Telegram username auction marketplace ‘almost’ ready to launch

Telegram, a well-known messaging platform, has created a new marketplace without the use of nonfungible tokens (NFTs). The unique username marketplace, an idea that was first proposed in August, is about to start, according to the social messaging platform.

The company said in an official message on its Telegram channel that the marketplace's development stage is almost complete. The Open Network (TON), a native blockchain used by the marketplace, underpins it.

Pavel Durov, the company's creator, initially hinted at the concept in late August of this year when he suggested a marketplace that could make use of "NFT-like smart contracts" to auction off highly sought-after usernames. Durov made the suggestion after the “success” of domain name auctions by The Open Network (TON), a layer-1 blockchain originally designed by the Telegram team.

Durov said at the time that a new marketplace, where username holders could transfer them to interested parties in protected deals — with ownership secured on the blockchain via NFT-like smart contracts, could become a sought-after service in Web3. He added that other elements of the Telegram ecosystem, including channels, stickers, or emojis, could later also become part of this marketplace.

Telegram started its Web3 and crypto endeavor with hopes of launching a digital payments platform for Telegram. However, like many other platforms from the initial coin offering (ICO) era, Telegram also ran into trouble with the United States regulators for the unregistered sale of its Gram token.

After losing a court battle against the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020, Durov stepped away from the project to focus on Telegram. Since then, open-source developers have revived the project under the banner of The Open Network.