Popular messaging platform Telegram has announced that it has surpassed 10 million paying subscribers and will be launching a new feature called “Nearby Businesses.” The feature will allow verified businesses to showcase their product catalogs and accept payments directly through the app.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov celebrated the milestone in a statement, also announcing a series of updates and changes aimed at improving user experience and platform security.
While the general cryptocurrency market is experiencing a decline today, Telegram-backed Toncoin (TON) has gained 2.44% in the last 24 hours. However, following the announcement, the TON price has also lost approximately 1% of its value along with the general decline.
One of the most significant changes is the removal of the “People Nearby” feature, which Durov said was used by less than 0.1% of Telegram users and had become problematic due to issues with bots and scammers. In its place is the “Nearby Businesses” feature, designed to promote legitimate and verified businesses. These businesses will be able to display product catalogs and seamlessly process payments, increasing the platform’s utility for both users and businesses.
Telegram has also disabled new media uploads to its independent blogging tool, the Telegraph, citing abuse by anonymous individuals.
Durov acknowledged the challenges Telegram faces when a small portion of its user base engages in illegal activities, saying that this damages the platform’s reputation. “While 99.999% of Telegram users have nothing to do with crime, the 0.001% that engage in illegal activities create a bad image for the entire platform, putting the interests of nearly a billion of our users at risk,” Durov said.
*This is not investment advice.
