According to an official press release published on Bitcoin.com, AdGram — the largest advertising exchange operating within Telegram — has partnered with the FreeTON community to fully integrate TON Crystal (Crystal) tokens into its payment system. This move aims to streamline cross-border settlements in advertising transactions and promote the real-world adoption of cryptocurrencies in digital advertising.
From Multi-Currency Headaches to Unified Crypto Payments
Founded approximately one year ago, AdGram specializes in helping brands deploy large-scale ad campaigns across Telegram channels and groups efficiently, while enabling channel owners to grow their audiences and boost ad revenue. During its operations, the service encountered a persistent challenge: multi-currency settlement. Advertisers and administrators from different countries had to deal with various fiat currencies, high banking fees, and slow transfer speeds. After extensive research, the team concluded that cryptocurrency was the optimal solution to these pain points.
FreeTON: A Community-Driven Successor to TON
In May 2020, the Telegram team announced the discontinuation of its official development of the TON (Telegram Open Network) project. However, the community quickly stepped in. FreeTON was launched, leveraging the open-source code of the original TON to continue network development and minting the Crystal token. Unlike most projects, all tokens in FreeTON belong entirely to the community, and it operates as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), giving it strong community consensus and censorship resistance.
Seeing the potential of FreeTON's underlying technology and its rapidly expanding community, AdGram partnered with the FreeTON community in October 2020 to fully integrate Crystal as a payment method. Since then, advertisers and channel administrators have been able to use Crystal for ad fee payments and settlements on the AdGram platform.
Crypto-Advertising Synergy Fuels Tokenomics
With Telegram's massive user base and highly active channel ecosystem, the advertising market continues to grow. Integrating Crystal as a payment medium provides both sides with a simple, fast, and bank-fee-free experience while creating a strong use case for the token. Advertisers need to purchase Crystal to run campaigns; channel owners receive Crystal and may choose to hold or reinvest it. This generates supply-demand dynamics, enhancing the token's liquidity and market depth.
Furthermore, this partnership exemplifies the deep integration of blockchain technology with traditional internet products. Telegram's instant messaging capabilities combined with FreeTON's decentralized ledger form a self-regulating advertising ecosystem. AdGram stated that it will continue exploring additional cryptocurrency payment options and further optimize its ad matching algorithms to lower the entry barrier for advertisers.
Disclaimer: This article is based on an official press release and does not constitute investment advice. Readers should conduct their own due diligence before participating in any related projects.