Multi-Chain Ecosystem Applications:
On Telegram, there are multi-chain applications mainly offering data services or auxiliary tools. Four notable examples are:
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Cielo: A comprehensive wallet tracking bot that supports various chains. It tracks operations such as swaps, lending, NFT minting, and large transactions across numerous chains. Cielo offers a good user experience.
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Pessimistic Spotter: Detects whether a contract has been attacked, supporting contracts on Ethereum and BSC, such as Uniswap.
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CoinCrackerBot: Tracks coin prices and provides price alert notifications. The product is well-experienced, offering convenient information push via chat software.
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Crypton Research: Tracks project progress, allowing users to subscribe to projects like 1inch and Aave, and choose to receive all or key news, which the bot will push to users.
Advantages and Areas for Improvement for Telegram as an Entry Point
Telegram’s smooth user experience is a significant advantage. Transactions, opening apps, and interacting with bots are all very fluid, surpassing the experience of most web3 products and even many web2 products like Discord.
However, there are some drawbacks. The method for accessing the Telegram apps center is somewhat complex, requiring users to enter via external links or search rather than finding it directly within the Telegram interface. The apps center and its apps are mixed with existing channels, making them hard to find. If users need to pin apps, they end up mixed with important chats. Additionally, many applications on Telegram create a new bot for each function, which can be confusing for users. There may need to be a separate interface for apps to make them easier to find.
Currently, TG meets the needs of regular users for transactions and EVM-based TG bots address retail investors’ needs for new token releases. Future exploration of how TON will develop large-scale DeFi applications is warranted.
Trading bots offer a new perspective, suggesting that Telegram could serve as a front end for various on-chain applications. Not only can DeFi protocols have a unified front end, but Telegram could integrate various protocols. If projects manage user interactions, users might not need to know about each chain, which could significantly lower the entry barrier for crypto. However, using Ethereum directly within Telegram poses challenges, such as how to conveniently trigger signatures.
The official push for TON’s ecosystem is significant, and progress is being made with Unibot and similar bots outside the TON ecosystem. The future remains to be seen.
Discord’s Opportunities as a Traffic Entry Point
Discord (hereafter referred to as DC) first attempted to integrate Metamask as early as 2021. If this had been widely adopted, it’s conceivable that users could have conducted transactions and payments within DC. Various dapps could also have developed their own channels or bots for swapping, lending, and other activities within DC, potentially turning it into a front end for the entire Crypto space.
Indeed, Discord already hosts numerous Crypto use cases. For instance, Bankless DAO uses Discord as a governance tool, developing governance bots and processes like verifying NFTs for identity, and granting specific channel permissions based on token holdings. During the NFT summer period, DC became a crucial community tool for NFT projects, where users engaged in activities such as role-claiming, acquiring whitelist spots, and participating in AMMs, resulting in a significant buildup of community engagement. DC has also solicited feedback on NFTs, indicating that the team was seriously considering adjustments for the NFT community. In theory, DC bots could perform many functions, including wallet tracking, NFT trading, and whitelist management. However, there are three potential reasons why Discord has not fully embraced Crypto:
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Discontent Among Primary User Base: The primary users of Discord are gamers. As of 2021, CNBC reported that 70% of Discord users engaged with the platform for gaming or related activities. Although Discord has since broadened its vision to “Chat for Communities and Friends,” serving gamers has always been central to its mission. When DC attempted to support NFT communities, many users protested, canceling their Nitro subscriptions and expressing strong aversion to NFTs. The gaming community has long harbored grievances against the Crypto space, stemming from issues like rising GPU prices during the mining boom and the subsequent availability of used mining cards, which some gamers perceive as substandard.
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Prevalence of Fraud: The founder of Discord has tweeted about the prevalence of spam and fraud in the Crypto space. Discord’s focus on protecting users makes a comprehensive Crypto integration less appealing. As a compliance-focused platform, Discord’s attempt to mitigate fraud is a reasonable approach. Additionally, with government regulation still unclear at the time, integrating Crypto could risk user interests and lead to significant costs that Discord may not be willing to bear.
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Regulatory Uncertainty: Discord’s core focus on compliance and user safety contrasts with Telegram’s broader acceptance of gray area users. Discord’s primary user base is compliance-oriented and includes many gamers, while Telegram’s user base includes a mix of gray area users. This difference in user profiles and platform positioning impacts their approach to Crypto integration.
Browsers (PWA) as an “Entry Point”
Browsers and web apps are increasingly seen as viable alternatives to native applications. Friend.tech utilizes PWA technology, and Photoshop offers a web version that leverages cloud storage for multi-device work. Cloud gaming is also a growing area of exploration. On one hand, web applications powered by cloud computing can support more functionality. On the other hand, PWAs offer several benefits:
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Offline Capabilities: PWAs can function offline, supporting dynamic content updates and push notifications.
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Cross-Platform Compatibility: PWAs work across different platforms and can access device hardware, like cameras or GPS.
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Convenience: While some argue that accessing a web app through a link is more convenient than installing an application, others prefer the direct access provided by native apps. PWAs offer a solution that merges these benefits.
In the PC web environment, wallet plugins are well-developed, and it’s conceivable to use wallet plugins or other web DeFi applications while gaming. PWAs can also circumvent platform fees, which is significant for Crypto applications.
However, will wallets continue to serve as the “entry point” in browsers? On mobile, Friend.tech suggests not necessarily, as users can accept built-in wallets. Users might prefer having their assets managed within an app (which could be an L2 or managed by the project) rather than using Metamask separately. Social apps can replace MetaMask in handling traffic, with the core of the economic model relying on other services, such as those offered by Friend.tech, which include built-in wallets.
Summary
Comparing Telegram, Discord, and browsers (PWAs), it is clear that who will become the traffic entry point depends significantly on user experience and regulatory factors. Telegram offers a smoother experience compared to many Crypto-native apps, which is a major advantage. On mobile, apps like Friend.tech with built-in wallets diminish MetaMask’s role as an entry point. Regulatory pressures on traditional social giants to integrate Crypto give opportunities to applications with lighter regulation, such as Telegram or Friend.tech.