Telegram introduces registration with blockchain-based numbers
The well-known free instant messenger introduces the possibility of registration without a SIM card.
Telegram now allows its users to create accounts without having to enter a mobile number. Thanks to the implementation of a new update to this application, people using it can register through blockchain-based numbers and buy them with the TON cryptocurrency on the Fragment platform.
Telegram introduces registration with blockchain-based numbers
The free instant messenger has decided to take a step towards a "new era of privacy". It has rolled out an update to its app that allows users to sign up without providing a mobile phone number.
“Today, a new era of privacy begins. Any user can have a Telegram account without a SIM card," the Telegram team said in an official announcement. These people additionally mentioned that the phone numbers of its users were never visible to strangers - it was the account holders themselves who decided who could see their number.
After the changes are made, people using Telegram will not need a SIM card to create a new account on this messenger. Instead, this application will allow them to log in using blockchain-based numbers, which, according to the announcement, are to be fully anonymous.
The aforementioned numbers will be available for purchase on the Fragment platform via the Toncoin (TON) cryptocurrency used in the Open Network originally designed by Telegram developers.
In June this year, the messenger announced that it would launch premium services to monetize its platform, which is currently used by over 700 million monthly users. In August 2022, Telegram's CEO mentioned a series of upcoming improvements related to Web3.
The TON cryptocurrency controversy
In 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit in the Court for the Southern District of New York against Telegram over the unregistered sale of native tokens. A year later, the messenger entered into a settlement with the regulator in this matter.
Since May this year, Telegram users can send and receive TON cryptocurrency directly in chats in this application.
In June, the messenger announced that it would launch premium services to monetize its platform, which is now used by over 700 million monthly users worldwide.
