Telegram releases feature that allows you to send cryptocurrencies via message

The messaging app Telegram has released a feature that allows the sending of cryptocurrencies by messages, as revealed by the official profile of the network on Twitter. With the novelty, users of the application will be able to carry out transactions without paying fees.

According to launch tweet, transactions will be carried out through a robot (bot) called “Wallet”. The first cryptocurrency that will receive support is Toncoin, the former official token of Telegram. The network canceled The Open Newton (TON) project in 2020, because of regulatory conflicts.

After the cancellation, TON was handed over to other developers, who renamed the project Toncoin. In December 2021, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov declared support for new developers.

Using the new service

According to TON, the new bot is now available to over 500 million Telegram users worldwide. Those who wish to use the service to send Toncoin only need to update the version of the application.

Once this is done, the user needs to install the bot in the application and open a chat with it. Then just give the command “/start” to activate the wallet. With that the new service will be in the application menu.

Then just choose the person you want to send Toncoin to and open a chat with them. Choose the “Wallet” option and select the amount of TON you want to send and then click the button. Okay, the tokens have been sent.

In order for the transaction to be carried out, both users must have an activated wallet within Telegram. According to the developers, more than 800,000 users activated the service in the last seven days when it was launched.

“This simplification of the cryptocurrency transaction process is expected to enable greater adoption around the world and help embed blockchain payment solutions into people’s everyday lives,” said a spokesperson for the TON Foundation.

Messaging is popular

Social networks like Telegram and Discord allow users to create bots to automate activities on the platform. In this sense, bots also serve to facilitate the sending of cryptocurrencies between users.

In fact, Discord even announced an integration that would allow sending Ether (ETH) through MetaMask. The service, however, was rejected by the users themselves and the CEO of the social network had to go back and cancel the integration.

Although Telegram allows the use of the wallet, the social network no longer has any involvement with the TON project. Therefore, the portfolio had no influence or endorsement from the team.

A similar tool was created in 2019 by Lightning Labs, a group that builds on the Lightning Network on BTC (BTC). Dubbed the Lightning Torch, it allowed users to send small amounts of BTC, known as satoshis, via Twitter.

The service did not receive official support from the platform, but it was used by Jack Dorsey, then CEO of Twitter. In September 2021, Twitter enabled the tipping feature, allowing you to send BTC through the Lightning network. In February, it was ETH’s turn to receive the same support.