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The CEO of Telegram Reveals Plans to Turn Emojis and Stickers into Tradeable Digital Assets

The CEO of Telegram outlines intentions to convert emojis and stickers into NFTs on the TON blockchain.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced plans to use The Open Network (TON) blockchain to turn stickers and emoticons into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) during the Token2049 event in Dubai.

Users can now possess and profit from these digital goods thanks to this breakthrough.

Durov emphasized Telegram’s blockchain experience, which has proven effective. One example of this was the tokenization of usernames, which led to $350 million in sales and allowed producers to keep 95% of the profits.

He highlighted the possibility of NFTs included into regular communication going viral, citing the viral success of a “smoking duck” sticker as an example.

Durov wants to turn emojis into meme currencies by tokenizing them as well as maybe entire collections of stickers and emojis. He pointed out that stickers are popular and have the potential to be profitable because they are shared over 700 billion times a month on Telegram.

The CEO clarified that managing the enormous volume of transactions needed by this initiative depends on the TON blockchain’s scalability.

He also talked about the decentralized nature of Telegram, which includes ad revenue sharing, in which channels get paid 50% of the money, and an upcoming model that would offer creators 70% of tip earnings.

By encouraging a more decentralized strategy that helps content creators, Telegram is pushing the limits of how digital assets are used and valued.

April 2024, Cryptoniteuae

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Vaibhavv Ali
Vaibhavv Ali

Vaibhavv Ali is the founder and editor of Cryptonite (cryptonite.ae), an independent digital-asset news and analysis publication with a UAE focus. He covers virtual-asset regulation — VARA, ADGM and the UAE Central Bank — alongside real-world-asset tokenization, stablecoins and agentic AI in finance. Every Cryptonite article is human-edited and its sources are linked. He is also a celebrated speaker and host.

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