Telegram launches digital mini-app payment system, Telegram Stars
Quick Take
- Telegram Stars allows users to pay for digital services on Telegram via in-app purchases on iOS and Android.
- App developers can swap their stars for TON by using the exchange Fragment.
Pavel Durov, CEO of the messaging platform Telegram, announced a new payment system for digital goods and services on Thursday.
The platform introduced Telegram Stars, which allows users to pay for digital services via in-app purchases on iOS and Android. App developers can swap their stars for TON, the native token of The Open Network, via the exchange Fragment. The platform added that Telegram Stars is compliant with Apple and Google's digital product sale policies.
"Apple and Google take a 30% cut when users buy Stars from them, but Telegram will subsidize ads purchased with Telegram Stars," Durov wrote in a Telegram post. "So if developers reinvest Stars in promoting their app, the overall commission will be nearly 0%. As a result, launching apps on Telegram makes more economic sense than launching traditional mobile apps."
Notcoin, one of Telegram's popular apps, launched in January and amassed nearly 35 million players by mid-May, The Block previously reported.
TON traded at $7.33 after experiencing a 0.47% decrease in the past 24 hours, according to The Block Prices as of 12:08 p.m. ET (16:08 UTC).
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
