Telegram is one of the most well-known and used messaging apps in the world. It allows to discuss between users, but also to create groups which happens very often when creating a new crypto-currency to bring together a community for example.
One of the specifics of this application is that it adopted cryptocurrencies in its functions very early on. Nevertheless, it was only through a recent update that Telegram users got the ability to trade and transfer tokens from the app.
A cryptocurrency exchange system integrated into the Telegram application
The developers behind the Telegram bot @Wallet Bot recently created a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) cryptocurrency exchange platform that they integrated directly into the mobile app. Wallet Bot is a bot launched in April that allows Telegram users to buy Toncoin (TON) cryptocurrency with a bank card and send it in chat messages.
Following the latest update to the application, the Wallet Bot now allows its users not only to sell cryptocurrencies, but also to buy and transfer them via the Telegram application. According to the developers:
The exchange platform will have to act as guarantors for each transaction. In the event of a disagreement between the seller and the buyer, it will be up to the service to conduct a dispute resolution process.
Thus, this new service rids Telegram users of the need to send cryptocurrencies to a wallet address, or to use exchange platforms for their purchase or sale transactions. The latter will now only need the name of the recipient’s account in the messaging application to carry out any transaction.
In an announcement made by the developers of the project, the exchange service offers anonymous P2P transactions. Nevertheless, each user must communicate his mobile phone number to the robot in order to be able to deposit, exchange or buy crypto-currencies.
What are the different cryptocurrencies supported by the service?
According to information published by the developers, the new Telegram P2P exchange platform is compatible with the following currencies : US Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), Belarusian Ruble (BYN), Grivna (UAH) and the Kazakh Tenge (KZT).
Each currency has a list on which we find the different payment methods accepted. All you have to do is analyze each list to determine the options available in each country before loading your wallet balance with the appropriate currency.
Any user wishing to sell cryptocurrencies will have to pay a commission of 0.9% for each transaction. As for buyers, they won’t have to pay any fees, according to a statement from the Wallet Bot developers.
For now, only Toncoin (TON) and Bitcoin (BTC) cryptocurrencies are available for purchase. Nevertheless, plans are to increase the supply at a later date according to the company. Only the TON is available to send between users directly through instant chats.
Toncoin is a blockchain network originally founded by the Durov brothers, founders of the Telegram Messenger app. They were considering the launch of an official token called GRAM.
However, they faced opposition from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2020. Opposition which forced them to abandon the project and return to investors $1.2 billion raised for the project while still paying at the same time a fine of 18.5 million dollars.
According to the project’s website, the TON Foundation is a decentralized community started by developers Anatoliy Makosov and Kirill Emelyanenko after Telegram pulled out of the project.
