Telegram launches marketplace to auction rare usernames

Instant messaging service, Telegram on Thursday launched its marketplace on the Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain and will begin the auction of usernames for both individual accounts and channels through its marketplace.

"This will enable Telegram handles, comprising both usernames and channels, to be bought and sold using Toncoin,” the Telegram team stated in a press release.

The auction will last for a week, and users can add their existing handles for auction on Fragment.com.

Telegram Founder Pavel Durov, in a post stated "As promised, we've launched the ability to buy Telegram usernames on a dedicated platform – Fragment. Auctions for the most valuable usernames are already live, so make sure to check it out. In a few days, we will also introduce the ability for users to sell their existing usernames on Fragment."

Earlier in August, Pavlev Durov had hinted at the idea of launching a marketplace to auction usernames. “Imagine how successful Telegram with its 700 million users could be if we put reserved @ usernames, group and channel links for auction," he had stated.

In the recent post, Pavlev confirmed his above statement. "Finally people will have ownership over their social media addresses, secured in the immutable ledger of a decentralised blockchain network. This is just the beginning, and yet an important milestone – the power has started to shift into users' hands."

The marketplace is being built over layer 1 blockchain called The Open Network (TON).

In 2018, the Telegram team launched the TON project to manage faster transactions and it was backed by big venture capital firms like Benchmark and Lightspeed Capital .

However, in 2020 due to a notice by US SEC the firm had to put a halt to the TON project. Later as a part of settlement deal, SEC insisted the firm forfeit control of the blockchain to its community, creating an 'Open Network Blockchain.'