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Worldcoin integrates with Shopify, Mercado Libre, Minecraft, Reddit and Telegram

Worldcoin released a new version of its World ID feature with multiple app integrations.

Worldcoin has launched a new version of its World ID feature, called “World ID 2.0″.

According to a Dec. 12 announcement, the new version is integrated with Shopify, Mercado Libre, Reddit and Telegram, allowing users to prove their humanness on these platforms.

The announcement stated that the new app integrations add to existing ones, including Discord, Talent Protocol, and Okta’s Auth0. The new version also allows app developers to choose between different levels of authentication, ranging from “lite” to “max.”

Blockchain messaging is going to replace Telegram and Discord

Your crypto wallet will become your mailbox and offer functionalities that Web2 messaging platforms like Discord and Telegram can only dream about.

A new era of messaging applications will soon cross the chasm of Web3 mass adoption. Web3 messaging applications will become an integral part of the blockchain ecosystem, allowing users to communicate with each other and interact with decentralized applications (DApps) and the protocols themselves in a secure, direct, decentralized manner. This editorial will discuss the benefits and challenges of Web3 messaging applications and their impact on the future of communication.

Web3 messaging protocols, such as the Extensible Message Transport Protocol (XMTP), are implemented on a decentralized communication network, using a peer-to-peer architecture to facilitate communication between verifiable identifiers like an Ethereum public address or an Ethereum Name Service domain. Unlike traditional messaging platforms such as Telegram or Discord, which are centralized and rely on central servers to route messages, Web3 messaging protocols use decentralized networks to create a trustless environment where users can communicate without intermediaries through their wallets.

One of the advantages of Web3 messaging protocols is their decentralized nature, ensuring the security of messages. With traditional messaging platforms, messages are often stored on centralized servers, leaving them vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches. In contrast, Web3 messaging protocols use encryption algorithms to protect messages from unauthorized access, making them virtually impossible to intercept or decrypt.

Further, it is easy for the recipient of a message to prove the authenticity of the message sender. If you look at Twitter or Discord, they are full of scammers and phishing attacks through “official” fake accounts. Proving the authenticity of a sender is extremely easy when using Web3 messaging applications and massively lowers the chance of becoming the victim of a scammer, as it can be quickly verified on-chain.

Another benefit of Web3 messaging protocols is their ability to enable micropayments for messaging services. Micropayments can help combat spam and trolling, as spammers are less likely to waste their money on low-quality messages.

pic.twitter.com/BJfyrdBkuh

— ShitpostGateway (@ShitpostGate) March 21, 2023

Of course, users do not need to pay anything if they don’t want to when messaging, but they have the feature to require senders to pay a fee to send them a message to lower spam and also as a way to generate revenue. One could imagine a feature where if someone who is not in your contacts wants to contact you, they are required to pay a certain amount in tokens that are locked and can be returned by the sender if the message is genuine and not spam. This could solve the spam issue of Web2.

However, there are also challenges associated with Web3 messaging applications. One major issue is scalability, as the current infrastructure of most blockchain networks cannot support the high volume of messages that traditional messaging platforms handle. In addition, Web3 messaging protocols currently require a certain level of technical proficiency to use, which may deter less tech-savvy users from adopting them.

Both of those issues have been addressed or will be addressed soon. With more and more scaling solutions on the market, the scalability issue will be solved — or in some cases, it has already. Account abstraction solutions are being invented that will not require the average user to be tech-savvy to interact with them.

Furthermore, there is a risk that Web3 messaging protocols could become a communication method for criminals, as the decentralized nature of the network makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to track and trace illegal activities. As a result, there is a need for clear regulations and guidelines to ensure that Web3 messaging protocols are not exploited for nefarious purposes.

Despite these challenges, the potential of Web3 messaging applications is enormous. As the world becomes increasingly digital, the need for secure, decentralized communication will only continue to grow. Web3 messaging applications have the potential to revolutionize the way we communicate, allowing for a new level of privacy, security and transparency. Discord and Twitter will be made obsolete as data moves on-chain.

