While the broader NFT market languished through a brutal 61% sales decline in Q1 2025—dropping from $4.1 billion to a mere $1.5 billion—Snoop Dogg managed to obliterate nearly every assumption about digital collectibles’ commercial viability by moving 996,000 animated NFTs on Telegram’s TON blockchain in thirty minutes flat.
The $12 million revenue haul represents one of the fastest NFT drops in Telegram’s history, a feat made particularly striking given the platform’s unconventional approach to digital asset distribution. Rather than traditional marketplace mechanics, Telegram’s ecosystem transforms NFTs into “digital gifts”—animated collectibles that function simultaneously as profile embellishments and convertible in-app currency called “Stars.”
This dual utility creates immediate social value while preserving speculative potential, a combination that apparently resonated with nearly a million buyers despite monthly NFT transaction volumes plummeting 55% industry-wide.
The collection itself reads like a carefully curated homage to Snoop Dogg‘s cultural iconography: vintage automobiles, swag bags, cartoon canines, and predictably, marijuana-themed objects. These animated assets serve as both tradeable commodities and social signaling mechanisms within Telegram’s integrated environment, where users can purchase, display, and exchange NFTs without platform-hopping—a friction reduction that traditional NFT marketplaces have struggled to achieve.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov positioned the platform as a nexus where “audience access meets blockchain innovation,” and the numbers suggest this wasn’t merely promotional hyperbole. The seamless integration of NFT functionality within Telegram’s existing social infrastructure eliminated many adoption barriers that have historically constrained digital collectible markets. The platform’s Collectible Gifts feature has now generated over $122 million in trading volume since launch, demonstrating sustained market engagement beyond individual celebrity drops.
The timing amplifies the achievement’s significance. Monthly NFT sales volume had contracted 41% recently, creating widespread speculation about the sector’s long-term viability. This success builds on Snoop Dogg’s established NFT credentials, including his Snoop Passport Series launched in June 2023 and earlier metaverse ventures.
Snoop Dogg’s multimedia promotional strategy—including a accompanying single titled “Gifts” with corresponding music video featuring the NFT collectibles—demonstrated how celebrity influence, when properly channeled through appropriate technological infrastructure, can resurrect seemingly dormant markets. Unlike traditional NFT launches that require creators to pay substantial gas fees during the minting process, Telegram’s integrated approach streamlined the entire transaction flow for both creators and buyers.
Telegram’s commitment to enabling blockchain minting and secondary market trading twenty-one days post-launch suggests this represents more than a singular celebrity cash grab. The move positions Telegram among platforms actively experimenting with blockchain-based digital asset economies, potentially establishing new paradigms for social media monetization.
