How Telegram plans to turn crypto into a global payments network

Episode 72 of The Crypto Beat was recorded with Tim Copeland, Kelvin Sparks and Nikola Plecas, VP of Payments at TON Foundation.

Listen below, and subscribe to The Crypto Beat on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Twitch, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please send feedback and revision requests to podcast@theblock.co.

In episode 72 of The Crypto Beat, Tim and Kelvin sit down with Nikola Plecas to break down how Telegram is evolving into a crypto payments platform.

OUTLINE
00:00 - Introduction
00:43 - TON Payments Strategy
01:21 - Merchant Tools and SDK
04:50 - Growth Opportunities
06:59 - Blockchain vs Fiat Rails
09:41 - TON vs Visa Experience
11:20 - Industry Challenges
13:04 - Institutional Adoption
18:13 - Telegram UX and Wallets
23:04 - Regulation and Market Outlook

Guest links:
Nikola Plecas - https://x.com/nikola_plecas
TON - https://x.com/ton_blockchain

Host links:
Tim Copeland - ⁠⁠⁠x.com/timccopeland⁠⁠⁠
Kelvin Sparks - x.com/imyoungsparks

The Block Newsletters
The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets.
To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters.

Are you hiring in crypto?
Use Campus to quickly find your best candidates with our challenging Crypto Assessment Test.
Faster hiring, stronger teams.