Notcoin Founder Discusses the Rise of Telegram Games

Both large and small companies are developing games on Telegram using the Tap-to-Earn model due to the potentially low cost of acquiring new customers. This was stated by Notcoin founder Alexander Plotvinov in an interview with The Block. 

According to his estimate, each new user costs crypto companies approximately $10–15, but with a mini-game on Telegram, this can be achieved for less than $1. This levels the playing field for projects of various scales.

Plotvinov categorised the existing Telegram community teams into two types. 

“The first are essentially just poor guys from nowhere who decide to build something and end up with millions of users. The second segment consists of established companies that kind of envy the numbers and acquisition costs,” said Plotvinov.

While for the former, such an approach is an undeniable “success,” the launch of mini-games by industry giants, such as Binance, seems “strange” to the developer.

However, the long-term success of projects cannot rely solely on the active growth of Telegram messenger users and the internal wallet TON Space. Unlike the NOT token from Notcoin, whose market capitalisation at one point exceeded $2 billion and which continues to show stable trading volumes since the initial airdrop, the HMSTR token from Hamster Kombat has not shown such strong results since its token generation.

Plotvinov emphasised that he does not believe in the perpetual profit of the Tap-to-Earn model, where players are motivated solely by potential earnings. Consequently, Notcoin is attempting to diversify by launching new games such as Lost Dogs and Not Pixel. The latter, according to the developer, managed to attract about 17 million new users in a few weeks.

At the beginning of 2024, the analytical Web3 company Helika, supported by Notcoin, launched a $50 million gaming accelerator on Telegram. The program has now received over 250 applications. 

Helika co-founder and CEO Anton Umnov explains developers’ interest in creating games based on the messenger by saying they gain a convenient “innovation lab” for testing projects and developing the community. 

Back in June, Plotvinov had already stated that “clickers” would not have long-term success among users and do not contribute to revenue generation. As a result, the Notcoin project intends to move away from the clicker idea to create a more sustainable model.