Telegram Founder May Open An NFT Marketplace for Usernames

Telegram, the popular cross-platform, cloud-based instant messaging service, is looking at implementing NFT technology into its ecosystem. The founder of the encrypted messaging app has written about a possible marketplace for NFT-like smart contracts. He imagines a place to trade and sell Telegram usernames, which are extremely valuable online. 

Is Telegram joining the web3 world with NFT usernames?

Although there are no official plans for Telegram to use NFTs now, that might change in the future. However, in recent weeks, Telegram founder Paul Durov has spoken of his intention to explore the potential of using NFT technology. 

On his personal Telegram page, he wrote, “Imagine how successful Telegram with its 700 million users could be if we put reserved @ usernames, group and channel links for auction.” He said about the marketplace’s potential, “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.”

Furthermore, he also wrote about other parts of the Telegram ecosystem using NFT technology, including channels, stickers, and emojis.

Telegram’s success with the TON Domain Name Auction

The Telegram founder is exploring how to use NFTs after the successful domain name auction by The Open Network (TON). The Telegram team created this layer-1 blockchain. Significantly, it enables users to give simple human-readable names to smart contracts, crypto wallets, and other decentralized apps. 

The sale of over 2,000 .ton domain names made over $3 million in Toncoin. Talking about the success of the .ton sale, the Telegram founder said, “Our team can write bullet-proof smart contracts for TON (since it was us who invented its smart-contract language), so we are inclined to try out TON as the underlying blockchain for our future marketplace.”