Is the Telegram traffic flooding a prelude to the era of large-scale encryption?
The encryption ecosystem of Telegram has begun to emerge.Author: Samuel, OKG Research
According to OKG Research, Telegram currently has over 900 million monthly active users, ranking it fourth among global instant messaging software (as of April 2024). When this vast user base opens up to the cryptocurrency space, it undoubtedly presents a significant attraction.
The research institute previously mentioned that stablecoins serve as a barometer for the demand in the crypto market, with an overall market value increase of $30 billion since the beginning of 2024, a noticeable decline compared to the previous cycle from H2 2021 to H1 2022. As the financial attributes of the industry face a bubble burst, the lack of new users and the conflict between existing users have put the overall market growth in a difficult position. The issue of liquidity tightening in the crypto market has become increasingly prominent. Will the traffic narrative built around Telegram become a consensus in the global market during this cycle? This remains to be tested by time and the market. However, the crypto ecosystem surrounding Telegram has already begun to show its potential.
*Charts F rom Statista
In terms of openness and compatibility with the Web3 field, Telegram offers more combinability and interactivity for applications, which can be reflected in the following aspects:
- The automatic embedded interaction experience brought by Bots allows users to trigger the execution of established needs through clicks, text conversations, and other forms. For example, with the popularity of memecoins, the way of interacting through Bots for trading has greatly facilitated users' trading processes. Data from leading trading Bot applications show that the daily new users have exceeded 10,000 in the past six months, while the cumulative users have also surpassed 200,000.
*Source: https://dune.com/whale_hunter/banana-gun-bot
- The aggregation of Telegram Mini Apps (TMAs) allows developers to introduce HTML, CSS, and JavaScript front-end editing presentation forms into TMAs, while also providing development tools to assist with integration.
- With Telegram's multi-device reach capability, users can achieve functional unity across different systems and platforms, ensuring a seamless experience when trying across platforms.
- Establishing a deep cooperative relationship with TON in the blockchain direction. Based on TON's established sharding technology architecture, it can support massive user interactions on Telegram. Telegram's attempts to delve into web3 applications began in 2023, integrating the wallet function previously launched by TON and adding it to Telegram's main interface, achieving a seamless link for users to step into the on-chain era.
- Development based on TON's underlying infrastructure, utilizing centralized platform traffic for customer acquisition, and then achieving commercial growth and product iteration, creates a certain closed loop based on the ecosystems of Telegram and TON.
Since April this year, a large number of mini-apps have triggered viral spread through simple click operations. Currently, leading projects have seen their on-chain DAU exceed 140,000 within nearly three months of launch. The number of wallets on the TON chain and those holding TON ecosystem project tokens (Jetton Wallets) also show a similar upward trend. Users have fully learned the entire process of participating in web3 applications on Telegram while engaging. Unlike the earlier web-based Dapp forms, the binding relationship between payment and communication apps is being constructed, and a crypto payment relationship similar to WeChat Pay is brewing.
* Source: https://www.tonstat.com
Since Tether announced the issuance of USDT on TON in April this year, the net circulation has reached approximately $680 million, ranking fifth. The circulation of a large number of stablecoins also indicates strong demand for crypto business on TON.
* **Source: ** https://tether.to/en/transparency/?tab=usdt
Web3 developers also need to rethink how to leverage Telegram's traffic to achieve a commercial closed loop. Past designs relied more on channel exposure to acquire users and depended heavily on the financial attributes of projects to retain users, with user expectations focused on the speculative nature of projects rather than their practical utility. Although this fundamental aspect cannot be reversed in the short term, in the current context of Telegram's application of mini-games in the Web3 field, the Telegram payment system allows users to spontaneously recharge while discovering the practicality (fun) of the products, maintaining the early operational costs of the projects. Additionally, advertising on Telegram, passive pushes in channels, and user-to-user sharing can provide a relatively shorter user connection path, enabling self-circulation within Telegram.
However, it is also important to note that Telegram's more open environment means more complex information security issues, especially in the context of Web3, which emphasizes decentralization. Various phishing, scams, and other security incidents are more likely to occur. How to embrace Web3 while preventing illegal elements that threaten user information security within Telegram will also be an important topic.
OKG Research will continue to monitor the development of the Telegram crypto ecosystem and the new changes it brings to the industry. Together with leading institutions focused on the TON ecosystem, we will soon release a research report on the Telegram crypto ecosystem, always focusing on the innovative technology ecosystem of Web3 and decoding a new chapter of large-scale application!