Web3 messaging protocols are a promising development in the blockchain ecosystem, offering a secure, decentralized way to communicate between users, DApps and protocols. While there are challenges associated with their adoption, such as scalability and the risk of misuse, the benefits of Web3 messaging protocols outweigh the risks. As blockchain technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see more innovation in the realm of Web3 messaging, paving the way for a new era of communication that makes the old apps obsolete.

Darius Moukhtarzadeh is an entrepreneur and advisor focused on decentralized social media applications. He’s the co-founder of memester.xyz, an NFT meme platform on Lens Protocol, and previously worked as a researcher for Sygnum, a digital asset bank. He also worked for Ernst & Young in blockchain consultancy and for several startups in the Swiss Crypto Valley.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Cardano recovers from an outage on 50% relay and block-producing nodes

An anomaly apparently caused around half of Cardano’s nodes to disconnect and restart over the weekend, with the root cause still under investigation.

Cardano stake pool operators (SPO) and users have been reporting at least half of the nodes for the network briefly went offline over the weekend.

According to a Jan. 22 post shared on the Telegram SPO for Input Output Global, the engineering and research fintech behind the Cardano blockchain, an anomaly caused 50% of Cardano nodes to disconnect and restart.

Last night during the anomaly on the #Cardano network, the entire network did not go down. There was a brief period of degradation. Most nodes impacted had gracefully recovered. No network restart was required. pic.twitter.com/FupQXk2otV

— Rick McCracken DIGI (@RichardMcCrackn) January 22, 2023

“This appears to have been triggered by a transient anomaly causing two reactions in the node, some disconnected from a peer, others threw an exception and restarted,” the post said, explaining the sudden disruption.

Despite a momentary degradation, the Cardano network recovered without external intervention. As explained in the post, “such transient issues” were considered in the node design and consensus and “the systems behaved exactly as expected.”

During the anomaly, which happened between block 8300569 and 8300570, block production reportedly kept going but was slowed for a few minutes and the “impact was low, akin to the delays that occur during normal operations.”

“Most nodes automatically recovered, depending on the SPO of choice.”

At the time of writing, the root cause of the anomaly and resulting node disconnections and restarts are still under investigation.

“We’re now investigating the root cause for this anomalous behavior and implementing further logging measures alongside our regular monitoring procedures,” stated the official announcement.

Tom Stokes, the co-founder of Node Shark and a Cardano SPO, reported in a Jan. 22 post that more than half of the listed nodes were affected.

He also shared a chart showing where the network sync fell from 100% to slightly above 40% for over 300 reporting nodes.

A few hours ago over half of all #Cardano nodes went offline. This is why decentralization matters. pic.twitter.com/NXDVyKy8ep

— Tom Stokes (@eUTxO_pro) January 22, 2023

According to Stokes chart, the network sync recovered back to around 87% after the drop but did not immediately return to its previous level at 100%.

Another SPO reported similar issues to Stoke in a Jan. 22 post, but declared “Some SPOs saw no impact.”

“Others had relays and BPs restart. SPOs, Devs, and IOG are in Discord debugging atm. No root cause yet,” they said.

Telegram to allow no-sim accounts via anon-blockchain-numbers

Telegram has increased its security features by enabling support from anonymous blockchain-based numbers that go for around $16.

Messaging app Telegram has rolled out a new update enabling users to create accounts using blockchain-based anonymous numbers, as opposed to cell phone numbers.

Telegram already hides people’s private phone numbers from non-added users on the app. However, users will now be able to hide numbers from everyone, which is likely to please people who value privacy-focused features.

The messaging platform has become a popular app for crypto enthusiasts. The move is part of a 9.2 update launched on Dec. 6, which also enables users to auto-delete timers on messages in new chats.

Ultimate Privacy: No-SIM Signup, Auto-Delete All Chats, Temporary QR Codes, Topics 2.0 and More https://t.co/NtpPjNnf9q

— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) December 7, 2022

To use the feature, users will need to purchase “blockchain-powered anonymous numbers” from Fragment, a decentralized auction platform founded by Telegram creator Pavel Durov.

