cryptovibes.com
After months of secrecy, Telegram has finally started to make public strides into its cryptocurrency projects. The company recently updated its Terms of Service to reflect the introduction of its cryptocurrency wallet.
Grams Wallet introduced
Telegram Messenger’s official cryptocurrency wallet Grams Wallet was recently added to the Terms of Service of the app. The terms suggest that the new crypto wallet could either be incorporated into the Telegram Messenger itself or could be offered as a new application. Though the change in ToS is not a significant event, this is the first time that the company has made an official statement about its involvement in the crypto markets.
Unlike Facebook, which announced its crypto token Libra a year before its planned launch, Telegram has been keeping its crypto projects hidden. Since then, Mark Zuckerberg-led social media giant has faced intense criticism and regulatory scrutiny from global banks and governments. All of them believe that Facebook’s cryptocurrency could threaten global financial systems. French and German governments have vowed to keep Facebook out as well.
Will Telegram face regulatory restrictions too?
Telegram and its founder Pavel Durov, have historically avoided paying heed to any kind of regulations. The app was banned in Russia and openly asked users to download VPNs so that they could access Telegram services. Now, it is planning to ensure that its wallet services reach its huge userbase of 300 million.
The company hasn’t made many details about the wallet clear. However, it seems evident that the first users of the coin will start receiving their Gram tokens soon. Telegram suggests that it will not store the passwords, backup phrases, private or public keys or any credentials of the users.
In a way, Gram is similar to Libra. It is launched by a private company and will be used for making payments across the world. The Gram wallet could be used to store, send and receive digital currencies. However, since Telegram doesn’t store any keys, the users will not be able to recover their lost funds or data if they ever lose access to their wallets.
The company, just like Facebook, claims that it does not bear any control over the underlying TON blockchain. The distributed public ledger will contain all transactions made on the blockchain without any manipulation or interference from the company. The blockchain network itself is expected to launch this month, which means that the first tokens could be available in the weeks to come.