FOGINT: Telegram Game Surfs on an Implied Link: Musk, X, Crypto Game
October 29, 2024
Written by a humanoid dinobaby. No AI except the illustration.
The FOGINT team spotted a report from Decrypt.com. The article is “Why ‘X Empire’ Telegram Players Are Complaining to Elon Musk About the Airdrop.” If you don’t recognize the Crypto and Telegram jargon, the information in the Decrypt article will not make much sense.
For crypto folks, the X Empire Telegram game is news. According to the cited article:
Telegram tap-to-earn game X Empire will launch its X token on The Open Network (TON) on Thursday, but its reveal of airdrop allocations has drawn complaints from players who say they were deemed ineligible for a share of the rewards. And some of them are telling Elon Musk about it.
From the point of view of Telegram, X Empire is another entrepreneur leveraging the Telegram platform. With each popular egame, Telegram edges closer to its objective of becoming a very important player in what may be viewed as a Web3 service provider. In fact, when the potential payoff from its crypto interests, the craziness of some of the Group and Channel controversies becomes less important to the company. In fact, the hope for a Telegram initial public offering pay day is more important than refusing to cooperate with law enforcement. Telegram is working to appease France. Pavel Durov wants to get back to the 2024 and beyond opportunity with the Telegram crypto activities.
What is interesting to the FOGINT team are these considerations:
- Telegram’s bots and crypto linkages provide an interesting way to move funds and befuddle investigators
- Telegram has traction among crypto entities in Southeast Asia, and innovators operating without minimal regulatory oversight can use Telegram to extend their often illegal interests quickly and in a novel way
- Telegram’s bots or automated software embody a form of workflow automation which does not require getting involved with high profile, closely monitored organizations.
FOGINT wants to point out that Elon Musk is not involved in the X Empire play. However, Decrypt’s article suggests that some game players are complaining directly to him about the “earned” token policy. This is not a deep fake play. X Empire is an example of identity or entity surfing.
Investigators can make sense of some blockchain centric criminal activities. But the emergence of in game tokens, Telegram’s own STAR token, and their integration within the Telegram platform creates a one-stop shop for online crypto activities. Cyber investigators face another challenge: The non-US, largely unregulated Telegram operating as a virtual company with an address in Dubai. France took a bold step in detaining Pavel Durov. How will he adapt? It is unlikely he will be able to resist the lure of a big payoff from the innovations embodied in the Telegram platform.
Stephen E Arnold, October 29, 2024
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