Communicating with crypto fans requires specific skills and attributes. There is a esoteric language to learn† new ones Social norms adopt, and a toxic-positive philosophy embrace. But perhaps the most important reference of all is a Telegram account.
The social media and messaging app offers both public squares and private rooms for crypto enthusiasts.
The platform is so popular that those who don’t have it risk being banned from the community. That might not sound so bad in the current marketbut for anyone still invested or interested, Telegram is a powerful tool.
And be the first in line for ticket offers, event news and more!
In particular, the app’s appeal has held up despite fears that it jeopardizes a tenet of cryptocurrencies: security.
A security complex
Since its inception in 2013, Telegram has been heavily marketed as privacy-focused.
Pavel Durov, the company’s CEO, earned admiration after he refused to give Kremlin’s user data from another company he founded: VK, the largest social network in Russia. Shortly afterwards, Durov fled Russia and launched Telegram.
“We had a simple choice: either betray our values or keep our values and leave Russia to try to do something new,” he said. told Reuters†
Durov’s story lent credence to his claims that Telegram is private and secure – two valuable attributes for cryptocurrency proponents. But critics argue that reality doesn’t live up to the hype.
9 years ago I defended the private data of Ukrainians against the Russian government – and lost my company and my house. I would do it again without hesitation. https://t.co/GUFCjbqDc5
— Pavel Durov (@durov) March 7, 2022
Investigators have sounded the alarm about Telegram’s encryption protocol† collect metadataand storage of user data† But their biggest concern is end-to-end encryption (E2EE).
Telegram chats don’t have E2EE by default – meaning anyone with access to the company’s servers can see the messages.
The app does offer an opt-in E2EE – but only for “secret chats”, which disable many platform features. Group chats, which are widely used in the crypto community, can never be encrypted end-to-end.
Cybersecurity experts recommend switching to apps with standard E2EE, such as Signal.
Web3 challengers are also starting to pop up. In January, xx.networka company founded by cryptography pioneer David Chaum, launched an app that promises both E2EE and metadata fragmentation.
“Telegram isn’t just not private — it’s not decentralized,” Ben Werner, xx network’s chief engineer, told TNW.
“In theory, the organization that runs Telegram can censor any channel, user, or individual message. The crypto community needs communication tools that are as resistant as [the] networks they are building.”
Durov, the CEO of Telegram, has regularly defended his encryption strategy. He argues that E2EE makes many of the platform’s features obsolete.
These features help explain why crypto folks are willing to overlook Telegram’s security flaws.
Beyond chatting
Durov insists that E2EE on Telegram sacrifice usability for security.
Chats that are not encrypted end-to-end are instead backed up to the company’s cloud storage. Durov described the benefits of this approach in a message on the platform†
It allows seamless synchronization with multiple devices with access to previous chat history, huge group chats and channels, permanent message history, send large documents and videos, instant media forwarding without re-uploading, minimize storage usage on your phone, never lose your messages , even if you lose your phone – and many other great features that reduce bandwidth, battery and storage usage.
Some of these features are extremely popular in crypto circles.
Channels are used to promote one-way projects to an unlimited number of followers, while groups can act as billboards for up to 200,000 viewers.
Signal, on the other hand, limits group chats to 1,000 members, while WhatsApp limits them to just 256 people.
This means that Telegram users can reach a much wider audience, especially given the strong support for bots†
Channels also provide further opportunities for monetization. Some traders share exclusive tips in exchange for subscription fees.
“Users can participate in crypto projects to keep their communities informed of changes/progress and to receive feedback,” said Tony Danjal, head of the tax administration. Koinlya cryptocurrency tax platform.
“There is [also] things like trading signal groups where they can receive buy/sell signals for specific cryptos.
Many Telegram users are willing to sacrifice security for these benefits – at least until an attractive Web3 alternative pops up.
Contents