The Open Network (TON) Foundation has announced the launch of a new bot that will facilitate transactions using the TON token. The token can be traded on the Telegram app or the OKX cryptocurrency exchange.
TON token to be traded on Telegram and OKX
The TON Foundation released an announcement on April 26 saying that the new feature will benefit over 550 million users on the Telegram app. These users can now send and receive the TON token at zero transaction fees and access the benefits offered by the blockchain project.
OKX, a Malta-based exchange platform previously known as OKEx, issued an alert to users saying. “The exchange will begin accepting deposits on April 28, starting at 3:00 am UTC, and spot trading will resume at 5:00 UTC. $TON withdrawals will be open starting April 29 at 9:00 am UTC.”
The new feature will allow Telegram to compete against other social media platforms like Twitter that have integrated cryptocurrency offerings. Twitter recently partnered with Stripe to integrate a payments feature for the USDC stablecoin. Reddit and WhatsApp are also making advancements in integrating cryptocurrency payments.
The TON Foundation said that the objective of the new feature would be to allow seamless, easy and fast transactions for Telegram users. It will remove the complex process of transacting with a cryptocurrency wallet. The TON Foundation plans for this payment method to be used by consumers to buy goods and services from different merchants.
The TON Foundation issued a statement to CoinDesk saying, “We anticipate that this functionality will extend into the consumer to business payments so that people can easily acquire goods and services by sending Toncoin via bots in the Telegram app.”
Toncoin was once Telegram’s project
In 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Telegram over the TON project. The social media platform was forced to abandon the project.
Telegram is no longer involved with the TON project. Telegram’s founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, said that the team tasked with running the project was creating “something epic” to ensure Telegram becomes a leading social network. Telegram will now be competing with Twitter, which is in the process of being acquired by Musk. The Tesla CEO has promised major changes to Twitter.
However, there is huge competition in the cryptocurrency market currently. Therefore, the TON cryptocurrency will have much work to do if it intends to become among the top projects in the market.
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