Telegram launched a digital currency called Stars for in-app use last month. Now, the company is expanding its use cases to paid content. The chat app is also allowing channels to convert the stars they have to Toncoin — the cryptocurrency Telegram uses over The Open Network (TON) blockchain. Alternatively, they can use them to get discounts for channel promotions.
The company initially launched Stars to pay for digital goods offered by bots and apps within Telegram. Now, content creators can post content, which users can unlock with Stars.
The app is also allowing channel owners to withdraw Stars and convert them to Toncoin using the Fragment platform. If you have Toncoin, you can trade crypto through various exchanges and transfer money to your bank account. Notably, Telegram has been using this portal to auction usernames over the TON blockchain.
Alternatively, channel owners can use Stars to get discounts on ads through which they can promote their channels.
With its latest update, Telegram is also adding a Mini App bar at the bottom to let users quickly access mini apps without having to reload them.
The company has also added a few new ways for users to discover stories. They can now tap on a hashtag to see all public stories with that hashtag in the caption. The app already allows hashtag search for your chats and messages on public channels.
Similarly, users can now add a location tag to their stories and users can see all public stories from the same place by tapping on the tag.
In a quest to reach a billion active users and become profitable, Telegram has added a lot of business-centric features — such as allowing small businesses to add location and opening hours — this year so they can choose this platform over something like WhatsApp. In April, the company also introduced features like customized start pages, predefined greeting and away messages, and support for chatbots for businesses.
