Messaging App Telegram to Auction Usernames on TON Blockchain

Messaging app Telegram is going to offer usernames via a platform on The Open Network (TON) blockchain, two months after the idea was floated by Telegram founder Pavel Durov.

Telegram, which has over 700 million users, announced via an official channel on Thursday that the development phase of the auction platform was over and will be rolled out soon.

Durov first voiced Telegram's intention to introduce an auction for usernames in August, creating "a new platform where username holders could transfer them to interested parties in protected deals – with ownership secured on the blockchain via [non-fungible token]-like smart contracts."

The TON blockchain was developed by Telegram alongside its messaging app, but was abandoned in August 2020 following a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Developers of the ecosystem subsequently formed the TON Foundation to keep the project alive, efforts which Durov endorsed.

Toncoin (TON), the native coin of the TON blockchain, is up nearly 9% at $1.34 in the last 24 hours following news that it will be used to purchase usernames on Telegram.