The community has eagerly awaited how this wallet will impact the use of Telegram bots in the industry.
Surge in Telegram Bot Token Rug Pulls
On September 13, Certik issued a cautionary message on X (formerly Twitter), advising users to exercise caution and avoid falling for the hype surrounding Telegram bot tokens due to concerns about rug pull scams.
“Our analysis reveals that more than 40% of Telegram bot tokens may potentially be exit scams.”
Telegram trading bots connect to decentralized exchanges, perform trades by a set rules, and usually charge a small fee. Certik highlights that since July 20, these tokens have witnessed an “astronomical surge” in popularity, with gains exceeding 1000%.
Certik attributes the surge in Telegram bot tokens to UNIBOT’s triumph. The price of UNIBOT increased by nearly 1300% on the day of its listing. This led to the current all-time high price of $90. At the time of publication, the current price is $73.
This comes amid Telegram launching a self-custodial wallet based on the TON network on September 13. The move was said to be in an effort to give users more control over their digital assets.
Dealer DeFi, an alias used by a user on X, highlighted findings from Binance research on Telegram trading bots and emphasized the potential for a significant increase in these numbers with wallet integration.
Telegram Bots, Binance Research. Source: DealerDeFi
For projects established on the TON blockchain, Telegram’s advertising platform will offer priority access. This functionality is presently accessible in user settings, and a global release is planned for later in the year.
However, this feature won’t be available to users in the United States.
This is not the first time that Telegram has worked with TON, previously referred to as Telegram Open Network.
In May 2020, Telegram announced that it would no longer be working with TON, citing regulatory pressures.
In a seperate announcement, Telegram founder Pavel Durov explained that a US court had stopped TON from emerging:
“I am writing this post to officially announce that Telegram’s active involvement with TON is over.”