Within thirty minutes of launch, Snoop Dogg‘s digital collectible drop on Telegram generated $12 million in revenue—a figure that would make most traditional merchandise executives question their career choices while simultaneously validating the peculiar economics of celebrity-backed blockchain ventures.
The sale moved nearly one million NFTs through Telegram’s platform using its proprietary in-app currency, Telegram Stars, marking the messaging giant’s inaugural celebrity digital collectible experiment. The collection featured “Doggs” NFTs resembling Snoop’s likeness at 200 Stars each, while cigar-themed tokens commanded 1,000 Stars apiece and moved over 120,000 units.
Other collectibles—cars, swag bags, and animated tokens incorporating vintage rides, cartoon dogs, and cannabis-inspired artwork—each surpassed 250,000 units sold.
The diversified collection demonstrated remarkable breadth, with automotive and cannabis-themed digital assets achieving quarter-million unit sales across multiple categories.
This performance proves particularly significant given the broader NFT market‘s recent tribulations. Q1 2025 witnessed a 61% year-over-year decline in NFT sales, dropping from $4.1 billion to $1.5 billion, yet Telegram’s ecosystem appears insulated from this downturn. Daily NFT trading volumes on the platform exceed $8 million, while the TON NFT Gifts market capitalization reached $200 million by June 2025. The market engagement now includes more than 263,000 unique wallets participating in trading activities, indicating robust adoption across the platform’s user base.
The technical architecture reveals Telegram’s strategic positioning within the blockchain ecosystem. NFTs sold internally will mint on The Open Network (TON) blockchain within 21 days, when secondary market functionality launches simultaneously. This delayed gratification model—selling first, minting later—represents an intriguing departure from traditional NFT distribution mechanics.
Snoop Dogg’s promotional apparatus included a music video titled “Gifts” deployed to over 10 million YouTube subscribers, while Telegram notified its entire billion-user base about the drop. Such distribution reach dwarfs conventional NFT marketing channels, though whether this translates to sustained engagement remains uncertain.
The competitive implications extend beyond entertainment. Major projects including Pudgy Penguins, Doodles, and Moonbirds are reportedly preparing similar Telegram deployments, suggesting this platform may become the next battleground for digital collectible dominance. Beyond their function as animated profile flexes, these collectibles demonstrate the evolving utility of NFTs within integrated social platforms.
The intersection of celebrity culture and blockchain technology reflects broader trends in democratizing AI knowledge and digital asset accessibility, as platforms increasingly bridge the gap between mainstream entertainment and emerging technologies.
While Ethereum-based collections like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club maintain overall market leadership, Telegram’s integration represents a fundamental shift toward social media-native NFT experiences—assuming users can navigate the cognitive dissonance of purchasing digital cigars with cartoon currency.
