K33 Research Why is Telegram referred to as the cradle of encryption

Author: David Zimmerman, K33 Research; Translated by: BitpushNews Mary Liu
When listening to any crypto podcast or conference, you will hear crypto “natives” talking about the upcoming “killer” app, a crypto adoption tool that will take the world by storm.
But what if it already exists? We believe that Telegram and a few independent developers have made more progress in getting the public to adopt cryptocurrency than the $100 billion in venture capital that has poured into the field since 2014.


The adoption of cryptocurrency is hindered by the following factors: (i) poor user experience, (ii) limited practical utility, and (iii) poor distribution. By supporting and integrating the open network (TON), Telegram is addressing all of these issues, and more.
From the perspective of cryptocurrency enthusiasts
In its early stages of development and until recently, cryptocurrency has focused on niche technological development, primarily serving cryptocurrency speculators, lacking real-world practicality. With the emergence of spot ETFs and companies like BlackRock opening funds focused on asset tokenization, it is now time for evolution.
Telegram combines its messaging app with 800 million monthly active users, a blockchain that provides a track for TON cryptocurrency adoption, and a native wallet bot called Wallet. Many crypto slogans have romantically blurred the concept of “blending Web2 and Web3,” and Telegram is actually doing just that.
With this combination, Telegram addresses the three core issues that hinder cryptocurrency development.
In my opinion, stablecoins are the greatest product of cryptocurrency to date. Since the introduction of native USDT on TON in April, seamless transfer of P2P value has become a reality. Users can easily send cryptocurrency to friends just like sending a message on WhatsApp. This is more seamless than the user experience of new banks like Venmo or Revolut, and is light years ahead of traditional banks.


However, the opportunity to attract hundreds of millions of people to cryptocurrency is likely to come from Telegram’s Mini Apps – an open platform for businesses to build and deploy crypto-friendly apps. This will enable crypto teams to distribute their products to non-native crypto users, and the end users may not necessarily know that they are using crypto products – whether it’s fun mobile games or DeFi protocols.
From the perspective of crypto natives
Telegram has long established its position in the field of cryptocurrency. It is a popular platform for crypto natives to keep in touch or share ideas, often the first social media channel established by new cryptocurrency projects with their X accounts.
Recently, things have gone beyond that for on-chain traders. The new generation of Telegram trading bots has forever changed the user experience of cryptocurrency and may even change on-chain trading forever.
With just one command, buy/sell, set limit orders, scan new projects, preempt new releases, and copy “smart money” trades, all become simple.
With Telegram bots, I have completely overcome the frustrating user experience problems of on-chain trading, which has been refreshing. This is one of the few cases where a crypto product has made me say “Wow, this is great.” However, it does make altcoin trading more competitive and has stimulated what I consider to be “the surge of altcoin trading.”
Does this mean that altcoin trading/investment is dead? Far from it. The ease with which newcomers now interact with smart contracts is simply night and day compared to the beginning. Coupled with distribution and increasingly useful applications, this means that there will be a wave of new capital flowing into cryptocurrency in the coming years.
Exciting, but there is still work to be done
Our improvements in user experience should not be underestimated. I say this because I have been able to send non-crypto friends crypto through the TON wallet on Telegram. Before Telegram’s current infrastructure appeared, the thought of teaching friends how to use cryptocurrency made me sigh. Now, thanks to Telegram, I can’t think of anything simpler than this.
Have Telegram and TON won? Not entirely.
Improvements in user experience and distribution are a huge leap, but we have not yet seen a comprehensive application for consumers.
Mini Apps are in development, and game developers have a big incentive to build an interesting Telegram game to attract its massive user base. Unfortunately, what currently exists is more meme-based than utility-based. Regulation is still an issue, but this is an ongoing industry problem, not limited to Telegram or TON.
Telegram and TON have a lot of work to do, but I believe they will succeed. The market seems to be digesting this, as TON has entered the top 10 in terms of cryptocurrency market capitalization. The rise of TON is largely driven by the very familiar fervent speculation, but there is real fundamental support behind its growth.
Most of us hope to see a future where cryptocurrency is widely used by the public. Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov also holds this view and is a major advocate for Bitcoin. The mission statement of TON is to “put cryptocurrency in everyone’s pocket,” and in this ever-evolving industry, Telegram has more potential than any other project to be the first to achieve this goal.