Telegram's 1.7-billion-dollar blockchain project is reportedly getting off the ground this summer

The instant messenger Telegram has created the first service in its future blockchain platform “TON” (Telegram Open Network) and the company is testing it privately, two sources told the newspaper Vedomosti. “Telegram Passport” will allow users to save encrypted copies of all their identification documents, which can then be sent instantly to Telegram’s various partners. The new service could be up and running as soon as the summer, says Vedomosti.

Telegram has already raised $1.7 billion from private investors for a blockchain platform that is supposed to usher in “a whole new economy” full of goods and services that can be purchased using Telegram’s cryptocurrency: “Grams.”

“Telegram Passport,” the first service in the Telegram Open Network, is designed to strip cryptocurrency payments of the anonymity that worries state regulators around the world, says Alexander Filatov, a partner at SP Capital, which invested in TON and helped Telegram attract other investments for its blockchain project. At the same time, Filatov told Vedomosti, Telegram’s developers have done everything they can to safeguard users’ privacy.

When Telegram Passport launches, it’s possible that several partner services will already be online, sources told Vedomosti. Telegram has reportedly already granted the Russian e-payment service Qiwi access to Passport.

Telegram Passport users will be able to upload copies of their passports, driver’s licenses, utility bills, bank statements, and other documents, and they’ll also be asked to photograph themselves, according to a private Web page at Telegram.org (says Vedomosti, which was granted access to the page).

Digital copies of these identification records will be encrypted, stored only on users’ devices, and protected by two-factor authentication, a source told Vedomosti. The Telegram messenger app reportedly won’t have access to users' identity files, and Passport can only interact with these records when users approve a transfer. Once Telegram’s service partners receive and decrypt this information, they will verify it in accordance with their own company policy.

Telegram Passport will face competition from existing authentication services offered by Google, Facebook, and others. To get a leg up, Telegram is relying on its reputation for protecting users’ privacy, a market expert told Vedomosti. The new service could struggle, however, against companies now developing facial recognition and other biometric systems that could become the new standard internationally.

Venture capitalist Alexey Prokofiev, who helped facilitate Telegram’s lucrative initial coin offering, told Vedomosti that Pavel Durov’s company will need to build relationships with states interested in digital sovereignty to obtain licenses for identification services in places moving toward biometric verification.