Telegram, one of the most popular messaging services in the crypto community, has released a new update that allows users to create accounts using blockchain-based anonymous numbers rather than cell phone numbers.

On Telegram, your phone number was never visible to strangers — our users control who can see their number and whether others are allowed to find them by their phone number,

says the Telegram team.

Telegram already hides individuals’ private phone numbers from non-added users, but users will now be able to hide numbers from everyone.

Users will need to purchase “blockchain-powered anonymous numbers” from Fragment, a decentralized auction platform founded by Telegram creator Pavel Durov, in order to use the new feature. Fragment sells only Telegram-compatible user names and anonymous numbers. Purchases on the platform are made using Telegram’s affiliated token, The Open Network (TON).

You must pay an amount to obtain the anonymous number, which can only be used to sign up for the messaging service. You can share your profile by creating a temporary QR code. Anyone who scans the code can add you to their messaging service contact list without knowing your phone number.

The move is part of the 9.2 update, which was released on December 6, and includes a global auto-delete timer to help users automatically delete all chats after a predefined period, Topics support for groups with 100 or more members, a new Aggressive mode for automated spam filters, and emoji search on iOS. Furthermore, Telegram’s latest update for Android includes detailed storage usage stats as well as new custom and interactive emojis.

Telegram announced in June that it would launch a premium tier of services in order to monetize its platform, which has over 700 million monthly users. In August, founder and CEO Pavel Durov hinted at a number of upcoming Web3 enhancements.

Following the FTX fiasco last month, Durov announced on November 30 via his Telegram channel that the company is developing a suite of decentralized tools in response to yet another instance of misconduct by a centralized crypto entity.

According to Durov, Telegram is planning to launch noncustodial wallets and decentralized exchanges, among other apps.