ICP-based blockchain chat app launches ‘Communities’ to compete with Discord

Blockchain chat app OpenChat has enabled users to make Discord-like servers called “Communities,” according to an Aug. 2 announcement.

Early UX prototype for OpenChat Communities. Source: OpenChat

OpenChat is simply a blockchain-based chat app moving connected the Internet Computer (ICP) network. It facilitates mostly crypto-oriented chat groups, including immoderate with a fewer 1000 members. LootMoneyArmy (3,201 members), Magnetic (2,703 members) and DFinityVN (2,597 members) are immoderate examples of OpenChat groups.

The app’s improvement squad archetypal announced the Communities diagnostic successful February. At the time, they observed that users were employing OpenChat for antithetic reasons than initially anticipated. While developers primitively intended Communities to beryllium utilized arsenic an instant messaging app akin to WhatsApp oregon Signal, end-users seemed much funny successful utilizing the app to signifier nationalist groups and physique communities.

While the developers welcomed this interest, they besides explained that OpenChat lacked the hierarchical strategy utilized successful apps similar Discord oregon Slack. This prevented radical admins from utilizing it to make subgroups to support speech focused connected peculiar topics, yet making groups connected OpenChat little effectual than they different could be.

The squad promised to hole this occupation by implementing Communities astatine immoderate constituent successful the future, making the app much suitable for users funny successful joining groups. The caller diagnostic would regenerate the existent groups with “communities” and let admins to make “groups” wrong these communities, akin to the mode Discord has channels wrong servers. Admins would besides beryllium capable to marque their communities private, giving them a relation akin to a Slack group, the station stated.

The Aug. 2 announcement states that Communities has present launched and is disposable wrong the app.

In a speech with Cointelegaph, OpenChat co-founder Julian Jeffs said Communities volition yet let crypto protocols to physique communities straight from their ain websites, eliminating the request for downloading outer programs similar Discord oregon Telegram.

“One different benignant of notable happening connected the roadmap that Communities volition facilitate is providing integrations to different apps successful the ecosystem arsenic well,” Jeffs explained. “There are a batch of different apps that would similar to person a chat relation wrong but don’t needfully privation to nonstop their users extracurricular of their website oregon the app.”

Jeffs further explained that the squad is experimenting with respective designs for this aboriginal “Communities integration” system. One conception is to supply a “server-to-server synchronization” betwixt OpenChat and each project, portion different enactment is to make a acceptable of front-end components that projects could “drop in” to their interfaces. Either way, the integration would let users of Web3 protocols to chat with different users and get method enactment from admins without needing to navigate distant from the apps they are using.

The squad stressed that the “integrations” diagnostic volition not beryllium a portion of Communities astatine motorboat but is planned to beryllium implemented successful a aboriginal patch.

Related: New Web3 ID app lets users find each different based connected proven interests

Discord and Telegram are the 2 astir wide utilized messaging apps successful the crypto community, but these Web2 platforms don’t let users to station messages utilizing their Web3 identities. This tin pb to users getting scammed by persons claiming to beryllium holders of wallets they don’t really control. 

OpenChat is 1 task trying to lick this problem. Another illustration is Grill.chat, which runs connected a Polkadot concatenation but allows Ethereum wallet holders to chat utilizing their Ethereum usernames. Coinbase wallet’s caller messaging diagnostic is different example of the increasing question to let wallet-based chat.

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