Telegram sells the most expensive anonymous number in history

The most expensive virtual number has been sold at the Fragment auction for the Toncoin (TON) cryptocurrency — the buyer paid 300,000 TON (about $ 730,000 at the time of writing). The owner of the 8 888 888 number is a collector who already has about 100 NFT numbers and nicknames on his account.

Initially, the lot with the unique number was put up for sale at a price of 1000 TON, but in two weeks, the bids increased 300 times, making 8 888 888 the most expensive number in the history of Telegram’s auction. On Fragment, you can buy both rare and randomly generated numbers, their price is several times lower, but it increases every three hours by 1 TON.

888 numbers are not virtual SIM cards, you cannot make calls from them or use them to register for other services. All numbers are issued in the NFT format on the TON blockchain, which allows you to register on Telegram via the blockchain. Earlier, we published detailed instructions on how to buy a number on Telegram.

The possibility of anonymous registration on Telegram has already been called a «new era of privacy». «When using the messenger, your phone number will never be visible to strangers: you decide who to show it to and can prohibit people from finding you by your phone number ,» explained Telegram representatives back in early December.