Today the founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, officially announced on his channel the launch of Stars: the stars received can then be converted into TON via Fragment.
The Telegram Stars and the conversion to TON
Stars is a new Telegram service that allows in-app purchases on Android and iOS on mini-apps.
The mini-apps of Telegram are internal bots that can be used within the official Telegram app without needing additional installations.
The most famous is @wallet, the integrated crypto wallet of Telegram.
The traditional apps, on the other hand, need to be downloaded and installed, and this is why Telegram’s mini-apps, such as Notcoin, are growing so rapidly. The social nature of Telegram allows mini-apps to spread virally.
Through Telegram Stars, users will be able to make payments within the mini-apps.
In fact, the service allows mini-apps to accept payments for digital services on Android and iOS, using a very simple payment method, in-app purchases.
Once the Stars are received, the owners or managers of the mini-apps can then convert them into Toncoin (the native cryptocurrency of TON) using the Fragment platform.
Alternatively, they can use them to further promote their mini-apps on Telegram itself, with preferential conditions.
Durov also points out that Apple and Google receive a 30% commission when users purchase Stars from them, and states that developers who reinvest the Stars in promoting their app will have an overall commission of almost 0%.
Toncoin
Toncoin has now been steadily in the top 10 of the criptovalute with the highest market capitalization in the world for a few months.
In fact, only two days ago it recorded its highest historical price, above $7.7, with a capitalization rising above 18 billion dollars. Just to give an idea, ADA of Cardano is at 17 billion, while AVAX of Avalanche is at 14. It won’t be long before TON manages to surpass even Dogecoin, ninth overall with 23 billion, and perhaps even XRP with 29.
TON is a blockchain that was created several years ago as a Telegram ICO, but was later halted by the SEC, which accused the company of issuing an unregistered security.
Subsequently, the blockchain was detached from Telegram and officially made decentralized, even though behind the project there is always Telegram itself.
Recently the company has been heavily promoting TON, so much so that the price of Toncoin has risen by 220% since the beginning of the year.
The cryptocurrency TON landed on the crypto markets in August 2021, in the midst of a bullrun.
After rising to $4.5 in November of the same year, it plummeted below $1 during the following bear-market.
As recently as August of last year, it was around $1.2, but starting in September, it began a climb that first took it above $2.5, and then even above $7 in 2024.
In particular, the latest real surge began in February of this year, when news started to come out about a real promotional campaign organized by Telegram itself.
Telegram
Telegram is the second messaging app in the world behind only WhatsApp.
It is, however, very different compared to the rival, because by now it is a true platform with various services, as well as a simple messaging app.
In particular, its openness to the crypto world, with the launch of Toncoin and the integrated wallet, is making it a unique point of reference in the crypto sector.
Recently, the remarkable success of the mini-app Notcoin has made it evident how useful it is for this platform to attract crypto users, and how convenient it is to use blockchain and cryptocurrencies to do business in the digital realm.
The same NOT token of Notcoin, which landed on the crypto markets only last month at 11 thousandths of a dollar, recorded the all-time high five days ago at 28 thousandths, and still now hovers around 21 thousandths.
The introduction of Telegram Stars on mini-apps further expands the use cases of TON on Telegram, because it effectively allows those who receive the Stars to use the Toncoin blockchain to monetize them.
The crypto choice of Telegram might not only give further momentum to the spread of cryptocurrencies, but it could also constitute a significant competitive advantage for the messaging app itself against the competition.