Fragment sells user names and anonymous numbers that are only compatible with Telegram. Purchases are made on the platform via Telegram’s affiliated token The Open Network (TON).

Unfortunately for United States users, however, Fragment does not offer its services to citizens located there.

*blockchain-based anonymous numbers: Fragment*

Upon purchasing a number, people can then use these private numbers to receive verification code texts after signing in to Telegram.

People can purchase a random number on Fragment for 9 TON, or $16, or they can buy and sell ones via auction. It appears that some specific numbers are attracting a lot of demand, as “+888 8 888” currently has the highest bid of 33,075 TON, or $60,527 at the time of writing.

Following the FTX debacle last month, Durov revealed via his Telegram channel on Nov. 30 that the company is building a suite of decentralized tools in response to yet another occurrence of malfeasance by a centralized crypto entity.

Adding to Fragment, Durov indicated that Telegram is looking to roll out noncustodial wallets and decentralized exchanges, among other apps.

“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,” he wrote.

Telegram founder wants to build new decentralized tools to combat power abuse

The messaging platform is building a set of decentralized tools, including noncustodial wallets and decentralized exchanges.

Telegram is set to build a set of decentralized tools, including noncustodial wallets and decentralized exchanges, said founder Pavel Durov via his Telegram channel on Nov. 30.

The initiative is a response to the recent FTX collapse, said Durov, as the industry wound up concentrated in the “hands of a few to abuse their power. As a result, a lot of people lost their money when FTX, one of the largest exchanges, went bankrupt.”

The announcement comes weeks after the launch of Fragment, a decentralized auction platform for unique usernames based on The Open Network, or TON, layer-1 blockchain. According to Durov, Fragment has seen $50 million in usernames sold in less than a month.

Besides founding Telegram and Fragment, Durov was also behind the first official version of the TON blockchain. Regarding the new decentralized tools being developed, he said:

“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.”

Durov also remarked on the inefficiencies of legacy platforms, specifically mentioning Ethereum, “which unfortunately remains outdated and expensive even after its recent tweaks.” He went on to say:

“The time when the inefficiencies of legacy platforms justified centralization should be long gone. With technologies like TON reaching their potential, the blockchain industry should be finally able to deliver on its core mission – giving the power back to the people.”

The most recent tool released by Telegram’s team, Fragment, was built in five weeks with five people working on the solution, according to Durov. The idea was first floated in late August, with the team aiming to use “NFT-like smart contracts” to auction highly sought-after usernames. Fragment launched shortly after the TON Foundation launched the TON DNS, allowing users to assign human-readable names to crypto wallets, smart contracts and websites.

TON Telegram integration highlights synergy of blockchain community

Independent developers from The Open Network community developed a Telegram bot for trading and transferring cryptocurrency.

As a result of a recent upgrade to the wallet bot, users of the Telegram app are now able to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies without leaving the application. The wallet bot was developed by The Open Network (TON, formerly Telegram Open Network) in April. The bot initially enabled users to buy, sell and trade Toncoin (TON) within the Telegram app, but a new update has added a fully functioning cryptocurrency wallet to the application.

An independent team of TON developers created the wallet bot to simplify crypto transactions for Telegram users. A representative from the TON Foundation told Cointelegraph, “The creation of the wallet bot is handled by an independent development team, and we are certainly happy that more and more projects are choosing TON as the basis for creating new products,” continuing to say:

“TON is intended for millions of users, and one of our goals is to make the use of blockchain no more complicated than using applications that users are used to.”

The wallet bot also serves as a fiat on-ramp, allowing users to buy TON using their credit cards within the Telegram app. The currently supported fiat currencies for buying and selling Toncoin are United States dollars, euros, Ukrainian hryvnia, Belarusian rubles and Kazakhstani tenge.

Regarding transactions within Telegram, the exchange service that facilitates them also functions as a guarantee and resolves any required conflicts that may arise between the two parties involved in the transaction. The other party may carry out the transactions in complete anonymity; nevertheless, users must provide the bot with their cell phone numbers before participating in any cryptocurrency-related activities made accessible by the application.

