Following the failure of the FTX platform, social media network Telegram Messenger LLP wants to create non-custodial wallets and a decentralized exchange for cryptocurrencies, according to Pavel Durov, creator and CEO of Telegram.
Quick facts
The project's 38-year-old founder argued that blockchain-based initiatives in general should revert to their decentralized origins by enabling cryptocurrency users to conduct transactions from privately hosted wallets that are independent of any one third party.
"As developers, it is our responsibility to steer the blockchain sector away from centralization by creating user-friendly, quick-to-use decentralized applications. Today, such projects are at last feasible, according to Durov's post.
According to Durov, the bankruptcy of FTX demonstrates how relying on centralized corporations causes investors to lose money at "the hands of a few who began to misuse their position."
After declaring bankruptcy on November 11, Sam Bankman-FTX Freid's has been charged with misusing client cash, putting an estimated 1 million clients and other investors at risk of suffering billions of dollars in losses.
According to Durov, Telegram just finished creating the decentralized auction platform Fragment.
The Open Network (TON), a system developed separately in 2021 after the Securities Exchange Commission rejected Telegram's proposed version, served as the foundation for the platform's October launch. TON is a decentralized layer-1 blockchain.
By offering tokenized Telegram usernames for sale on the blockchain, Fragment has already raised TON's native token (Toncoin) in the amount of US$50 million, according to Durov.
The next step for Telegram, according to Durov, is to create a set of decentralized tools, including wallets and exchanges, that will enable millions of users to safely and securely trade and store cryptocurrency. This week, Fragment will broaden beyond just usernames.