Telegram users can now send each other Tether's stablecoin. In a Wednesday announcement, the messaging app informed its customers that the wallet function now supports USDT-TRON, also known as TRC20.
Wallet bots are a feature available on Telegram, but developed by independent developers, not Telegram. USDT is the third largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin and Ethereum, with a market cap of $78 billion. It’s also a stablecoin, meaning its value is backed by a stable asset in this case the U.S. dollar.
USDT runs on many different blockchains, but currently, Telegram only supports the asset on Tron - TRC20. Tron is the network behind the 15th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization: its native token TRX. Tron is striving to be the foundation behind the decentralized internet. Using its blockchain is low cost and fast.
But users can also spend stablecoins on its network. “You can now use Tether USDT (TRC20) to buy, exchange, and conduct P2P transactions,” said the wallet developer’s announcement, “and you can also send USDT directly to your friends with no transaction fees.”
Telegram introduced encryption in its app back in 2018 when it launched its Telegram Open Network (TON). The project was abandoned by Telegram in 2020 after the SEC said the project's initial coin offering was illegal. Despite Telegram's exit, the project is still maintained by the TON Foundation. Today, users can still buy, sell and send their Toncoin (TON) assets on Telegram’s app.
Telegram also allows users to buy bitcoins through its app and send bitcoins to other users or bitcoin wallets. However, it cannot be cashed out only into TON, the 23rd largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Tether’s USDT has changed hands more than any other digital asset: Its current 24-hour volume is more than $45 billion, according to CoinGecko.
The token is used to quickly convert bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency into dollars, euros or yen on exchanges. It can then be cashed out into a traditional bank account.
