🎁 What Are Telegram Gifts — And Why Everyone’s Collecting Them in 2025

They started as animated stickers. Now they’re selling for thousands and trading like NFTs. Telegram Gifts are blowing up — and here’s everything you need to know.

💡 From Chat App to Crypto Playground

Telegram is no longer “just a messaging app.” In 2025, it’s becoming a full-blown Web3 social-financial ecosystem — and Telegram Gifts are its breakout feature.

These aren’t your average emojis. They’re animated, collectible, tradable, and sometimes wildly profitable. And yes — they live on the TON blockchain.

🎀 What Exactly Are Telegram Gifts?

Telegram Gifts are animated digital objects users can:

• Send in chats
• Pin to their profile
• Trade or upgrade
• Mint into NFTs
• Recycle for Stars (in-app currency)

There are two main types:

1. Standard Gifts – fun, decorative, available to everyone
2. Collectible Gifts – limited-edition, upgradable with visual traits like background, rarity, and design

To send a Gift, users pay with Telegram Stars, which can be:

• 💳 Purchased via bank card
• 💱 Bought with crypto through Fragment or Split

🧬 Origin Story: From Stickers to Digital Assets

• 🗓️ October 5, 2024: Telegram launches Gifts — cute, animated, simple
• 🛠️ January 1, 2025: Enter Gift Upgrades — traits, models, rarity
• 🎨 Dozens of designs created by Telegram artists — some sell out in under 30 minutes

Each upgraded Gift includes:

• A unique design
• Randomized traits
• Limited supply

That’s when the collector market kicked in — and Telegram knew it had something bigger.

🛒 The Marketplace That Changed Everything

On May 8, 2025, Telegram launched its in-app Gift Marketplace, letting users:

• Browse and filter Gifts by model, rarity, etc.
• List and sell their Gifts for Stars
• Buy directly from other users

💥 In June 2025 alone: 3.5 million+ in transaction volume

It was like the NFT boom of 2021, but inside a messaging app with 900M+ users.

🔗 Powered by TON: Your Gifts Are Now NFTs

What really takes Telegram Gifts beyond stickers? They live on the blockchain.

Thanks to TON (The Open Network), users can:

1. Upgrade a Gift to collectible
2. Connect a TON wallet (like Telegram Wallet or Tonkeeper)
3. Mint it as an NFT
4. Sell or trade it on Fragment

📊 By mid-2025, TON became the #2 NFT blockchain by volume, beating Solana and trailing only Ethereum.

🚀 Why Gifts Are Exploding Right Now

1. *� Native monetization: Buy/sell in-app, no wallets required
2. *� Speculation: Some rare Gifts flipped for thousands — real FOMO energy
3. *� Virality: Gifts are beautiful, rare, and shareable. Perfect for flexing in group chats.
4. *� Web3 without the baggage: Telegram handles wallets, UX, and fees — users just tap and collect

🧭 Where to Buy, Sell, or Trade Telegram Gifts

1. Telegram Marketplace (in-app) Browse, buy, sell using Stars. Easiest entry point.
2. Fragment (blockchain marketplace) Mint Gifts as NFTs, sell to crypto collectors. Requires KYC and wallet.
3. Tonnel Telegram Bot Advanced mini-app for traders. All inside Telegram. Just connect and flip.

⚠️ Warning: Don’t trade outside official platforms. Scams are real.

📤 How to Send a Telegram Gift (Step-by-Step)

1. Open the chat
2. Tap the user’s profile
3. Tap the three-dot menu
4. Select Send a Gift
5. Pick one, add a note (optional), and send

💡 You can choose to stay anonymous — the recipient sees your name privately.

📱 More Than Gimmicks — Telegram Is Building Web3 Social

Telegram Gifts started fun. Now they’re art, money, status, and code — all in one.

And they’re part of something bigger:

• ⭐ Telegram Stars
• 🧩 Mini-apps
• 🔁 Fragment marketplace
• 🔐 Wallet integrations

Telegram is succeeding where Meta and Twitter failed: making Web3 social, accessible, and fun.

If 2021 was for NFTs, and 2022 was for DeFi, then 2025 is for Telegram — and it’s happening inside your chats.

⚡ TL;DR

🎁 Telegram Gifts are animated collectibles you can send, pin, upgrade, trade — or mint as NFTs 🧩 Two types: standard and collectible 🛒 Marketplace launched May 2025 — triggered 3.5M+ in volume 🔗 Gifts run on TON, now the #2 NFT blockchain by volume 📈 Why they’re booming: speculation, social virality, seamless UX 📱 Telegram is quietly becoming the first real Web3-native social platform

Stickers died. Gifts are the future.