Solana: Emulating Telegram after a Multi-Year Delay

September 27, 2024

This essay is the work of a dumb dinobaby. No smart software required.

I spotted an interesting example of Telegram emulation. My experience is that most online centric professionals have a general awareness of Telegram. Its more than 125 features and functions are lost in the haze of social media posts, podcasts, and “real” news generated by some humanoids and a growing number of gradient descent based software.

I think the information in “What Is the Solana Seeker Web3 Mobile Device” is worth noting. Why? I will list several reasons at the end of this short write up about a new must have device for some crypto sensitive professionals.

The Solana Seeker is a gizmo that embodies Web3 goodness. Solana was set up to enable the Solana blockchain platform. The wizards behind the firm were Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal. The duo set up Solana Labs and then shaped what is becoming the go-to organization Lego block for assorted crypto plays: The Solana Foundation. This non-profit organization has made its Proof of History technology into the fires heating the boilers of another coin or currency or New Age financial revolution. I am never sure what emerges from these plays. The idea is to make smart contracts work and enable decentralized finance. The goals include making money, creating new digital experiences to make money, and cash in on those to whom click-based games are a slick way to make money. Did I mention money as a motivator?

A hypothetical conversation between two crypto currency and blockchain experts. What could go wrong? Thanks, MSFT Copilot. Good enough.

How can you interact with the Solana environment? The answer is to purchase an Android-based digital device. The Seeker allows anyone to have the Solana ecosystem in one’s pocket. From my dinobaby’s point of view, we have another device designed to obfuscate certain activities. I assume Solana will disagree with my assessment, but things crypto evoke things at odds with some countries’ rules and regulations.

The cited article points out that the device is a YAAP (yet another Android phone). The big feature seems to be the Seed Vault wallet. In addition to the usual razzle dazzle about security, the Seeker lets a crypto holder participate in transactions with a couple of taps. The Seeker interface is to make crypto activities smoother and easier. Solana has like other mobile vendors created its own online store. When you buy a Seeker, you get a special token. The description I am referencing descends into crypto babble very similar to the lingo used by the Telegram One Network Foundation. The problem is that Telegram has about a billion users and is in the news because French authorities took action to corral the cowboy Russian-born Pavel Durov for some of his behaviors France found objectionable.

Can anyone get into the generic Android device business, do some fiddling, and deploy a specialized device? The answer is, “Yep.” If you are curious, just navigate to Alibaba.com and search for generic cell phones. You have to buy 3,000 or more, but the price is right: About US$70 per piece. Tip: Life is easier if you have an intermediary based in Bangkok or Singapore.

Let’s address the reasons this announcement is important to a dinobaby like me:

Solana, like Meta (Facebook) is following in Telegram’s footprints. Granted, it has taken these two example companies years to catch on to the Telegram “play”, but movement is underway. If you are a cyber investigator, this emulation of Telegram will have significant implications in 2025 and beyond.
The more off-brand devices there are, the easier it becomes for intelligence professionals to modify some of these gizmos. The reports of pagers, solar panels, and answering machines behaving in an unexpected manner goes from surprise to someone asking, “Do you know what’s in your digital wallet?”
The notion of a baked in, super secret enclave for the digital cash provides an ideal way to add secure messaging or software to enable a network in a network in the manner of some military communication services. The patents are publicly available, and they make replication in the realm of possibility.

Net net: Whether the Seeker flies or flops is irrelevant. Monkey see, monkey do. A Telegram technology road map makes interesting reading, and it presages the future of some crypto activities. If you want to know more about our Telegram Road Map, write benkent2020 at yahoo.com.

Stephen E Arnold, September 27, 2024

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, Mobile, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.