telegram cryptocurrency

The encrypted messaging app Telegram plans to launch its own cryptocurrency – The Gram.

The announcement is somewhat of a surprise considering the volatile crypto market along with the fact that Telegram previously stated it was canceling the initial coin offering (ICO).

The company plans to deliver “the first batches” of the coin within the next two months, according to a The New York Times report. The launch comes with a tight deadline, if it doesn’t deliver by October 31st, it legally forfeits the $1.7 billion it raised to bring the digital currencies into existence.

The app, which is used by around 300 million people around the world, is also planning to make Gram wallets available to two-thirds of its users. With such a large user base Telegram could make Gram the go-to cryptocurrency for international payments, well ahead of Facebook’s Libra coin.

Telegram is one of the leader’s among other secure messaging apps, prioritizing security along with speed. Since the platform’s inception, Telegram’s owners offered $200,000 to anyone who could break their messenger’s encryption.

The company’s rapid growth and success have not shied investors away from being any less skeptical regarding its cryptocurrency project. It’s hard to say if the scheduled listing will be a success, there are currently minimal use case and the hard October 31st deadline doesn’t help Telegrams case for jumping into the crypto ring.

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