Pavel Durov: TON becomes top chain for NFT trading

TON is becoming one of the top chains for NFT activity, thanks to Telegram Collectible Gifts. Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, pointed out that TON retained a leading position as a venue for NFT trading. 

TON is the second most active chain for NFT trading after Ethereum, thanks to the growth of Telegram Collectible Gifts. Pavel Durov, Telegram’s founder, pointed out the collection increased its activity rapidly in the past 30 days. 

Telegram Collectible Gifts went up in price several times in the past 30 days. TON is now the #1 blockchain by daily NFT trading volume (or #2 after Ethereum if off-chain trades are not counted). Data: https://t.co/RpDBtuccJH and https://t.co/b1hYZxDMMo pic.twitter.com/iGrF4O96qT

— Pavel Durov (@durov) June 9, 2025

Gifts are integrated with all functions of the chat app and can be displayed in profiles, bought, and sold through the chat.

The collectible gifts also move off-chain, and can be used as stickers in Telegram. Minting an NFT adds extra proof of ownership and the ability to trade. The popularity of gifts pushed TON ahead of Solana in terms of NFT activity, though still behind Ethereum with its large-scale legacy collections. Telegram took a novel approach, popularizing the collection of Stars and the ability to mint an NFT for a low fee. 

The minting of NFT from gifts is also tied to the Telegram stars economy. The stars is a new type of digital reward token, also used on Telegram games. Boinkers was the game with the biggest production of stars, with over $821K in withdrawals. Unknown whales withdraw as much as $2M from the Telegram stars market. 

TON carries a total of 21 collections, some repeating well-known IPs like Pudgy Penguins. The additional collections are closer to classic NFT, while Telegram Collectible Gifts offer a more organic approach tied to the chat app.

Telegram gift collections have existed for months, though they were off to a slow start. In the past few weeks, certain gifts acquired cult status, starting to generate hype with their price growth. Collectible gifts are scarce, with some of the most wanted stickers commanding higher prices. 

In total, Gifts achieved sales of over $36M, with more than half of the wallets created in 2025. The gifts are held in 184,021 wallets, creating an active user base, which also popularizes the collection on social media. 

Are NFTs still active?

NFT volumes and speculation are still down over 95% across the board. Only the top collections are still changing hands. However, NFTs are not entirely forgotten. NFT lending has been abandoned, as most collections quickly erased 99% of their value.

After the relaunch of OpenSea, the NFT marketplace reached its highest volume since 2023. PFP/avatar collections are still the most active, followed by art and utility NFT. 

The biggest obstacle to NFT activity was the lack of marketplaces, especially during the months when OpenSea was still building its new version. Telegram Collectible Gifts also picked up their activity after the launch of a dedicated trading platform, the Telegram Gifts Marketplace. 

The Telegram collections rely on rarity, which now led to a much higher valuation for some stickers. Initially, the items were minted at extremely low prices. The availability of liquidity and an open market, as well as the chance to start out small, is reviving NFT swaps on TON. Collectible gifts were first minted on-chain from February onward, gradually expanding their influence, as they are currently on the verge of an even bigger breakout on Telegram and other social media.

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