LAUNCH | Telegram Launches In-App Browser and Mini App Store with Decentralized Websites and Apps

Crypto-focused messaging app, Telegram, has announced the launch of a new in-app browser, and a mini app store.

According to a post by Telegram Founder, Paul Durov, the Browser lets users switch between viewing websites and messaging – merging communication with news consumption. It is equipped with all the features you would expect from a browser like search, bookmarks, and multiple tabs.

Most importantly, Telegram Browser allows people to view decentralized websites called TON Sites. This opens the world of blockchain-based web (often called Web 3.0) to almost a billion users.

According to Telegram, the in – app store supports multiple tabs and makes Web3 available to almost a billion users, a Mini App Store, a new kind of mini apps, the ability to gift Stars (units of the Mini App payment system) to friends.

Telegram’s browser supports decentralized websites hosted on TON — in all mobile and native desktop apps. This makes Web3 immediately available to almost one billion monthly users.

Moreover, mini apps can now also generate custom story content like AI-generated videos, achievements, or snapshots of leaderboards for users to share as a Telegram Story right from the mini app. This enables new kinds of apps and helps existing ones spread among their users’ contacts.

More than 500 million out of Telegram’s 950 million users interact with Mini Apps every month, according to Durov.

The growth in users comes amid an explosion in blockchain-based games, such as NotCoin, that users tap to play on Telegram.

As reported by BitKE, NotCoin was a significant global project in May 2024, attracting more than 30 million users. These users earned points by interacting with various TON services, including TonKeeper, and other wallets, exchanges, and games. These points could later be converted into tokens tradable on exchanges, giving users tangible value.

Other games include 3-month-old Hamster Kombat, which recently surpassed 300 million players, according to reports.

Web3 social entertainment platform, Catizen, is another Telegram-based app that has seen considerable adoption.