FRAGMENT – The Bridge Between Telegram and Crypto
Fragment.com is a website integrated with Telegram. (The site is officially from Telegram, not a third-party company as many might think.)
It allows users to buy and sell various digital assets by interacting with usernames, anonymous numbers, Telegram gifts, Stars, Telegram Premium, and more.
Unfortunately, very few Telegram users are familiar with it. This article will try to change that by introducing the average user to Fragment.
0. Login and Verification
To interact with the platform, you must log in through your Telegram account and connect your TON wallet.
Then you need to complete KYC, verifying your identity, just like on an exchange. Without verification, 99% of the platform’s functionality will be unavailable to you.
Once verified, let’s go through each section.
Minting a username lets you store it as an NFT in your wallet and connect or switch it between your profile and channels.
You can assign several usernames to your channel/account. This strongly distinguishes a “crypto user” from a regular Telegram user.
This is probably one of the most challenging points of interaction between Telegram and TON. Minting your first username is like baptism by fire.
- See the list of usernames your account has claimed. You can claim a username not only by setting it in your profile but also by creating a public channel. You can create up to 20 channels (with Telegram Premium).
- You can list a username for auction about 2 weeks after claiming it with your account.
- You must win the auction to mint the username — there is no other way!
- Yes, you can lose your own auction; the NFT username will go to someone else, but you’ll get the money (TON) back.
- Set a minimum bid of 10 TON, confirm, and start the auction.
- Wait a week; if no one outbids your 10 TON, the username is minted to your wallet, and you receive a refund of 4.475 TON.
Congratulations! Now in the “my assets” section, you can play around with the username, switching it between your channels and account.
To display the username, you must “activate” it in your channel/account settings. You can also hide it, making it inactive (users won’t be able to follow the link to this username).
You can also buy and bid on other people’s usernames. Win an auction — the username is yours. Be careful, some usernames may be blocked on Telegram.
2. Anonymous Numbers +888
These are virtual numbers without physical form. You can’t call anywhere from them. Only 137,000 were issued, and there will never be more.
They are stored on the blockchain as NFTs and can be used to log in to Telegram as your number.
They appeared in early 2022 and increased in price about 100 times.
Currently, the floor price is about $1600. The price is tied to the dollar, not TON, although trading is done in TON.
So during strong TON price fluctuations, the numbers react accordingly.
To skeptics and normies saying, “How can you buy a virtual number for so much when you can get a SIM card for 30 rubles?” you can reply:
- An anonymous number is a real investment. You can always sell it for at least what you bought it for, sometimes with a nice profit.
- An anonymous number gives independence from country/operator, so you don’t worry about your Telegram account being compromised, unlike buying a cheap SIM card in a mall.
Be cautious and don’t buy numbers restricted by Telegram (Fragment notifies you of this). They are restricted because scammers previously used those numbers.
Also, avoid numbers with many past owners. Fortunately, GetGems shows this info clearly.
Why? Like with cars — would you rather drive a car with one owner in two years or ten?
After buying a number, you log into Telegram via the “my assets” section, where you get a code to link it to your account.
3. Telegram gifts
You can buy/sell your Telegram gifts on Fragment.
If you converted a gift in Telegram and want to send it to your wallet to hold/trade as an NFT, it can only be done through Fragment.
The minting process is fairly straightforward, simpler than usernames. Just follow instructions.
A gift can either be in your wallet as an NFT or used in Telegram.
Using utilities (setting as profile picture, pinning) while the gift is on the blockchain is currently impossible.
You can return the gift to Telegram via the “my assets” section. You can’t shuttle it back and forth quickly: after returning it to Telegram, you can only move it back to the blockchain after 14 days.
4. Telegram stars
On Fragment, you can buy the cheapest Stars. Buying Stars in Telegram with fiat costs an extra 30%.
Stars can be bought for yourself or someone else if they have a username.
The Star price is tied to the dollar, so amounts in TON fluctuate.
You can sell Stars on your account in two ways:
- Via special bots.Pros: instant money for StarsCons: sell at a cheap rate, at best $0.01 per Star
- Withdraw via your channelYou send Stars to your channel any way you want, wait 21 days, then withdraw through Fragment.Minimum withdrawal is 1000 Stars (~$13), and KYC is mandatory.
Withdrawal is paid in TON and sent to your TON wallet connected to Fragment at a rate of $0.013 per Star. You can’t sell Stars for more.
Also, you can create Star giveaways in your channel via Fragment.
Payment is in TON. After payment, the giveaway appears in your channel menu as “prepaid,” and you choose the date/time to start it.
5. Premium
You can buy Telegram Premium subscription for yourself or another account paying with TON. Prices are also dollar-linked and this bypasses the 30% fees imposed by Apple and Google.
You can also run Premium subscription giveaways in your channel, similar to Stars.
6. Advertising
Fragment is used to top up advertising balance on Telegram Ads and to earn TON for ad views by your channel users.
This second option is unavailable for users in Russia, where monetization is disabled. It requires over 50% foreign-language audience in your channel.
7. Extra info
1. Fragment support exists only via email: help@fragment.com
If you have issues with KYC or other difficulties, try contacting them. The author had such problems and wrote but never got a reply. The issue resolved itself in a couple of weeks.
2. If someone contacts you wanting to buy a username/number etc., be vigilant! Conduct transactions only via the official fragment.com
Scammers love fake sites/bots pretending to be Fragment. No official bots with Fragment offers exist.
Author: t.me/kuznetsovton