- May 19, 2024
- Posted by: [email protected]
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Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of Telegram, has received a significant donation from over half a million players of the viral Telegram-based clicker game, Notcoin. These players contributed a portion of their in-game coins to Durov as a gesture of appreciation for the messaging app that facilitates the game. The donated tokens have surged in value to millions of dollars, with Durov stating his intention to hold onto the tokens until their value increases by 100 times.
In February, more than 552,000 players of Notcoin donated a share of their in-game coins to Durov, resulting in his acquiring over 1.03 billion NOT tokens. This accounts for slightly over 1% of the total Notcoin supply on The Open Network (TON). The current value of these tokens is approximately $7.3 million, though it was around $6.8 million when Durov initially announced the donation.
Despite his estimated fortune of $15.5 billion, according to Forbes, Durov is not in need of immediate cash and has no plans to sell the tokens in the near term. However, he has stated that if the value of the NOT tokens reaches $680 million, he will sell them to fund the purchase of additional servers for Telegram, thereby enhancing the infrastructure of the messaging app.
Notcoin, launched as this year’s largest gaming token, initially had a market capitalization of nearly $1.5 billion. Like many new cryptocurrencies, the value of NOT has experienced significant volatility, plummeting by 50% to its current price just above $0.007, according to CoinMarketCap. Despite the decline, NOT remains the 101st most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization, amounting to $746 million, and achieved a trading volume of over $1 billion within its first 24 hours.
To prepare for the token rollout, Notcoin temporarily paused its coin-tapping gameplay in April. The game is now set to relaunch its crypto-earning feature, with ambitions to evolve into a platform for additional games. Co-creator Sasha Plotvinov described the vision for Notcoin to become the “Netflix of social, viral games” in an interview with Decrypt’s GG in April.
Starting in November, TON Space, a self-custodial wallet, will be accessible to Telegram’s global user base without requiring any wallet registration. This new feature extends the existing custodial version of the Telegram wallet, which has already attracted three million registered users. However, due to increased regulatory scrutiny, the self-custodial wallet will not be available in the United States.
In addition to these developments, the Telegram TON Blockchain has introduced a new feature enabling Telegram users to transfer Tether (USDT). Furthermore, the team overseeing The Open Network (TON) blockchain has completed its transition into a Swiss non-profit organization, positioning it for broader adoption and enhanced regulatory compliance.
These initiatives underscore Telegram’s commitment to integrating blockchain technology and expanding its ecosystem. By holding onto the NOT tokens and planning strategic investments in Telegram’s infrastructure, Durov aims to leverage the growing value of cryptocurrencies to support and enhance the platform’s services, ultimately benefiting its vast user base.
