Interview: Telegram Wallet Director on Driving Mass Adoption in PH Via Ton Ecosystem
J. Victor Mendes, the director of business development of Wallet in Telegram, joined BitPinas Editor-in-Chief Michael Mislos to share about the ecosystem of Telegram.
- The interview was conducted on October 23, 2024 when Mendes was in the Philippines to visit partners and potential collaborators.
- Find more interviews in BitPinas via the provided link.
In Focus: J. Victor Mendes and Wallet on Telegram
- Wallet is a crypto wallet integrated into the messaging platform Telegram in partnership with The Open Network.
- Mendes (LinkedIn) has been serving as a director of business development of Wallet since August 2023, before that, he held the same position in TON Foundation for six months. He also held multiple positions on Pundi X, a developer of blockchain-powered devices, for five years.
The following interview, edited for clarity, focuses on Mendes’ thoughts on the ecosystem of TON, Telegram’s web3 journey and role in mass adoption, and Wallet’s plans in the Philippines.
Table of Contents
Interview with J. Victor Mendes of Wallet in Telegram
Mendes on Joining TON Foundation
Michael Vincent Mislos, Editor-in-Chief, BitPinas: Can you tell us more about your time in PundiX and what led you to join Telegram?
J. Victor Mendes, Director of Business Development, Wallet in Telegram: That’s how my career started. Back in 2016, I was an investor in their ICO, and then early in 2017, I started working with them as a country manager for Brazil and then expanded to other regions in Latin America. I think I was very lucky to be with them at that time because the blockchain industry was evolving so fast.
Pundi X still has quite an interesting product, and I think my journey with them was very nice. I learned so much about the whole industry and the web3 world. I was able to stay with them for five years before joining the TON Foundation.
Telegram, TON Foundation, TON Society – What are the differences?
Mislos: So, going into your job at Telegram, you mentioned the TON Foundation and the Wallet. There’s also the TON Society, so can you tell me more? What are the differences between these particular entities?
Mendes: TON Foundation’s mission is to foster the development of the ecosystem. TON Foundation is all about attracting more people, supporting the ecosystem, and building the community, especially in terms of developers and more people building projects on TON. It’s a non-profit organization.
And then one of the arms is TON Society, which is mainly responsible for organizing and hosting events, hackathons, and so on.
There’s also the Wallet in Telegram. That’s an independent organization. Different from what many people think, it’s not owned by Telegram. What it has is a commercial agreement with Telegram, and within this commercial agreement, we have exclusive access to Telegram and deep integration with their entire ecosystem. That’s a for-profit business. What we aim for with the wallet is to become the gateway and the entrance for people to participate in the TON ecosystem in a very easy and uncomplicated manner for mass adoption.
On Telegram’s Role in Mass Adoption of Crypto and Blockchain
Mislos: The latest numbers I’ve seen are around 900+ million Telegram users. So how do you see this as a tool for mass adoption?
Mendes: The best way to see it is by comparing it with using other wallets. Imagine you are on Telegram playing one of the mini apps, and then you have to connect to your wallet.
If there was no wallet in Telegram, you would have to download another wallet, write down your private key or seed phrase, and then every time you connect, you’d have to switch between apps. That’s the scenario without the Wallet in Telegram.
But with the Wallet in Telegram, using TONConnect, it’s basically two clicks to allow your wallet to interact with the app, sign transactions, execute them, and so on. The level of ease is completely different from any other wallet you could use in another app.
With that in mind, our goal is to promote usability and allow people to engage with the web3 ecosystem in a very simple way.
On Similarity and Differences of Wallet on Telegram and Libra on Facebook
Mislos: Thank you for that. I noticed some sort of similarity with what Facebook was trying to do before with the Libra wallet (which was later called Novi; Novi even had a VASP license in the Philippines at one point). They wanted people to do finance on their Messenger app and other applications. But they faced really intense regulatory pressure, especially from the US. How do you view what happened with Facebook in relation to Telegram and the Wallet initiative?
Mendes: Right, Libra aimed to be a stablecoin, and the idea was for people to bank globally. It’s slightly different from what we are trying to do with TON.
Toncoin is the native asset from the layer one blockchain, The Open Network. It serves as a governance token and as fuel for transactions in the ecosystem. So, in that regard, it’s different from Libra. As a layer one, open-source ecosystem, anyone can build on top of it, using the technology and the distribution capabilities through Telegram.
While Telegram and Facebook are both social platforms, the technology and approach we’re taking with TON are different from what Libra aimed to achieve.
On Telegram’s Partnership with USDT Issuer
Mislos: Telegram also has a partnership with Tether and USDT. Can you tell me more about that and any future plans?
Mendes: Stablecoins are probably the second biggest use case in crypto after Bitcoin. They’re crucial for the growth of any ecosystem, including TON. USDT will certainly drive verticals like DeFi, but it will also allow users of the Wallet in Telegram to create their own use cases.
For example, one cool feature is that Telegram users can send USDT between each other for free and instantly, off-chain. This could be used for remittances, merchant payments, or whatever they want. It’s a powerful tool that no other Web2 ecosystem has implemented yet.
On Wallets Integration in Telegram
Mislos: I remembered a post from Pavel Durov, Telegram’s CEO, where he mentioned that if certain countries might not be compatible with Telegram, they could shut it down in those regions. Since the Wallet is tied to Telegram’s success, how does this affect you?
Mendes: Telegram supports the Wallet because they initiated the TON project back in 2016 to 2017. Though they had to discontinue it, the community continued developing TON, which became what it is today. When Telegram saw that, they supported it because it aligned with their original vision. The architecture is exactly what Telegram envisioned, and no other blockchain could handle the scale needed for Telegram’s user base.
As for shutting down in certain countries, that’s a compliance requirement. Some markets aren’t friendly to blockchain or crypto, so Telegram abides by local rules. But outside of Telegram, TON remains an open ecosystem, so anyone can use it.
On The Open Network Ecosystem
Mislos: Many BitPinas readers are interested in Telegram games, but there have been criticisms that users are just tapping for financial incentives. What’s your view on this?
Mendes: The TON ecosystem has been gaining a lot of traction. For example, TON Space, the non-custodial wallet in Telegram, now has over 100 million wallets, meaning about one out of ten Telegram users has one. Tap-to-earn games helped catalyze this growth, but the ecosystem is evolving. Now, we’re seeing games with better mechanics and functionalities, which speaks to the fast development and rising quality of apps in the ecosystem.
Mislos: I saw that firsthand at the Singapore conference last month. Some games are much more advanced than just tapping. I also spoke to the CEO of Blum, who said that 50% of their players are new to crypto. This really shows mass adoption is happening. Do you have any data to share?
Mendes: Yes, something interesting has been happening. Initially, our plan was to distribute apps to existing Telegram users. But now, we’re seeing people downloading Telegram just to engage with TON, which is the opposite of what we originally expected. It’s a testament to the ecosystem’s success.
On Wallet’s Plans in the Philippines
Mislos: My final question is about your plans in the Philippines. I’ve heard there will be hackathons in November. Can you share more about your short-term and future plans?
Mendes: Sure. Crypto adoption in the Philippines is huge for any ecosystem, not just TON. TON Society is hosting a hackathon from November 15 to 17. It’s a great chance for developers to learn about the ecosystem, meet new people, and engage with the broader community. The Philippines is a key market for us, and we’re looking to build a team here to support the ecosystem’s growth.
Keep reading BitPinas for interviews with the people who move the crypto industry in the Philippines forward.
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