Telegram Launches ‘Stars’ In-App Currency for Effortless Digital Transactions

Telegram has launched "Stars," a new in-app currency designed for digital purchases. Users can buy digital products and services on the platform, and developers can exchange Stars for Toncoin, enhancing the economic incentives for app creation.

Telegram Unveils 'Stars' In-App Currency for Digital Purchases and Developer Incentives

Telegram Stars can be exchanged for Toncoin, a $18 billion cryptocurrency on Telegram's Fragment platform, per Cointelegraph.

"Telegram Stars" is a new in-app token introduced by the social messaging platform Telegram. It can be used to purchase digital products and services on the platform.

“With Telegram Stars, mini apps can now accept payments for digital services using the simplest payment method possible – in-app purchases on Android and iOS,” said Pavel Durov, the firm’s CEO, in a June 6 Telegram post.

Developers can exchange their Stars for Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency that powers Telegram's "The Open Network," through Fragment. This platform is primarily used to purchase and sell Telegram identities.

“They can also use Stars to further promote their apps on Telegram,” Durov added.

Durov stated that Telegram will provide subsidies for advertisements purchased with Stars on Apple and Google, which charge a 30% commission on digital product sales.

Durov thinks this will serve as an economic incentive for developers to create digital products on Telegram.

"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."

“Future updates will bring extra features and functionality to Stars – like gifts for content creators and more,” Telegram said in a June 6 post.

Telegram's Notcoin Sees Rapid Growth Amid Expanding Cryptocurrency Integration on the Platform

Telegram has achieved significant success with Notcoin, one of its most popular applications, which accumulated 35 million users within the first five months of its debut.

Notcoin is a "tap-to-earn" token that allows users to accumulate NOT tokens by completing various social challenges.

Over 400 million Telegram's 900 million users engage with Telegram bots and mini-applications monthly.

In April, Telegram introduced Tether (USDT) on the TON blockchain as part of a partnership with the stablecoin issuer to encourage cryptocurrency adoption on the messaging platform.

“[Users] no longer need to jump through the barriers of having to acquire a different type of crypto or token,” TON Foundation director of investments Justin Hyun told Cointelegraph at the time.

CoinGecko reports that TON's price reached a new all-time peak of $7.65 approximately 36 hours ago, but it has since declined to $7.50. Nevertheless, its market capitalization of $18.2 billion is still $7 billion below its apex of $25.2 billion, achieved on April 12.

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