Tencent’s innovation was so simple—and such pure fun for users—that it masked the magnitude of the power grab. WeChat gave its users the ability to send out digital red envelopes containing real money to WeChat friends near and far. Once users linked their bank accounts to WeChat, they could send out envelopes worth a set amount of money to one person or into a group chat and let their friends race to see who could “open” it first and get the money. That money then lived inside users’ WeChat Wallet, a new subdivision of the app. The money could be used to make purchases, transferred to other
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