Thanks to a recent upgrade to the wallet bot, users of the Telegram app can now buy and sell cryptocurrencies without leaving the app. The wallet bot was developed by The Open Network (TON, formerly Telegram Open Network) in April. The bot initially enabled users to buy, sell and trade Toncoin (TON) within the Telegram app, but the new update adds a fully functional cryptocurrency wallet to the app.
A separate team of TON developers created the wallet bot to simplify crypto transactions for Telegram users.
The wallet bot also acts as a fiat onramp, allowing users to purchase TON with a credit card within the Telegram app. Currently supported fiat currencies for buying and selling Toncoin are US Dollar, Euro, Ukrainian Hryvnia, Belarusian Ruble and Kazakh Tenge.
With regard to transactions within Telegram, the exchange service that facilitates transactions also serves to secure and resolve any necessary conflicts that may arise between transaction parties. The counterparty can conduct transactions completely anonymously; nevertheless, users must provide the bot with their mobile phone number before engaging in any cryptocurrency-related activity the app allows access to.
The wallet bot does not charge any fees for buying cryptocurrencies through Telegram, but sellers will be charged a commission equal to 0.9% of the selling price of each completed transaction. Currently, the app can only be used to buy Toncoin (TON) and Bitcoin.
However, the TON Foundation plans to expand the number of cryptocurrencies available for purchase. Additionally, in order to transfer cryptocurrencies via peer-to-peer functionality on Telegram, users need to register with The Open Network.
The future of TON and Telegram
The TON Foundation’s new Telegram bot update could pave the way for global cryptocurrency payment services. Additionally, since the app has more than 500 million active users worldwide, the wallet bot could serve as a catalyst for further cryptocurrency adoption if it proves popular.
When asked about Telegram and the future of the open web, a TON Foundation representative told Cointelegraph, “Telegram is a user-friendly platform for everyone in the Web3 world — both for communication and for Its disruptive technology develops products. Furthermore, the open platform allows developers to create working products with real use cases that can be deployed in applications.”
“TON-based wallet bots are a good example. There are also many services on Telegram that already use TON, such as donations, mobile, etc.,” they added, “A major development is the launch of the Telegram username auction, which is very exciting. Great demonstration of the simplicity of tokenization on TON that can open up many real-world examples of the use of blockchain technology."
In addition to the wallet bot, The Open Network has developed other Telegram bots that serve different purposes. The donation bot allows creators to post messages accepting donations through a special action button, which will facilitate the payment process within the Telegram application. The process consists of the user contacting the donation bot and following the instructions.
Users must also add the bot as a channel admin and submit payment information so they can receive donations. Mobile robots allow users to access the internet when Wi-Fi is unavailable. The Telegram Username Auction allows users to buy and auction their Telegram usernames for TON tokens.
The latest update to the Telegram wallet bot could make cryptocurrencies accessible to the wider public. It could also further cement Telegram's reputation as one of the go-to apps for blockchain-based projects looking to build a community, especially if additional tokens are added to the platform. Telegram already has a large crypto community using the app, and the ability to buy and transfer crypto could bring non-crypto users into the market.
