the platform’s users is accompanied by the following message:
For the first time in the history of social media, people have full ownership of their usernames. Long-time Telegram users who used short usernames they registered early on can now benefit from the platform’s growth by selling their usernames in fair, transparent and fully decentralized auctions.”
