Instant messaging App, Telegram has announced that its users can now send and receive TetherUSD (USDT) from each other through chats for free.
The feature is made available through the Telegram Wallet bot, which allows users to buy, send, and receive digital assets.
A quick look into the Telegram Wallet bot by Investors King shows that USDT support has already been integrated into the App. TetherUSDT now joins the two other assets (BTC and TON) already supported by the Wallet bot.
Users can buy Thether (USDT) seamlessly with their bank cards or through the dedicated P2P market without leaving the Telegram messaging application. With this, USDT stands to gain adoption from over 700 million monthly active users who chat with the messaging app.
In an announcement on its news channel, Telegram noted that “Sending USDT will be as easy as sending a photograph on Telegram”.
It could be recalled that the developers of Telegram, Paul Dirov and Nikolai Durov officially started The Open Network (TON) initiative in 2018 with a vision to make blockchain transactions as easy as sending and receiving messages. But, the project received a backlash from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In April 2022, bitcoin (BTC) and toncoin (TON) were added to the Telegram wallet’s marketplace. TON is the native token of The Open Network.
With this new development, some experts hold the opinion that Telegram is gradually making its way into the cryptocurrency realm. Such could trigger competition among social and messaging apps which could lead to more crypto adoption.
Meanwhile, a global fashion brand, Guess, has stated that it will now be able to accept cryptocurrency payments in Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) in the Swiss city of Lugano.
Customers will be able to buy clothing and accessories at the Guess boutique utilizing a POS system with Bitcoin and USDT.