Telegram Founder Talks on Launching A New Crypto Exchange And Non-Custodial Wallet

The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX has sent tremors across the crypto industry. However, social media giant Telegram sees it as an opportunity to make space for itself in the burgeoning crypto market.

On Wednesday, November 30, Telegram founder Pavel Durov said that they are willing to launch a bunch of decentralized cryptocurrency products, including a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) and a non-custodial wallet.

The announcement from Durov came on his official Telegram channel that read: “The blockchain industry was built on the promise of decentralization, but ended up being concentrated in the hands of a few who began to abuse their power.” 

In his initial comments, Durov directly referenced bankrupt crypto exchange FTX noting that “a lot of people lost their money when FTX, one of the largest exchanges, went bankrupt”.

He further added that the developments over the last year clearly hint the needs of decentralised products is greater than ever. “The solution is clear: blockchain-based projects should go back to their roots – decentralization. Cryptocurrency users should switch to trustless transactions and self-hosted wallets that don't rely on any single third party,” said Durov. 

To gain momentum for this initiative, Pavel Durov is seeking the help of developers in building a blockchain ecosystem away from centralization. With this move, the Telegram founder is taking direct aim at centralized crypto exchange, as the user-trust in them drops to an all time low.

Additionally, Durov also pointed at Telegram’s recent creation of decentralized auction platform Fragment that operate on The Open Network (TON), previously built by Telegram. He said that it took them only 5 weeks and 5 people to develop it.

“Fragment has been an amazing success, with 50 million USD worth of usernames sold there in less than a month,” Durov said. “This week, Fragment will expand beyond usernames,” explained Durov.

“Telegram’s next step is to build a set of decentralized tools, including non-custodial wallets and decentralized exchanges for millions of people to securely trade and store cryptocurrencies. This way we can fix the wrongs caused by the excessive centralization, which let down hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrency users,” he added. 

In another development, The Open Network (TON) stewards have set up their own “rescue fund” with an initial capital commitment of $126 million. TON said that thesis fund will support projects experiencing liquidity issues as a result of the FTX fallout. With this development, the TON Foundation is also looking to entice projects to its platform.