Telegram, which has more than 550 million active users, has decided to allow its consumers to send and receive cryptocurrency. Users can make crypto payments directly from chats within the instant messaging service. They can now send and receive Toncoin, according to a tweet by The Open Network (TON) Foundation. The tweet accompanied a short video showing how crypto transactions work on the platform. It said that the users will have to add Telegram's Wallet bot to their attachment menu, which will allow them to “purchase cryptocurrency by bank card, exchange, and transfer to other wallets”.
“You can now send Toncoin directly within Telegram chats. It's a new way to send Toncoin without transaction fees to any Telegram user. With this service, you'll no longer need to enter long wallet addresses and wait for confirmations,” said the TON Foundation, a non-profit.
You can now send #Toncoin directly within Telegram chats!
It's a new way to send Toncoin without transaction fees to any Telegram user. With this service, you'll no longer need to enter long wallet addresses and wait for confirmations.
Watch the video and test the new feature! pic.twitter.com/EtXSMFtJj6The foundation, which is responsible for developing the TON blockchain, announced last week it had raised $1 billion in donations to further its development efforts.
The accompanying video said users will not have to pay transaction fees. They will also not be required to enter the long crypto addresses with wallet functionality embedded into the app.
The development has come two years after Telegram engaged in a lengthy bout with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2019, which forced it to shut down its own cryptocurrency operation, including the native token “Gram”, in 2020. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai had developed the project, originally known as the Telegram Open Network (TON).
After Telegram dropped the TON project, a group of developers continued to work on it. They later renamed it The Open Network and rebranded Gram as Toncoin.
Separately, Twitter offers a similar facility. It allows Bitcoin payments from its system over the Lightning Network. Last week payments giant Stripe said it will enable Polygon to enable customers to pay in crypto.
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