Hamster Kombat Effect: Pavel Durov Announces Telegram Active Users Reach 950 Million Per Month

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced Telegram's target for the end of this year. (Photo; Doc. BeinCrypto)

JAKARTA - Telegram is an instant messaging application that has now become one of the most popular communication platforms in the world. Telegram continues to show impressive growth. In celebration of 11 years of operation, Telegram has just reached an important milestone with 950 million monthly active users.

This achievement was announced by Telegram founder Pavel Durov on July 22. This achievement not only reflects the success of the company's strategy in expanding its reach, but also confirms Telegram's position as a major player in the midst of tight messaging application competition.

Telegram is now targeting one billion monthly active users by the end of this year, supported by innovation and interesting features that continue to be introduced to improve user experience. This increase is not without reason, Telegram often innovates, one of which is by releasing mini-games in the messaging application which has gone viral.

Hamster Kombat Effect

This impressive growth was largely driven by the extraordinary success of Hamster Kombat, a tap-to-earn crypto game that quickly gained popularity among Telegram users.

The game was introduced as a mini-application on Telegram in March 2024. Its simplicity and entertaining nature make this game a favorite, attracting millions of players. In the first three months of its launch, Hamster Kombat managed to collect more than 239 million users, an achievement previously only achieved by Pokémon GO and Threads from Instagram.

The popularity of this game has attracted millions of new users to Telegram, especially from young people who are interested in mobile games. Currently, Hamster Kombat has more than 53 million active subscribers, showing its broad appeal.

Hamster Kombat's uniqueness lies in its entertaining gameplay and educational content. Players can earn HMSTR tokens by tapping the screen and managing virtual crypto exchanges. They can also improve their hamsters, complete daily challenges, and follow special missions to win prizes.

With the rapid growth of mini-applications such as Hamster Kombat which helps attract more users to Telegram, this instant messaging application plans to expand its ecosystem to support greater growth.

Telegram Is Increasingly Integrated With Web3

Last week, Durov announced plans to launch app stores and in-app browsers that support web3 pages. This addition is aimed at providing a more comprehensive platform, increasing user interaction, and creating a smooth digital experience.

Telegram regularly introduces and updates its features to suit market trends. Last year, the company began supporting developers to build crypto-related mini-applications and games on its platform after its attempts to enter the space were hampered by regulatory issues.

In 2023, the company launched a crypto payment feature that allows merchants to receive digital assets for payment. In the same year, Telegram began sharing ad revenues to channels that create content to maintain user engagement by using Toncoin (TON), the original token of The Open Network, which was also developed by the Telegram team.