Telegram’s 2025 update introduced a feature allowing users to send digital collectibles in chats.
These collectible gifts, such as the Homemade Cake or Jelly Bunny, can be upgraded using Telegram Stars to become unique digital assets with custom designs and traits like background color or icons. Users can send these collectibles directly in chats, where recipients can unwrap them, display them on their profiles, or trade them.
They can also be transferred or auctioned on the TON blockchain, ensuring permanent ownership even if a user loses their Telegram account. This feature enhances engagement by combining gifting with blockchain-backed collectibles, with over 1,400 unique designs available and more planned.
TON’s integration into Telegram’s platform, with over 950 million users, makes digital collectibles accessible within a familiar messaging app. Users can send, trade, or display NFTs (like collectible gifts, usernames, and stickers) without needing external wallets or complex blockchain knowledge. This lowers barriers to entry, potentially onboarding millions to Web3.
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By embedding NFT trading and management in Telegram’s Mini Apps ecosystem, TON enables users of all technical levels to engage with digital assets. This contrasts with traditional NFT platforms requiring separate wallets and exchanges, making Telegram a gateway for mainstream adoption.
TON facilitates new revenue streams for creators through NFT sales, tokenized usernames, and ad revenue sharing (50% paid in Toncoin). For example, high-profile NFT drops like Snoop Dogg’s Telegram Gifts collection, which sold nearly 1 million units for $12 million, show the platform’s potential to merge entertainment and economics.
The ability to trade collectibles (e.g., usernames, stickers, and virtual phone numbers) on TON creates a self-sustaining in-app economy. Users can earn, spend, or trade Telegram Stars and NFTs, fostering financial inclusion, especially in regions with limited banking access.
Decentralized Ownership and Control
TON’s blockchain ensures that collectibles, such as upgraded gifts or tokenized usernames, are verifiably unique and permanently owned by users, even if they lose their Telegram account. This enhances user trust and asset value, as ownership is recorded on an immutable ledger.
Features like tokenized anonymous phone numbers as NFTs allow users to maintain privacy while owning verifiable digital assets, aligning with Telegram’s privacy-focused ethos. TON’s growth faces scrutiny, as seen in Telegram’s 2020 SEC lawsuit, which halted its initial Gram token project.
While TON operates independently, its deep integration with Telegram raises concerns about compliance with global regulations, particularly in decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFT trading. Telegram’s exclusive focus on TON (e.g., requiring Mini Apps to transition to TON by February 2025) limits interoperability with other blockchains like Ethereum or Solana. This could alienate developers and users who value Web3’s open, multi-chain ethos.
While collectibles like usernames and gifts have seen high demand (e.g., $36 million in sales from 184K+ wallets), their value can be unpredictable, driven by social sentiment and market trends. This volatility poses risks for investors and casual users.
TON’s memecoin ecosystem (e.g., DOGS, FISH) adds a speculative, playful layer to its collectibles, boosting engagement but also risking instability if speculative bubbles form. Users can send animated gifts (e.g., Homemade Cake, Jelly Bunny) in chats, which can be upgraded into NFTs with unique traits and serial numbers using Telegram Stars.
These NFTs can be displayed on profiles, traded, or auctioned on TON, blending social interaction with digital ownership. TON enables trading of tokenized usernames and sticker packs via platforms like Fragment and GetGems. These assets combine utility (e.g., linking a username to an account) with collectible value, appealing to both casual users and collectors.
TON’s multi-blockchain architecture and infinite sharding ensure high transaction speeds and low costs, ideal for handling the volume of collectible transactions from Telegram’s massive user base. This scalability supports seamless minting and trading of NFTs within the app.
The TON Wallet (e.g., TON Space) allows users to manage Toncoin, USDT, and NFTs directly in Telegram, with over 100 million global activations by 2024. Mini Apps integrate gaming, DeFi, and collectible trading, making TON a hub for Web3 interactions. TON uses airdrops and tap-to-earn games like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat to introduce users to crypto and collectibles.
These gamified mechanics convert in-game points into tradeable tokens, bridging Web2 and Web3 experiences. TON’s developer-friendly tools and upgradable smart contracts encourage creators to build NFT-based applications, from collectible stickers to in-game assets, expanding the ecosystem.
The TON Foundation supports equitable access for developers, fostering innovation. Initiatives like TON Strategy Co.’s $558 million raise for a Toncoin treasury signal growing institutional confidence in TON’s utility for collectibles and DeFi. This stabilizes Toncoin’s price and supports ecosystem growth.
TON’s collectibles have driven significant trading volume, with $120 million in username and identifier sales on Fragment and a $25 billion Toncoin market cap by 2024, reflecting strong market interest. While TON’s integration with Telegram is a game-changer for digital collectibles, its exclusivity to TON raises concerns about centralization within a supposedly decentralized Web3 space.
Critics argue that limiting Mini Apps to TON could stifle innovation and fragment the broader blockchain ecosystem. Additionally, the speculative nature of some collectibles (e.g., memecoins, high-profile NFT drops) risks creating bubbles, as seen in past NFT market cycles. Regulatory pressures remain a wildcard, given Telegram’s history with the SEC.
However, TON’s focus on user-friendly, scalable infrastructure and its leveraging of Telegram’s vast user base position it as a leader in mainstreaming digital assets. TON is pushing collectibles and digital assets by embedding them into Telegram’s social platform, leveraging scalable blockchain technology, and fostering creator and community engagement.