Popular messaging app Telegram has finally unveiled a crypto wallet, nearly three years after it first revealed plans to build a Web3 ecosystem. The wallet was presented during the ongoing Token2049 event in Singapore.
The crypto wallet is developed on The Open Network (TON) blockchain and is now available to Telegram’s 800 million users worldwide. The TON wallet integration into Telegram helped the price of Toncoin soar by nearly 7% on the announcement.
TON Foundation said that projects built on the TON blockchain will get priority access to the messaging app’s advertising platform, Telegram Ads. The wallet feature is currently available in the settings for current users, and a global rollout will begin in November later this year, excluding the United States and a few other countries.
Telegram planned to integrate TON-based crypto wallet as early as 2019; however, the messaging app had to cut its ties with the blockchain foundation in 2020 after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Telegram for its $1.7-billion initial coin offering (ICO) raise, deeming it an unregistered security. The messaging platform settled with the SEC with an $18.5-million fine and a promise to pay back investors any unspent funds.
Related: Telegram Wallet bot enables in-app payments in Bitcoin, USDT and TON
With a renewed tie-up between the two firms, TON Foundation hopes to build the Web3 infrastructure on the popular messaging platform. The creators of the project hope to end onboarding issues and create a gateway to crypto for all Telegram users.
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