Telegram rolls out crypto payment service

Social networks are extremely efficient in spreading trends and knowledge, including relative to crypto.

These days everyone’s eyes are on Twitter, as speculations relative to Elon Musk’s possible innovations abound. However, it is Telegram that has quietly introduced a very important feature – crypto payments.

? Telegram will now allow its 550 million users to easily send and receive TON and BTC to/from other Telegram users, and in TON case – even without fees.

Previously known as Telegram Open Network (before Telegram has officially distanced itself from it following troubles with the SEC), The Open Network is a multi-layer blockchain fuelled by the TON coin.

It uses PoS consensus to generate new blocks, but also a version of PoW to obtain new coins (the process estimated to end in 2 months, when the last of its 5 Bn coins will be mined).

The wallet is introduced in form of a bot, which can be added to the menu and tapped whenever a user wishes to send TON or BTC. The bot can also direct toward exchanges allowing to buy crypto with credit cards.

? This feature is somewhat similar to Twitter’s Bitcoin tip feature added last September, but with a notable advantage: it works worldwide.

Twitter tipping is powered by Strike, which is only present in the US, El Salvador and partly – in Argentina. For the rest of the world Twitter tipping option is reduced to a window allowing users to copy-paste an account’s Bitcoin address; they will then have to use their own wallets to transfer funds.

In case of Telegram, the wallet is available worldwide.

TON is now being actively considered by three Central African nations (Cameroon, Congo and DRC) to help introduce crypto as official means of payment, and the rollout of the wallet service in Telegram could be a decisive argument: in this area people are 4 times more likely to own a mobile phone than a bank account.

Crypto adoption is about to receive a serious boost ?