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The wallet bot doesn’t charge any fees for buying crypto through Telegram, but sellers will be charged a commission fee equivalent to 0.9% of the selling price for each complete transaction. Currently, the app can only be used to purchase Toncoin (TON) and Bitcoin (BTC). However, the TON Foundation plans to expand the number of cryptocurrencies available for purchase. In addition, in order to transfer crypto through the peer-to-peer functionality on Telegram, users need to register with The Open Network.

When transferring crypto to another person, users send the coins to the recipient’s Telegram handle instead of their address. The TON Foundation representative highlighted this feature, saying, “The @wallet bot team is making great strides in this direction, as you can now buy, exchange, and send Toncoin to your contacts without leaving Telegram. There is no need for long addresses or special applications. We think that the future lies in projects like this.”

History of Telegram and The Open Network

Telegram Messenger grew massively in popularity within the crypto community due to its encrypted messaging and ability to create group chats. The bot functionality also makes automating tasks within the groups and chats easier. For example, bots can ban users, respond to questions and link users to useful resources for a project.

In 2017, Telegram began monetization plans for the application since it did not use ads. As part of this plan, Telegram Open Network, or The Open Network, was founded by Telegram founders Pavel and Nikolai Durov, and the white paper was released in January 2018. The Open Network was developed as a platform for decentralized apps and an alternative payment processing network to major networks like Visa.

To raise funds for the development of TON, Telegram held a private sale for the GRAM, which investors could exchange for the TON token when launched. However, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission would later class the token sale as an unregistered securities offering. As a result, Telegram decided to end its active involvement with TON in 2020.

On June 11, 2020, Telegram and the SEC reached a deal in which Telegram agreed to reimburse $1.22 billion as a termination fee in GRAM purchase agreements and pay an $18.5 million penalty to the SEC. Telegram also agreed to provide the SEC prior notice if the company planned to sell any digital assets during the next three years.

On May 7, 2020, Free TON was launched as an independent venture to continue the development of the Telegram Open Network, using the freely available source code. The community later grew to over 30,000 members by January 2021, and the Telegram team later transferred the ton.org domain and GitHub repository to the TON Foundation by August 4, 2021.

The TON foundation has assumed responsibility for the Telegram token’s underlying cryptocurrency (TON). Before this, users of the apps collaborated on a fundraising effort for the cause. As a result, they contributed more than $1 billion to the growth of the TON ecosystem, which was made possible by their donations.

What the future holds for TON and Telegram

It is possible that the TON Foundation’s new Telegram bot update may pave the way for a global cryptocurrency payments service. Furthermore, since the app has over 500 million active users globally, it can act as a catalyst for further crypto adoption if the wallet bot proves to be popular.

When asked about the future of Telegram and The Open Network, a TON Foundation representative told Cointelegraph, “Telegram is a user-friendly platform for everyone in the Web3 world — both for communication and developing products using their disruptive technologies. Furthermore, the open platform allows developers to create working products with real-world use cases that can be deployed in the app.”

“The wallet bot, based on TON, is a great example of this. There are also many services on Telegram that already use TON, such as donate, mobile and others,” they stated, adding, “A significant development is the launch of the Telegram username auction, which is a great demonstration of how the simplicity of tokenization on TON can open up many real-world examples of the use of blockchain technology.”

As well as the wallet bot, The Open Network has developed additional Telegram bots that serve different purposes. The donate bot allows creators to post messages that accept donations via special action buttons that will facilitate a payment process within the Telegram application. The process works by a user contacting the donate bot and following the instructions.

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The user will also have to add the bot as an administrator on the channel and submit payout information so they can receive the donations. The mobile bot allows users to access the internet when Wi-Fi is unavailable. The Telegram username auction allows users to purchase and auction off their Telegram handles for TON tokens.

The recent update to Telegram’s wallet bot can open up a wider range of the public to using cryptocurrency. It can also further solidify Telegram’s reputation as one of the go-to apps for blockchain-based projects seeking to build a community, especially if additional tokens are added to the platform. Telegram already has a lot of the crypto community using the application, and the ability to buy and transfer crypto could bring non-crypto users into the market.

