Crypto & Digital Assets, Trading Strategies & Tech
Crypto App ‘Button Wallet’ Overview: The Messenger-Based Solution Hits 100K Users And Adds Fiat Capability
28 May 2019
Button Wallet, the popular messenger-based solution for trading and buying digital assets, has surpassed 100,000 users since launching late last year and has added fiat capability to its popular app.
Button is built and comes pre-installed on Telegram messenger, allowing users to quickly and easily make payments and split finances using standard currency and various cryptocurrencies. Users can trade BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, LTC, Waves, Dai and ERC-20 tokens without incurring any external fees. Button is also the only Telegram wallet that doesn’t store any user information, passwords, or QR codes.
Messenger apps have rapidly grown in popularity in recent years, while ninety percent of crypto holders are already on Telegram. Now, there is a wallet and exchange right where they are, without any requirement of installing external software or devices, many of which only hold a few cryptocurrencies anyway. People don’t want to download new apps through the app store anymore—they just want the service. Some of such wallets require a third party to hold money as well, raising security concerns. With Button Wallet, users can securely split the bill at a dinner among friends with various cryptocurrencies; have a friend pay them in Bitcoin and then exchange it for Ethereum; or simply tip a barista simply by finding their username in Telegram.
“Global digital transactions are projected to top $6 trillion by 2022, making international e-commerce greater than the GDP of Japan,” Alex Safonov, CEO of Button Wallet, said. “Cryptocurrency in particular holds tremendous potential, as long as existing pain points can be remedied. Too often, buying cryptocurrency can be confusing for users. Sometimes it can take up to three weeks to be verified for a new user to purchase crypto with fiat within the US. By placing our wallet directly in the popular Telegram app—something we think all finance apps will do in the next two or three years—we believe we can help more people enjoy the benefits of cryptocurrency and decentralization.”
Button, which is based in Moscow and Los Angeles, was developed by a team of gifted hackers who are passionate about blockchain technology. The Button team was part of the most recent cohort of the Silicon Valley incubator ETC Labs and graduated from accelerators MIT Play Labs and StartupBoost LA. The team has also won 15 engineering awards and hackathons, including ETHSanFrancisco, ETHSingapore and, most recently, ETHDenver, where they received five nominations (more than any other company).
Button plans to leverage future Telegram developments for its advantage, too. Telegram Group Inc. recently raised $1.7 billion from private investors to build the Telegram Open Network (TON), a blockchain-based ecosystem that should make peer-to-peer crypto transactions even more popular on the app.
TON’s cryptocurrency, Gram, will be integrated into Button’s wallet, while the Button team is also working to blend Telegram’s KYC process, Telegram Passport, into its ecosystem. These offerings should translate to even more user growth for Button—especially since Button Wallet gained its 100,000 users organically in recent months.
