I never heard of the Durov brothers until I got exposed to the Ton blockchain. For many, the Russian sound of the name is enough to close their ears to whatever potential this blockchain has.
Using the mini-apps, I just realized recently that I have been on Telegram for seven years already. It was not until Dogs, also a Tap-2-Earn mini app announced an airdrop that I came to know that I have been using the platform for years. Nevertheless, I still didn’t see then its potential. I was suspicious of the messages I had been receiving via Telegram.
With the popularity of Tap-2-Earn games, my suspicious stance changed. I became more open and started to explore a few projects here and there. After more than a month, I find it exhausting. It’s like I am chasing the wind.
Currently, I am now in the wait-and-see mood when it comes to the Tap-2-Earn games. I just open the apps once in a while. Unlike before, I spend a lot of time following all these airdrops.
The evolution of Telegram is interesting. It started in 2013 as a messaging app focused on privacy and speed. I never expected that Telegram would serve as a platform that would play a significant role in the cryptocurrency space to achieve mass adoption. At least, that’s what they say is the goal of Telegram.
The story of the integration of Telegram to the Ton blockchain could be considered unplanned. This is what Hayek describes as “unintended consequences” when an omnipotent institution like the SEC tends to overestimate its power. The legal challenges that the Durov brothers from the hands of the U.S. SEC eventually led to the abandonment of the distribution of Gram, Telegram’s native token. Despite this setback, independent developers continued the project under a new name, The Open Network. Since the project is now owned by the community, it appears that the SEC is powerless to pursue its legal disputes against the project.
With the increasing popularity of Tap-2-Earn games using both Telegram and the TON blockchain, we still have to see if the goal of mass adoption can be attained. Hamster Kombat, X Empire, and Rocky Rabbit are just a few names that claim to have hundreds of millions of users which no other blockchain can claim to achieve in just a very short time.