Telegram launches sale of anonymous numbers on Fragment

In the latest update, Telegram добавил the ability to register an account without a SIM card, using anonymous numbers based on blockchain.

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They can be purchased with the cryptocurrency Toncoin (TON) on the Fragment platform, launched on October 27. Prices range from 11 TON ($20) to 31,500 TON ($57,330).

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The Telegram team described the solution as “a new era of privacy”.

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“When using Telegram, your phone number has never been visible to strangers: our users themselves decide whom to show it to, and can forbid others from being found by their phone number,” the update text says.

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For privacy, Telegram also added a universal timer for automatically deleting messages in all new private chats, even if the other party sends the first message.

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The blockchain auction Fragment was originally created to sell account identifiers. In early November, the first Telegram username was bought on the platform, @auto — @auto. Its price amounted to 900,000 TON (about $1.4m).

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Earlier in November, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced a non-custodial wallet and decentralized applications, including DEX, from the Telegram team.

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