Messaging app Telegram announced Sunday that in-app advertisements can be purchased using Toncoin, the TON blockchain’s native crypto.
The update is part of Telegram’s user monetization strategy. Under this, the app will begin allocating 50% of ad revenue generated within public channels directly to their owners.
Telegram chosen TON for its features including minimal transaction fees, processing speeds, and a record capacity for transactions per second.
The TON (The Open Network) blockchain is a community-driven solution for facilitating high-speed transactions and fostering decentralized applications (dApps). It uses a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, enabling millions of transactions per second through a process called sharding.
Sharding essentially distributes data storage and processing tasks among smaller validator groups, thereby minimizing transaction delays and maximizing network throughput.
Notably, in Oct. 2023, blockchain security firm Certik recognized the TON blockchain as the world’s fastest network, surpassing established payment systems like Solana, Polygon, Visa, and Mastercard with a record-breaking 104,715 transactions per second.
Telegram Ads Aim to Boost Creator Revenue
In February, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov hinted at the upcoming launch of the Telegram Ad Platform, targeting advertisers in almost 100 countries. He highlighted the platform’s potential, noting that Telegram’s broadcast channels garner 1 trillion monthly views.
However, despite this reach, monetization only captured a modest 10%, which the new Telegram Ads platform aims to address.
The latest announcement empowers channel owners to monetize their content more effectively. It also places Telegram alongside other social media titans like YouTube and X, which already offer similar revenue-sharing models with their users.
Telegram Ads Offer Targeted Promotion Opportunities
The famous messaging platform has introduced a budget-friendly advertising option for promoting bots and channels, allowing users to start with “a handful of Toncoins.”
Notably, advertisers retain full control over ad placement by selecting the specific channels where their ads will appear.
To incentivize content creation and platform engagement, Telegram offers channel owners several benefits. First, they can withdraw their ad revenue without incurring any fees. Second, they have the flexibility to reinvest their earnings back into the Telegram ecosystem through additional advertising, acquiring unique usernames, or hosting premium content giveaways.
Toncoin has risen over 123% in the past month, and last traded around $5.24 as of Monday.
