- CEO Pavel Durov announces the feature’s availability in Telegram’s latest update, with NFT functionality coming later this year.
- Users can display received gifts on profiles or sell them for “stars” to buy other gifts or app features.
Telegram has introduced a new feature called “Gifts” in its latest app update, allowing users to send virtual gifts that can soon be exchanged for unique NFTs based on the TON network.
Announced by Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, on October 5 via his messaging channel, this feature is already available, though the NFT exchange capability will be activated later in the year.
The “Gifts” function enables users to either showcase the gifts on their profiles or sell them for “stars,” which can be used to purchase other gifts or functionalities within the app. Once the NFT functionality is launched, users will have the ability to auction or trade these gifts outside the Telegram app on any exchange or platform that supports TON.
For those interested in using this feature, they can simply visit a contact’s profile on Telegram, select the Gifts tab, and browse through the available marketplace of gifts. This marketplace is designed to enhance user interaction within the app by integrating a digital economy aspect where gifts can serve as both social tokens and potential investment assets.
This development comes during a significant downturn in the NFT market, which has seen its worst slump since February 2022. Currently, daily trading volumes of NFTs do not exceed $30 million, a stark contrast to the $1.9 billion daily in February 2022. The market capitalization now stands at approximately $7.5 billion, far below its peak of $42 billion in November 2023, according to data from OKX.
Despite the market challenges, innovations like the Ordinals protocol—an NFT creation tool on Bitcoin—have breathed some life into the sector earlier in 2023, showing that there remains interest and potential growth in the NFT market.
Telegram’s integration of NFTs into its platform represents an effort to innovate and adapt to current digital trends, potentially providing a new utility for the platform’s users and a fresh avenue for NFT enthusiasts to engage with digital assets, even amidst a broader market downturn.
The current price of Toncoin (TON) against Tether (USDT) is 5.312 USDT, up 1.47% today. Over the past 7 days, TON has fallen by 9.77%, while over the past month it has risen by 10.37%. Since the beginning of the year, it has seen an impressive growth of 128.49%. The price range for the day has been between 5.176 and 5.335 USDT.
