Telegram Launched Stars Currency. What Is It?
Telegram has launched its own virtual currency called Stars to bypass the rules of the major app stores.
In his Telegram channel, Pavel Durov announced the launch of Stars, a virtual messenger currency that can be used for payments within Telegram. Starting today, all bots and messenger mini-apps will start accepting payment for their goods and services in Stars. The new currency can be purchased through in-app purchase mechanisms in the App Store and Google Play, as well as directly through a bot in Telegram for fiat.
Stars was a necessary innovation that Apple insisted on. Telegram is now fully App Store compliant and is in no danger of disappearing from the app store. However, the update did not affect physical goods and services, which can still be paid for in the usual way.
According to Durov, developers on Telegram will soon be able to withdraw Stars in Toncoin (TON). These transfers will be made on Fragment, Telegram's official trading platform. Telegram will also sponsor ads purchased with Stars to encourage use of the currency and to prevent a 30% fee from being charged again on new Stars purchases on Apple and Google apps.
This isn't the end result of the Stars application. According to Durov, additional features — gifts to content creators and beyond — will be coming soon.
Toncoin (TON) rose 6% on the back of this innovation. The innovation may have had a negative impact on TON, but probably with the introduction of new add-ons for Stars, the damage to Telegram's native cryptocurrency will be minimized.
