Quick take:
- Telegram and TON Foundation jointly announced the TON Space self-custody wallet.
- The social media platform is reuniting with TON 3 years after parting ways.
- A global roll-out of the wallet is scheduled for November 2023.
Telegram users around the world will soon be able to access wallet services through the social media app’s settings. The company announced on Wednesday at Singapore’s Token 2049 event that it has teamed up with TON Foundation to launch TON Space, the organisation’s self-custody wallet.
Telegram raised a reported $1.7 billion through an initial coin offering for the Telegram Open Network, which is now TON (The Open Network). The company span off TON after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit citing an offering of unregistered securities.
According to the announcement, TON Space will be rolled out to Telegram users around the world (excluding the US and a few other countries) in November. This feature builds on the existing custodial version of the Telegram wallet, which currently boasts over three million users.
TON Space joins a growing list of mini-apps integrated with the Telegram chat app. The App seems to be moving more towards becoming a Super App, which is a term given to mobile apps that perform multiple functions including serving as a news portal, a social media platform, and trading and banking services.
Commenting on the partnership, Telegram’s Chief Investment Officer John Hyman said in a statement: “With this partnership, we are putting digital ownership rights in the hands of our entire user base. Telegram’s mission has always been to enable freedom of speech, but speech is so much more in this digital age.”
It is the same approach that Elon Musk’s X is taking in a race to become the world’s everything app.
Hong Kong-based hi app has also joined the bandwagon, rolling out crypto exchange services and fiat on-ramps in partnership with MasterCard.
On the TON Foundation’s part, the organisation will gain access to priority ad placements, which will also be extended to companies building on the TON ecosystem.
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