Telegram has made a significant move by embracing cryptocurrency for in-app ad purchases. The messaging app announced on Sunday that users can now purchase advertisements using Toncoin, the native crypto of the TON blockchain. This update is part of Telegram’s strategy to monetize its platform and will see 50% of ad revenue generated within public channels allocated directly to their owners.
Telegram chose TON for its impressive features, including minimal transaction fees, fast processing speeds, and a record capacity for transactions per second. The TON blockchain is known for being a community-driven solution that facilitates high-speed transactions and supports decentralized applications (dApps). It utilizes a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism called sharding, which enables millions of transactions per second by distributing data storage and processing tasks among smaller validator groups.
Certik, a blockchain security firm, recognized the TON blockchain as the world’s fastest network in October 2023. It surpassed well-established payment systems like Solana, Polygon, Visa, and Mastercard, achieving a record-breaking 104,715 transactions per second.
Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, had hinted at the upcoming launch of the Telegram Ad Platform in February, targeting advertisers in nearly 100 countries. With Telegram’s broadcast channels garnering 1 trillion monthly views, there was immense potential for monetization. However, only 10% of this reach was effectively monetized, prompting the introduction of the Telegram Ads platform.
With this latest announcement, channel owners can now monetize their content more effectively, putting Telegram in line with social media giants like YouTube and X, which already offer revenue-sharing models. The platform also provides targeted promotion opportunities, allowing advertisers to choose specific channels to display their ads.
To incentivize content creation and platform engagement, Telegram offers channel owners various benefits. They can withdraw their ad revenue without any fees and reinvest their earnings in the Telegram ecosystem through additional advertising, acquiring unique usernames, or hosting premium content giveaways.
Toncoin has experienced impressive growth of over 123% in the past month, with its value trading around $5.24 as of Monday. With the integration of crypto for in-app ad purchases, Telegram is positioning itself as a pioneer in the crypto-advertising space.