Substitutes For WhatsApp Are Becoming Increasingly Popular, Prompting Many To Transition To These Alternatives

Photo: Foto: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Substitutes For WhatsApp Are Becoming Increasingly Popular, Prompting Many To Transition To These Alternatives

Thursday, 25 Jul 2024

Telegram has been rapidly gaining ground on WhatsApp, with over 950 million active users as of July 2024. Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, has set his sights on surpassing the 1 billion active user milestone by the end of this year. Durov recently announced in a Telegram channel that the company is preparing to introduce an app store and in-app browser with web page support later this month. Back in March, Telegram announced that its user base had exceeded 900 million. During an interview with the Financial Times, Durov mentioned that the company is aiming for profitability next year, as reported by TechCrunch on Thursday, July 25, 2024.

Telegram seems to be increasing its integration of web3 technologies on its platform. While the company has been a longtime supporter of cryptocurrency and blockchain initiatives, its endeavors to enter this space decelerated following the failure of its initial coin offering in 2018.

In December of 2022, the corporation initiated the process of auctioning off user names on the TON blockchain. Subsequently, the focus shifted towards assisting developers in creating mini-apps and games that utilize cryptocurrency for transactions. This current year marked the commencement of revenue sharing with channel owners through the distribution of Toncoins (tokens on the TON blockchain). Just recently, Telegram granted channel owners the ability to convert stars into Toncoins for the purpose of purchasing discounted ads or engaging in cryptocurrency trading. Nevertheless, as of November 2023, scammers have been actively promoting various fraudulent schemes aimed at stealing Toncoins from users, as reported by Kaspersky.

Durov recently discussed the matter in his channel update, mentioning that efforts are being made by the company to minimize these fraudulent activities. He stated, "Telegram will soon introduce the feature of showing the registration month and primary country for public accounts [similar to Instagram]. Additionally, organizations will be able to utilize mini-apps to assign channel labels, establishing a decentralized platform for third-party verification," as conveyed in his channel post.