Telegram founder suggests NFT-like smart contracts to auction usernames

The founder of encrypted messaging app Telegram, envisioned a marketplace that could use NFT-like smart contracts to auction usernames.

Durov made the suggestion following the auction of domain names by The Open Network (TON), a layer-1 blockchain originally designed by the Telegram team. The blockchain project launched the TON DNS service that enables users to assign human-readable names to crypto wallets, smart contracts and websites in mid-July.

In a message to his private Telegram group called Durov's Channel on August 23, he mentioned that he was really impressed with the success of the TON auction they recently conducted for their domain/wallet name.