Messaging app Telegram plans to auction off usernames on a blockchain marketplace
Popular messaging platform Telegram Messenger Inc. plans to auction off usernames on a marketplace using The Open Network blockchain, the company said Thursday.
This announcement follows the idea proposed by Telegram founder Pavel Durov in August that the platform would enable users to buy and sell their own unique and recognizable usernames on the app’s official channel.
The usernames would use the TON blockchain, which Durov originally designed, to host the decentralized sale, and it would also use non-fungible token-like smart contracts to facilitate the exchanges. Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are a type of blockchain-based crypto-asset that represents the ownership of things like digital art, music, files, and in this case, usernames.
At the time of the initial announcement that the auction would be built, Durov said the inspiration came from the sale of the domain name “Wallet.ton” for a wallet for 215,250 Toncoins, worth approximately $260,000.
“If TON has been able to achieve these results, imagine how successful Telegram with its 700 million users could be if we put reserved @ usernames, group and channel links up for auction,” Durov said. “In addition to millions of catchy t.me addresses like @storm or @royal, any four-letter username can be made available for sale (@bank, @club, @game, @gift, etc.).”
Other potential elements of Telegram could also be auctioned off on the market, including channels, emojis, stickers and more, Durov suggested. However, if implemented, these will join the market at a later date by username.
Telegram began work on blockchain solutions in 2018 with what was called the Telegram Open Network and raised $1.7 billion in private sales of TON tokens. However, this led the US Securities and Exchange Commission to call the sale an unregistered security offering in late 2019. After more than six months of court battles, Telegram finally decided to abandon that blockchain project.
Open source developers in the ecosystem went on to form the TON Foundation to maintain the project separately and renamed it The Open Network, using the same acronym but under a new name.
The ownership of usernames and domain names using blockchain technology is not new in the industry. Examples include the Ethereum Name Service, which provides blockchain-based decentralized names for wallets, websites and usernames, allowing people to use human-readable addresses. Another example is Unstoppable Domains with a similar proposal to offer blockchain-based identities that users can use to log into apps and websites.
According to Telegram, the development phase of the username auction page is almost complete and the auction page will be rolled out soon. Details of the timeline have not been released.
