Gram: Telegram will indeed have its cryptocurrency!
We were talking about it in a previous article, but the information, although argued, was only at the rumor stage. It is now almost a fact with the publication by TechCrunch of an article on the project TON: Telegram will have its cryptocurrency, its ICO, and the objectives are rather ambitious!
3rd generation cryptocurrency for Telegram
Telegram is known around the world as an end-to-end encrypted messaging service, which currently has approximately 180 million users. Just like Mark Zuckerberg, who is studying cryptocurrency to improve Facebook, the developers of the app are also looking to take advantage of digital currency technology to continue to grow.
Better still, the team led by CEO Pavel Durov is currently focusing on the upcoming creation of their own blockchain and a "3rd generation" cryptocurrency called "Gram". For this, Pavel Durov has decided to raise funds in cryptocurrency with an ambitious goal of 500 million dollars.
"Telegram Open Network"
According to the project white paper released by TechCrunch, Telegram will create an entire ecosystem of blockchains called Telegram Open Network or TON. In addition, TON will consist of a main blockchain around which will rotate several interconnected blockchains, all based on a system called "Instant Hypercube Routing".
With Gram as the native currency, TON's main asset is its ability to process 1 million transactions per second according to its developers. With such "power," TON will allow Telegram's own digital currency to become a key micropayment tool.
In addition to the simple transfer of value, Telegram Open Network will include among others the "TON Services" for the development of decentralized applications (Dapps), the "TON DNS" for the attribution of the domain names Web, as well as the "TON Payments "which will handle secure micropayments off-blockchain.
Gem, Gliph, Wechat ... and Telegram
While waiting for new information concerning TON, know that other projects of this kind have already been launched before. For example, there is the Gem project a few years ago, which also aimed to link instant messaging with value transfer. But the project did not achieve the expected success, just like the application of the same kind dating from 2013 and called Gliph who unfortunately suffered the same fate.
As for the famous Wechat application, its Chinese users are already entitled to a similar device, allowing them to associate their accounts with traditional bank accounts to make payments via the email application. But the device faces different problems, namely centralization and identity requirements.
Despite all these flops, Telegram and Pavel Durov seem to be optimistic about the success of TON and hope to count on the support of 180 million users to make it happen.