The proliferation of messaging apps is unprecedented, with more than 3.6 billion people worldwide using them and over 145 billion messages being sent every day. Among the top players stand two ubiquitous giants, WhatsApp and Telegram, but for very different reasons:
- WhatsApp was the first truly global VOIP solution, a pioneer of the sector, launched in 2009 and later acquired by Facebook for over $19 billion in 2014. With over 2 billion registered users, it’s the world’s most popular messaging app.
- Telegram, launched in 2013, is still today considered an improved version of WhatsApp, featuring more advanced features including end-to-end messaging encryption, expanded storage, and secret chats. Today, it has over 500 million
Despite their success, both apps share a common weakness: having become the targets of multiple personal data leaks, cyberthefts, and violations of privacy:
- The EU’s privacy watchdog fined WhatsApp €255 million for data processing and data sharing violations in September 2021.
- Telegram was subject to a hack in August 2020 that exposed the personal data of over 500 million users.
- In 2019, hackers were able to insert spyware in the phones of WhatsApp users, enabling them to intercept private communications.
These events inspired a group of Lithuanian developers to create a Blockchain-based messaging app that can ensure total messaging security and privacy: Secretum.
Secretum: Going Beyond WhatsApp and Telegram
Secretum is the world’s first and only fully decentralised, encrypted, and secure messaging app, built on the Solana Blockchain. Thanks to its architecture, and the inherent characteristics of Blockchain technology, it offers many advantages:
- End-to-end messaging encryption for all communications – no censorship, no moderation, and complete user privacy.
- Messages and file storage only on trusted and independently verified nodes in the Secretum network – no single point of failure as for all other cloud-based messaging services.
- A fully anonymous sign-up process via the user’s crypto wallet address only. Users don’t have to input their names, phone numbers, or any other personal data – eliminating completely the risk of data leaks and hacks.
- No data collection/harvesting for marketing purposes – a common practice in other messaging apps.
- An ecosystem built on the SER token, which allows staking and rewards for users who message, store files, and help expand the Secretum network.
Added to its user-friendly and intuitive app design, Secretum’s functionalities establish a significant competitive edge over both WhatsApp and Telegram:
Secretum is, however, much more than a messaging app. Its uniqueness is an integrated crypto trading function that allows users to trade P2P all crypto assets (fungible and NFTs) almost instantly and at the lowest costs on the market, thanks to Solana technology.
Secretum: The Messaging & Trading Solution For The Global Crypto Community
Just as its messaging features set it apart from existing messaging apps, Secretum’s over the counter (OTC) trading features set it apart from existing crypto trading solutions:
- By allowing traders to contact each other one-to-one or one-to-many with message “blasts”, Secretum unleashes hidden liquidity pockets in the crypto markets – improving trade prices and execution times.
- OTC trading is especially ideal for NFT tokens, which do not have publicly quoted prices. Secretum helps match buyers and sellers, who can find each other and contact each other via their wallet addresses – rapidly, securely, and fully anonymously.
- The existing panorama of centralised and decentralised crypto exchanges (CEXs and DEXs) make for a market with fragmented liquidity, where block trades can strongly impact on prices. By replacing exchanges with wallet-to-wallet trading, Secretum stabilises prices and market flows.
Secretum’s OTC trading features take advantage of the ongoing boom in crypto trading, which has seen volumes top $1.5 trillion a month in 2021:
By combining innovative trading capabilities with unique messaging features, Secretum aims to become the go-to communication and trading solution for the global crypto community. As crypto ownership becomes mainstream, the market need for seamless trading and secure messaging will merge into a single one, which Secretum will be ideally positioned to service. Achieving this vision would make Secretum go far beyond the scope of being just the next WhatsApp or Telegram – it would instead build the foundations for making it a pioneer of the Blockchain era.
