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Summary:

• Summary:

• Messaging software Telegram is about to launch a user name auction platform.

The market may also support other elements of the Telegram ecosystem in the future, including channels, stickers or emoji.

Would you pay for a username on social media? Telegram hopes so.Telegram Usernames announced in the official channel

, will soon launch a username auction platform on The Open Network (TON) chain, "The development phase is almost over, and the auction platform will be launched soon."Telegram founder Pavel Durov first revealed the project back in August

, saying it was inspired by the recent successful case of TON auctioning wallet usernames. He stated, “I was very impressed with TON’s recent successful auction of its domain name/wallet name. Wallet.ton sold for 215,250 Toncoins (approximately $260,000) and casino.ton sold for approximately $244,000 .”

Pavel Durov pointed out, "TON is able to achieve such good results, imagine how successful Telegram with 700 million users would be if we used reserved usernames, groups and channel links for auction. Besides millions of All four-letter usernames are for sale (@bank, @club, @game, @gift, etc.) in addition to t.me vanity addresses like @storm or @royal."

He added that “other elements of the Telegram ecosystem, including channels, stickers or emojis, could then also become part of that market.”

Paying for a username is nothing new. More than 500,000 people have paid for usernames on Ethereum through the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), according to market tracker data from Non Fungible.

It's not just something that's trending in the Web3 space, either. It's getting harder and harder to get the usernames you want on platforms like Twitter and Instagram, and some people are going out of their way to get them. All kinds of tips and tricks can be found online: from asking platforms to reassign unused usernames to elaborate copyright schemes.

Others are even more exaggerated. Some services will even gain social media names by hacking the original owner.

Telegram started exploring blockchain solutions in 2018 and worked on what was then known as the Telegram Open Network. Later that year, the company raised $1.7 billion by selling TON tokens.

In October 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused it of conducting an unregistered securities offering and sued Telegram. In 2020, under pressure from regulators, Telegram abandoned the project.