Telegram will hold an auction of usernames (individual accounts and channel names) through a marketplace built on top of the TON blockchain.
In August, Telegram founder Pavel Durov first mentioned the idea , noting the possibility of adding “a bit of Web 3.0 to Telegram in the coming weeks.” At the time, he said he was impressed with the success of the TON Foundation domain name auction.
“I am really impressed with the success of the auction recently held by TON for their domain names/wallets. Wallet.ton was sold for 215,250 Toncoin (~$260,000) and Casino.ton was sold for ~$244,000. If TON could achieve these results, imagine how successful Telegram could be with its 700 million users if we put up for auction reserved usernames, links to groups and channels, ”Durov said then.
Telegram and the TON Foundation use a dedicated fragment.com website as the hub for these auctions. Users will be able to log into the site using Telegram, the tonkeeper app, or their TON-based wallets. The website will also help users link their Telegram accounts to the names they have purchased.
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When launched, the chat app auctions four- and five-digit names that will be available to everyone. Telegram users can also auction their existing names. Each item put up for auction closes in a week with an extra hour for final bidding. The company sets a minimum auction value for four-digit descriptors of 10,000 TON, which is approximately $18,400 at the time of writing.
“For the first time, social media users will be able to transparently prove that they own their names through their tokenization on the TON blockchain,” Andrew Rogozov, co-founder of the TON Foundation, said in a statement.
Telegram had big ambitions in the web3 world, but had to give up those ambitions. In 2018, the company hatched plans for the Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain project and initial coin offering (ICO). The project was supported by large investors, including Benchmark and Lightspeed Capital, who invested $1.7 billion. However, after a lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Telegram was forced to abandon the project.
After Telegram stopped working on TON, various independent groups continued development, and Toncoin received Durov’s support and received the rights to the ton.org website in 2021. But the founder of Telegram distances himself from direct participation in the project.
Telegram has tried various ways to make money to keep the company stable. Last year, the company introduced promotional posts on public channels. Earlier this year, the company introduced a paid plan that allows you to transfer large files, exclusive stickers and reactions, and the ability to convert voice messages to text. Announcing an auction of usernames on the blockchain is another way to make money.
Interestingly, at the moment there are names at the auction that can be associated with well-known trademarks – and anyone with a sufficient amount can purchase them.
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Source: TechCrunch
