Telegram introduces in-app currency Stars for digital purchases
Telegram, the social messaging platform, has launched "Telegram Stars," a new in-app token for purchasing digital goods and services.
“With Telegram Stars, mini apps can now accept payments for digital services using the simplest payment method possible – in-app purchases on Android and iOS,” stated Pavel Durov, Telegram’s CEO, in a June 6 Telegram post.
Developers can exchange their Stars for Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency of Telegram's “Open Network" is accessible through Fragment, a platform predominantly utilized for trading Telegram usernames.
“They can also use Stars to further promote their apps on Telegram,” Durov added. He mentioned that Telegram will subsidize advertisements purchased with Stars on Apple and Google, which take a 30% commission on digital product sales.
Telegram has enjoyed considerable success with Notcoin (NOT), one of its most popular apps, which gained 35 million users within the first five months of its launch.
Notcoin is a “tap-to-earn” token where users earn NOT tokens by completing various social challenges.
Over 400 million of Telegram’s 900 million users interact with Telegram bots and mini apps every month.
Additionally, in April, Telegram introduced Tether (USDT) on the TON blockchain in collaboration with the stablecoin issuer, aiming to boost cryptocurrency adoption on the platform.
“Users no longer need to jump through the barriers of having to acquire a different type of crypto or token,” said TON Foundation director of investments Justin Hyun to Cointelegraph at the time.
About 36 hours earlier, TON hit a new all-time high of $7.65 but has since settled to $7.50, according to CoinGecko. However, its $18.2 billion market cap is still $7 billion short of its $25.2 billion peak set on April 12.
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