FTX website comes back online with message advising against deposits

Neither FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried nor any FTX official has provided its users with clarity as to why FTX’s website was taken down.

Financially-troubled crypto exchange FTX has brought its website back online following a period of intermittent downtime — with the trading platform now sporting a banner confirming withdrawals are halted and advising users against depositing.

The FTX website returned online at approximately 9:00 pm UTC on Nov. 9, after encountering five separate periods of network downtime spanning over two hours, according to the “IS IT DOWN OR JUST ME” website.

The crypto community on Twitter has also noticed a new bright red banner that can be seen throughout the website that reads:

“FTX is currently unable to process withdrawals. We strongly advise against depositing.”

*FTX’s notification on deposits and withdrawals on the trading platform. Source: FTX.com*

A pinned message on the official FTX Telegram Group on Nov. 8 also confirmed the halting of withdrawals, without any estimates about when they would return.

“We are waiting for confirmation from our team to ramp it up. Right now we dont have an ETA but surely will communicate it as soon as we have it,” a member of FTX support staff wrote in the message.

Attempting to sign up for a new account on the website also comes with an alert that “signups are paused” at this current time, Cointelegraph has discovered.

This suggests that deposits, while “strongly advised against,” are only accessible to those who have existing accounts on the trading platform.

Meanwhile, two websites linked to the crypto exchange including Alameda Research and FTX Ventures remain down at the time of writing.

It comes amid an ongoing liquidity crisis being faced by the crypto exchange.

A Nov. 9 report from the Wall Street Journal claims that the exchange is facing a shortfall of $8 billion and is unable to meet withdrawal demands without emergency funding.

Binance initially signed a non-binding letter of intent to buy out the embattled exchange but pulled out less than 48 hours later, citing the mishandling of customer funds and alleged United States agency investigations as the reasons for its change in decision.

Google search results for “FTX website” also saw a large spike over the last few hours following the reports that the FTX website was intermittently going down, according to Google Trends:

*Google searches for “FTX website'” over the last seven days. Source: Google Trends*

Russia’s Central Bank report examines crypto’s place in the financial system

Russia’s Central Bank has released a report on digital assets which looks at how the technology could be integrated into its traditional financial system.

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is looking at ways to integrate crypto assets and blockchain technology into its local financial system amid a pile-on of global financial sanctions.

In a Telegram post by the CBR on Nov. 7, the central bank shared a public consultation report titled “Digital Assets in Russian Federation.”

It considers how the sanction-hit state may possibly open up its domestic market to foreign issuers of digital assets — particularly those from “friendly countries.”

Other areas of focus in the report are digital asset regulation, retail investor protections, digital property rights related to smart contracts and tokenization, as well as reformed accounting and taxation proposals.

The CBR stated that it strongly supports the “further development of digital technologies” provided they don’t create “uncontrollable” financial or cybersecurity risks for consumers.

Despite the nascency of blockchain technology, CBR said the same regulatory rules concerning the issuance and circulation of traditional financial instruments should also extend to digital assets.

The CBR said regulation over the short term should focus on protecting investor rights, strengthen rules for admitting a digital asset into circulation, ensuring the issuer is accredited and ensuring the issuer discloses all relevant information to investors.

The Central Bank’s message on Telegram, originally written in Russian, said while the legal framework for digital assets has been created, improved regulation is required for its continued development.

“Russia has created the necessary legal framework for the issuance and circulation of digital assets […] But so far the market is at the initial stage of its development […] and is many times inferior to the market of traditional financial instruments. Its further development requires improved regulation.”

As for smart contract regulation, the central bank acknowledged that a legislative framework was already in effect — however, it proposes that Russian-created smart contracts be independently audited before being deployed.

CBR was also positive about the potential for tokenized off-chain assets. However, the bank noted that legislation would need to be put in place to ensure a “legal connection” exists between the token holder and the token itself.

