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Telegram Launches In-App Digital Payment Feature, Telegram Stars

AuthorSyed Ali Haider
Crypto News Author
Fact Checked by Kamal Masri
Last updated: June 07, 2024
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Telegram Launches In-App Digital Payment Feature, Telegram Stars

Highlights:

  • Telegram introduced a new payment system for goods and services. 
  • “Telegram Stars” allows users to pay for digital products via in-app purchases on both Android and Apple devices.
  • The price of TON rose by 6% after the news.

Telegram, the social messaging platform, has launched “Telegram Stars,” a new in-app token for purchasing digital goods and services within the app on both the iOS and Android platforms. 

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In a June 6 Telegram post, Pavel Durov, the firm’s CEO, said:

“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.”

How Telegram Stars Work

Telegram utilizes web applications that operate inside the messaging platform, known as “mini-apps.” Businesses have used these mini-apps for many years to sell physical products on Telegram. According to the platform’s statement, more than 400 million individuals engage with the apps monthly.

The Telegram founder announced that the service is expanding to include payments for digital products using Stars, an in-app virtual currency. Durov mentioned that Stars aligns with Apple and Google’s digital product sale policies.

While Google and Apple usually take a 30% commission on in-app purchases, Telegram intends to subsidize advertisements bought with Telegram Stars. If developers reinvest their Stars into promoting their applications, the effective commission rate will be close to zero. Durov believes this makes launching apps on Telegram more appealing than on traditional mobile app platforms.

He stated:

“Apple and Google take a 30% cut when users buy Stars from them, but Telegram will compensate the ads purchased with Telegram Stars. So, if developers spend Stars on promoting their app, the total commission will be close to zero.”

App developers can swap their Stars for Toncoin (TON) — the native token of “The Open Network” — via Fragment exchange, a platform mostly used to buy and sell Telegram usernames. Durov said users can also use Stars to promote their apps on Telegram further.

Telegram Sees a Surge in New Apps

Telegram has experienced a surge in apps building on the platform. In January, the tap-to-earn game Notcoin launched on the platform and reached 35 million users within five months.

Hamster Kombat, another game based on the TON blockchain, allows players to earn points by tapping into its mini-app on Telegram. The game has amassed more than 100 million users.

Durov noted that mini-apps like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat experience rapid growth because users do not need to install them on their devices. In addition, he plans to enhance Telegram Stars with more features and functionality in the future, including gifts for content creators.

Moreover, blockchain development company Sphere Labs unveiled a bank-to-wallet extension for Telegram last month. This feature enables users to transfer funds directly between their bank account and wallet within the Telegram app. Early users will incur a transaction fee of 0.1%.

TON Price Experiences Bullish Recovery and Market Cap Surge

Telegram Stars, TON coin
Source: CoinMarketCap

Amidst these developments, the TON price underwent a bullish recovery following a 24-hour bearish trend that pushed the price down to the support level of $7.13. At press time, TON was trading at $7.64. This was accompanied by a 6.09% increase in market capitalization to $18.04 billion.

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