The Web3 Journey of Telegram Mini Programs

Recently, the Telegram ecosystem has rapidly developed, becoming a hot topic in the Web3 field. The messaging platform Telegram, with 900 million users, has launched mini-programs and bot development features. Telegram mini-programs can replace most websites, supporting seamless authorization, integrated payments, and more customization features, such as automatic news sending, news summary services, and the recently popular Catizen mini-game. In addition, Telegram has developed the TON blockchain, supporting convenient blockchain transactions. This "traffic + payment" approach, similar to WeChat, has allowed Telegram to grow rapidly.

Telegram Mini Apps allow "mini-apps" to run within the application, providing a flexible interface similar to websites, enabling various operations directly within Telegram. Key features include:

1. Seamless Integration: Directly integrated into Telegram, allowing use without leaving the app.

2. Enhance user experience: Use interactive and complex web applications without the need for separate installation.

3. Versatility: Applicable to various scenarios such as e-commerce, customer support, gaming, etc.

4. Rapid Development: Quickly develop using familiar web technologies.

5. Cross-platform compatibility: Usable in all official Telegram applications.

6. Enhance user interaction: Simplify the communication methods between users and the project.

The collaboration between Telegram Mini Apps and the TON blockchain further enhances its functionality:

• The TON payment system allows for instant and fast payments within Telegram.
• Support fiat currency payments to expand payment coverage.
• The sharding technology of TON improves the scalability and performance of the blockchain
• The token economic model of TON provides an incentive mechanism for Mini Apps.

Telegram Mini Apps are becoming a bridge between Web2 and Web3. Some popular applications like NotCoin, Catizen, and Hamster Kombat demonstrate how to bring Web2 users into Web3:

NotCoin is a simple "tap tap tap" game that has attracted over 35 million players. Most tokens are distributed to users through airdrops, guiding them into cryptocurrency trading or using the TON wallet.

Catizen is a management game that has gained over 20 million users. Through in-game guidance, players are prompted to bind their TON wallets and engage in on-chain interactions, successfully bringing millions of users into the TON ecosystem.

Hamster Kombat combines gaming with cryptocurrency education, boasting over 200 million users. Through an airdrop mechanism and daily tasks, it guides users to register for a TON wallet and learn about Web3.

These applications have brought rapid user growth to TON, with the number of active wallets increasing from 1 million to over 10 million within 7 months. Telegram mini-programs have introduced a large number of new users to the Web3 world, but its ecosystem differs from the traditional finance-centric Web3.

1. Different user groups: The Telegram ecosystem mainly consists of consumers rather than investors.

2. Different application scenarios: The Telegram ecosystem mainly consists of projects related to gaming, gambling, and payments, relying on the number of users and the duration of use.

3. Different scale of funds: Although TON's TVL is growing rapidly, it is still far lower than that of mainstream public chains like ETH and Solana.

The Telegram ecosystem resembles WeChat Mini Programs enhanced by payment functions, rather than being finance-oriented like traditional Web3 projects. It is pioneering a new path to convert Web2 users into Web3 users, and may evolve into a super app like WeChat in the future. The development of the TON blockchain may be more inclined towards becoming a payment method and auxiliary tool for applications.