Telegram to auction usernames for 700 million users

Messaging app will use TON blockchain after wallet auction saw bids in excess of $200,000

Germany Telegram (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Telegram has announced that it will auction off usernames for its messaging app via its blockchain-based platform.

The WhatsApp rival said that it would use The Open Network (TON) blockchain to host the auction, resulting in the price of the associated Toncoin crypto token surging by more than 10 per cent on Friday.

The platform was originally developed to be integrated within the Telegram app, but a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led to it being abandoned in 2020.

The blockchain project was subsequently picked up by developers who set up the TON Foundation, which has since been endorsed by Telegram founder Pavel Durov.

It has already been used to host an auction for crypto wallet usernames, with some popular names selling for over $200,000.

Mr Durov first proposed the idea of extending the auction to user names for the messaging app earlier this year, writing to his followers on the platform that the auction could cover usernames, group and channel names.

“This would create a new platform where username holders could transfer them to interested parties in protected deals – with ownership secured on the blockchain via NFT-like smart contracts,” he wrote.

“Other elements of the Telegram ecosystem, including channels , stickers or emoji, could later also become part of this marketplace.”

Telegram confirmed on Thursday that the decentralised marketplace was almost ready to host the auctioning of unique usernames for its 700 million users.

“The development phase is almost over, and the auction platform will be launched soon,” the company said in a blog post.