The report comes as the Russian Ministry of Finance recently approved the use of cryptocurrencies as a cross-border payment method by Russian residents on Sept. 22.

However, the CBR’s 33-page report made no reference to the increase in sanctions that have been imposed on Russia and the crippling effect it has had on its economy — nor did it discuss the Russia-Ukraine War that is currently taking place in Ukraine.

It however mentions a separate report it is working on, which focuses on Russia’s new central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the digital ruble —which is expected to be piloted in early 2023.

In Aug. 2022, The CBR stated that they plan on rolling out the digital ruble to all Russian-based banks in 2024.

Russia’s Central Bank report examines crypto’s place in the financial system

Russia’s central bank has released a report on digital assets which looks at how the technology could be integrated into its traditional financial system.

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is looking at ways to integrate crypto assets and blockchain technology into its local financial system amid a pile-on of global financial sanctions.

In a Telegram post by the CBR on Nov. 7, the central bank shared a public consultation report titled “Digital Assets in Russian Federation.”

It considers how the sanction-hit state may possibly open up its domestic market to foreign issuers of digital assets — particularly those from “friendly countries.”

The CBR stated that it strongly supports the “further development of digital technologies” provided they don’t create “uncontrollable” financial or cybersecurity risks for consumers.

Despite the nascency of blockchain technology, CBR said the same regulatory rules concerning the issuance and circulation of traditional financial instruments should also extend to digital assets.

The CBR said regulation over the short term should focus on protecting investor rights, strengthening rules for admitting a digital asset into circulation, ensuring the issuer is accredited and ensuring the issuer discloses all relevant information to investors.

The central bank’s message on Telegram, originally written in Russian, said while the legal framework for digital assets has been created, improved regulation is required for its continued development:

“Russia has created the necessary legal framework for the issuance and circulation of digital assets […] But so far the market is at the initial stage of its development […] and is many times inferior to the market of traditional financial instruments. Its further development requires improved regulation.”

As for smart contract regulation, the central bank acknowledged that a legislative framework was already in effect. However, it proposes that Russian-created smart contracts be independently audited before being deployed.

The report comes as the Russian Ministry of Finance recently approved the use of cryptocurrencies as a cross-border payment method by Russian residents on Sept. 22.

It, however, mentions a separate report it is working on, which focuses on Russia’s new central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the digital ruble —which is expected to be piloted in early 2023.

In Aug. 2022, The CBR stated that they plan on rolling out the digital ruble to all Russian-based banks in 2024.

Telegram username auction marketplace ‘almost’ ready to launch

Telegram said that the development of its marketplace is almost finished, and a launch date will be announced soon.

The popular messaging app Telegram has developed a new marketplace that doesn’t involve nonfungible tokens (NFTs). The social messaging platform said that it is all set to launch its marketplace for auctioning unique usernames for social platforms, an idea first floated in August.

In an official announcement on its Telegram channel, the firm said that the development phase of the marketplace is near its end. The marketplace is based on its native blockchain called The Open Network (TON).

The idea was first teased by the company founder Pavel Durov in late August this year when he proposed a marketplace that could utilize “NFT-like smart contracts” to auction highly-sought after usernames. Durov made the suggestion after the “success” of domain name auctions by The Open Network (TON), a layer-1 blockchain originally designed by the Telegram team.

Durov said at the time that a new marketplace, where username holders could transfer them to interested parties in protected deals — with ownership secured on the blockchain via NFT-like smart contracts — could become a sought-after service in Web3. He added that other elements of the Telegram ecosystem, including channels, stickers or emojis, could later also become part of this marketplace.

Telegram didn’t respond to Cointelegraph’s requests for comments at the time of publishing.

Telegram started its Web3 and crypto endeavor with hopes of launching a digital payments platform for Telegram. However, like many other platforms from the initial coin offering (ICO) era, Telegram also ran into trouble with the United States regulators for the unregistered sale of its Gram token.

After losing a court battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020, Durov stepped away from the project to focus on Telegram. Since then, open-source developers have revived the project under the banner of The Open Network.