Jack Booth, co-founder of the Open Network (TON) Association, discussed Telegram's privacy retention features and the use cases for the Tether Dirham-pegged stablecoin at the Gateway event in Dubai with Cryptonews.
The TON Association is a core organization focused on all operations within the TON community, with Booth as its head. Its main purpose is to promote participation within the TON community, providing resources and networking opportunities for developers, builders, and enthusiasts interested in TON.
During the Gateway event, TON made several announcements, discussing upgrades to the Telegram application and the launch of a new governance model called Society DAO by the TON Foundation.
A Tether executive took the stage to state that the Dirham-pegged stablecoin would be built on the TON blockchain.
Telegram's ICO and Its Turbulent Past
TON appears to be making a strong comeback as a community-driven blockchain with strong momentum. Since the highly publicized failure of Telegram's first token offering (ICO) in 2018—a controversial venture in the blockchain space—the group has made significant strides in reshaping its image.
For those unfamiliar, Telegram raised approximately $1.7 billion from private investors through its ICO. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intervened in 2019, deeming the sale of GRAM tokens as an unregistered securities offering.
In 2020, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced that Telegram would abandon the TON project to comply with the court's ruling. Fast forward to 2024, both TON and Telegram have re-emerged as focal points of interest, establishing a stronger, more streamlined community. Telegram has integrated a TON-based crypto wallet called TON Space directly into its app, available to its vast user base of over 800 million users.
Booth, co-founder of TON Society, shared the backstory of this revamp with Cryptonews.
Booth mentioned that many open-source communities were vying for the rights to all assets. Ultimately, Kirill Emelyanenko and Anatoli Markov won the race, becoming the core developers of the new TON.
"So, after the core developers took over, they began developing the wallet and started building within the Telegram Mini Apps ecosystem," Booth said.
The Strong Use Case for the Dirham-Pegged Stablecoin
"The Dirham (stablecoin) is interesting because remittances from Dubai are the largest in scale and one of the largest remittance channels on the planet. Thus, Dubai to India and Dubai to the Philippines are two of the biggest remittance channels," Booth said.
Booth explained that billions of dollars are flowing from Dubai to countries like India and the Philippines. He highlighted this massive remittance and emphasized Dubai's role as a central hub.
The Arrest of Durov Was a Disturbing Moment for the TON Community
Booth believes Pavel's recent arrest was a deeply unsettling moment, particularly for freedom of speech, suggesting it seemed to be a politically motivated arrest aimed at showing he had not done that thing.
He noted that despite Pavel's active efforts to censor and manage such channels, he was accused of failing to remove illegal content from the platform. Booth believes that Pavel has since made it clear that he will work to remove illegal activities, aligning with the expectations of the French authorities.
Telegram's Recent Privacy Updates
Booth stated that while some may worry about Telegram's lack of end-to-end encryption, it is clear from their actions and public statements that they are actively managing and removing illegal channels. Booth explained:
"They (Telegram) are not disclosing the backend keys of the platform, thus still protecting privacy. Without the keys, it is difficult for governments to intervene and analyze each channel personally."
He emphasized that this does not mean Telegram would compromise user privacy by providing backdoor access to authorities. Without access to the keys, it would be challenging for governments to independently monitor and analyze each channel, making it difficult to identify illegal content without Telegram's cooperation.
For more news and exclusive conversations during the TON Gateway event, check out the full report by Tanzeel Akhtar here.
