NFT activity on TON gets a boost from Telegram gifts

TON chain aims to reboot NFT, after launching Telegram gifts. Users can apply Stars to transform a gift into an NFT, boosting its value and making it transferable on-chain.

TON chain is growing its NFT activity, almost catching up with Bitcoin ordinals. The activity is based on Telegram gifts, which start out as images but can be minted as NFT. TON is a relatively new hub for NFT and is still niche compared to more established chains. However, TON NFT markets are in their rapid expansion chain, while older networks retain a fraction of their volumes.

In the past 24 hours, TON showed its ability to carry an active NFT market. Performance may vary, but the consensus is TON is just starting out with a new wave of NFT. The emergence of a new NFT activity and the minting of collectibles may offset the lowered traffic on TON chain.

TON expanded its NFT activity after establishing even closer connections to Telegram. The chat app added Gifts and a new in-app asset, Stars. A gift can still be traded or sent out, but Stars allow it to be minted into an NFT and traded on-chain.

Stars can reach all Telegram users, especially those interacting with mini apps. Telegram estimates up to 400M users seek out mini apps and games. Telegram stars make use of the TON blockchain but are also compatible with the Apple Store and Google Appstore. The assets can support creators, make in-app purchases, and are used to trade Gifts as NFT.

Upgrading a gift costs a relatively small amount of Stars, which is used to cover network fees. Stars can be bought at $0.016, with fees for purchasing through app stores. Later, the NFT can appreciate and trade on the secondary market.

The recent NFT boom may revive interest in TON chain. The native TON token lost some of its positions during the latest market correction, sliding to $3.74. TON chain lost the hype from tap-to-earn games, its meme market was small compared to other chains, and the DeFi sector remained small.

The recent digital gift boom and a focus on the Telegram chat app are seen as a source of growth. TON chain also aims to become more transparent and tap the US market.

Collectible gifts come with unique features

TON chain NFT starts out as regular Telegram gifts, and can be upgraded to collectible through stars. The new collectible item unlocks new characteristics, such as background color, icon, and serial number. There are more than 20 gifts that have additional art and features created, allowing for up to 1,400 unique combinations when minting.

TON chain avoided the approach of generating collections, instead seeking out organic growth for its items, as they are used inside the chat app. The organic growth meant gifts and collectibles expanded with activity on Telegram.

Gifts took about three months to turn into an NFT sensation and increase their volumes. More than 20M gifts have been minted as collectibles as of January 2025, with more created among the most popular gifts.

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NFT mints accelerated in the past three months, tapping the Telegram gifts trend. | Source: TON stat

GetGems and MarketApp are currently the most active TON NFT markets, reporting hundreds of users each day. Fragment was the most active marketplace in the last 24 hours, carrying $374.8K in sales. The Fragment marketplace also expanded its volumes by 70% in the past 24 hours, as the TON chain NFT usage was just starting out.

Anonymous Telegram numbers and Telegram usernames are among the most active collections with the biggest number of holders.

TON chain and Telegram aim to break out and reach a mass audience while offering seamless on-chain access. To that end, Telegram will only use TON chain and its native assets, removing other crypto coins and tokens as payments.

The TON chain NFT ecosystem is mostly focused on fun and in-chat use cases. As a result, most NFT traded at a low price, with 64 TON for the most expensive and 0.2 TON on average. The goal of the NFT is not high-value collections, but daily turnover and utility. The collectibles can also be sent as minted, letting the end user in the chat unwrap the gift and see the unique features.