The number of Telegram users worldwide is soaring.
The number of Telegram users worldwide is soaring. Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, announced on Monday that the messaging app has reached a milestone of 950 million monthly active users. "Up from 900 million in the spring," Durov wrote. "On track for 1 billion!"
This rapid growth is largely attributed to the immense popularity of crypto games on Telegram and the resurgence of The Open Network (TON). Originally founded by Telegram, TON was later abandoned in 2020 due to regulatory issues. However, a community of dedicated developers revived the blockchain project, which has since flourished.
The recent gaming fever on Telegram was ignited by Notcoin, a simple tap-to-earn game that captivated millions of players by offering copious amounts of in-game coins with a promise of future on-chain rewards. Enthusiastic players eagerly collected virtual currency, hoping to eventually convert it into a tangible crypto token.
Adding to the excitement, another cryptocurrency exchange began offering pre-market trading for Hamster Kombat’s HMSTR token on Monday. Bybit joined the ranks of exchanges enabling trading of in-game points ahead of the official token launch. Currently, HMSTR is trading at approximately $0.12 in USDT stablecoin on Bybit’s pre-market platform.
In May, Notcoin players were finally able to convert their in-game earnings into NOT tokens on the TON blockchain. Supported by major exchanges like Binance and OKX, the NOT token airdrop quickly became the largest gaming token launch of the year. TON now boasts a market capitalization of $17 billion, making it the 10th largest cryptocurrency by that measure.
While Notcoin paved the way, Hamster Kombat took the lead. Featuring a tap-to-earn mechanic, adorable hamster characters, and numerous ways to accelerate earnings, the game became a worldwide sensation. It achieved 100 million users in June. Earlier this month, Durov reported that Hamster Kombat had attracted 239 million users, dubbing it "the fastest-growing digital service in the world." Since then, the game has surpassed 250 million users.
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