- Telegram Stars allows in-app purchases for digital services like e-books and courses.
- Telegram subsidizes ads purchased with Telegram Stars to offset Apple and Google’s 30% commission.
Popular messaging app Telegram has unveiled ‘Telegram Stars’, a new payment method for buying digital products and services. On Apple and Android devices, this novel mechanism enables consumers to pay for digital goods like e-books and online courses through in-app purchases.
TELEGRAM LAUNCHES DIGITAL MINI-APP PAYMENT SYSTEM, TELEGRAM STARS
– @Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced "Telegram Stars," a new payment system enabling users to purchase digital services through in-app purchases on iOS and Android.
– App developers can convert their stars into… pic.twitter.com/bes46suoat
— BSCN (@BSCNews) June 6, 2024
About Telegram Stars
As Telegram CEO Pavel Durov put it, Telegram Stars provides consumers with an easy method to pay for digital services through mini-apps.
Through the crypto exchange Fragment, app developers may withdraw stars earned by their bots in TON, the native token of The Open Network. Moreover, Telegram app creators can advertise their apps with stars.
Businesses have long utilized Telegram’s mini-apps—which operate inside the messaging platform—to market tangible goods. Almost 400 million individuals use these apps each month, claims Durov.
Now, in compliance with Apple and Google’s restrictions on selling digital things, the service is growing to incorporate payments for digital products.
Subsidizing Commission Fees
Durov stated that while Telegram will subsidize advertisements purchased with Telegram Stars, Apple and Google charge a 30% commission on star transactions. This action seeks to lower the cost of service promotion on the platform for companies.
As of right now, TON is trading for about $7.57, up 6.00% in the previous 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. At a 17.37% gain over the last seven days, this rise indicates a bullish position.
The number of apps being developed on Telegram’s platform has increased dramatically. For example, in just five months after its January debut, the tap-to-earn game Notcoin gathered 35 million players. With over 100 million players, another game built on the TON blockchain is Hamster Kombat.
Ease of Access and Future Plans
Because users do not have to install mini-apps like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat, Durov explained, they have grown quickly. He also disclosed intentions to enhance Telegram Stars with new features and functionality, including gifts for content producers.
On the other hand, as ETHNews reported before, Telegram now allows its users to send payments with Tether stablecoin (USDT). This function facilitates user transactions within Telegram’s financial ecosystem by adding yet another level of flexibility.