One of the fondest memories of the 2022 crypto boom is the vibrant Discord crypto community. Not only was it the most popular social messaging platform of choice for crypto projects and ideas, but it was also a beehive of activity with millions of daily active users as well.  While the platform hosted legit crypto projects with sky-high valuations, it was also the haven for crypto scammers.

But as the crypto winter began, the once flourishing app teeming with millions of crypto investors and enthusiasts began to lose its aura. Everything soon appeared to be coming to a halt as a growing number of servers lay dormant, choked with spam, and devoid of human interaction, signaling a potential downturn.

Today, with the crypto market experiencing a rebound, the social media preference is now in favor of Telegram, boasting almost a billion users and serving vibrant crypto communities peopled by millions of meme-coin fans and crypto investors.

Two relevant data points reflect this shift in power: one, Telegram’s growth, and two, trading activity. As of now, Telegram crypto communities boast massive followings. For example, the TapSwap Channel has over 20 million members, dwarfing comparable Discord servers. Additionally, a report by DL News (June 2024) revealed that prominent Telegram trading bots facilitated over $5 million in daily memecoin transactions, evidencing a surge in Telegram-driven memecoin trading.

Fostering The Memecoin Hype

The ongoing memecoin craze has attracted a significant amount of attention within and outside of the crypto world, with dog-themed tokens and internet joke references reaching millions of dollars in valuations.

How is Telegram’s crypto integration fueling this cycle? Toncoin’s recent integration with Telegram turned out to be a rewarding enterprise, helping it tap into its vast user base and encouraging blockchain projects to build on the network.

The fact that Telegram now supports crypto payment also gives it an edge. Most especially, the success of Notcoin showcased Telegram not only as an encrypted messaging app but also as a far better coordination tool for passionate crypto communities or as a platform of choice for memecoin enthusiasts.

In a recent comparative study of mass adoption strategies in web3, Notcoin “is recognized as the first breakout project within the Telegram ecosystem. Since the beginning of this year, NOTCOIN has rapidly gained traction due to its inherent meme appeal and easy Tap-to-Earn gameplay, attracting 5 million users within a week of launch, with peak daily active users exceeding 6 million.”

Has Discord Finally Lost Its Position?

It is safe to say that Discord is still widely known for hosting tons of crypto communities, but Telegram’s current dominance is putting the reputation of what was once hailed as the go-to platform for crypto communities to the test. The following are some of the reasons why the trend of events is currently in its competitor:

Crackdown on Bots

Discord maintains a stricter policy on bots, which were often used for automated memecoin trading and price tracking, stifling the fast-paced information sharing that is driving the memecoin hype.

Centralized Control

Discord's centralized nature makes it vulnerable to moderation. Servers deemed disruptive or violating community guidelines risk shutdowns, creating uncertainty for memecoin communities.

Limited Reach

Using Discord requires users to create accounts and navigate through servers, which can be a barrier to entry for some. Due to the fast-paced level of interaction in the memecoin world, this complexity can limit the potential reach of memecoin projects, making it hard to navigate.

Telegram's Dominance

Telegram, with a focus on crypto integration (i.e. it now supports payment in USDT and a host of other cryptocurrencies) and decentralization, offers a more fertile ground for memecoin communities to thrive.

Bots:

Telegram currently maintains a relaxed approach to bots, allowing seamless integration of tools for buying, selling, and tracking memecoins directly within the app and enriching the meme-coin experience for users.

Telegram’s Support For Decentralization:

In 2022, Telegram announced plans to launch a suite of decentralized cryptocurrency products, which would include a decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) and a non-custodial wallet. Its decentralized structure offers a sense of freedom. The lack of strict moderation allows for more unfiltered discussions and potentially wilder hype cycles, which can be a breeding ground for memecoin enthusiasm.

Ease of Use

Telegram requires only a phone number to participate, making it easier for anyone to join a memecoin group. This broadens the reach of memecoin projects and attracts new investors, even those with limited crypto experience.

TEA Meme Coin Exemplifies Telegram’s Dominance

TEA Meme Coin, a beverage-themed memecoin recently launched on the Solana network, raised over 3 million dollars (38,888 SOL) thanks to its huge community on the Telegram platform.

Boasting over 3 million users on Telegram, it is indubitably one of the largest memecoin communities on the social messaging app and the success of its presale and token distribution can also be attributed to its ability to its choice of  Telegram as a viable tool for community building.

Leveraging Telegram’s features and easy integration, TEA seeks to unite users around a passion for the drink, strengthened by sustainability initiatives. This will also be an important foundation for its upcoming new features: a clicker tap-to-earn game, a partnership with RWA's tokenization project, and listings on centralized crypto exchanges.

With over 3 million users already on its Telegram channel, the choice of Telegram is designed to enable the easy onboarding of millions of TEA lovers across the world into web3, uniting them around their love for these products.

Leveraging Telegram’s extensive network is also part of its strategic growth strategy after a significant crypto market correction in which the meme industry experienced a noticeable slowdown in Q2 2024, especially as memecoin s primarily dedicated to beverages have garnered significant attention in Web3.

Conclusion

While this article compares Telegram's approach to crypto integration with Discord and explores their relative strengths and weaknesses, it is important to note that the latter hasn't been entirely outpaced. As of today, there are some communities maintaining active servers, and Discord's voice chat functionality is still very much preferred.

However, Telegram's current features and looser regulations have positioned it as the dominant platform for the memecoin phenomenon and a potential catalyst for mass adoption. Its current dominance in fostering the memecoin frenzy, with its ease of use, bot integration, and open environment, aligns with the marketing strategy of many memecoin communities.