TON-based marketplace Getgems says Telegram-based NFTs focuses more on utility, boosting their mainstream appeal.
Telegram Gifts show positive momentum, hitting $1 million in pre-mint trading volume.
It has not been a rosy period for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a while, but TON-based marketplace Getgems remains unbothered. After what seemed to be a quiet year for NFTs in 2024, Getgems is still holding on to its potential, believing that the popularity of the instant messaging app Telegram can turn their fortune around.
This dwindling popularity of NFTs was recently covered by blockchain analytics platform DappRadar. According to the platform, NFTs recorded their worst year in about four, in terms of performance, last year. That is, as sales and trading volume dropped significantly.
Not only are digital collectibles a shadow of their former selves. NFT marketplaces have also been dealt a blow so much that projects like MakersPlace have recently had to shut down as a result of the persistent challenge being faced by the NFT market.
Getgems, Others Look Up to Telegram for the Adoption of NFTs
Despite the situation, it is interesting to know that some companies remain positive about the long-term prospects of NFTs. As earlier stated, Getgems believes that NFTs can be revived in 2025. However, its hopes rest majorly on Telegram’s user base of nearly a billion individuals and some of its tools.
Rather than focusing on speculative trading or gambling, the company says it hopes are high because it focuses on the practical utility of these NFTs. A company spokesperson was quoted as saying:
“While NFTs might have had a big moment in the past, they have never had the capacity for a seamless connection with mass users like Telegram has.”
For example, Telegram’s NFT-like features, such as Usernames (which provide ownership rights to digital identities) and Anonymous Numbers (representing accounts), have already provoked strong demand, with the two collections having generated a combined trading volume of approximately $480 million.
Telegram’s features are more. In October 2024, the platform introduced Telegram Gifts. At the time, the platform revealed plans to later allow these Gifts to be converted into NFTs.
Last week, the messaging app took it a step further by integrating Gifts into the TON blockchain.
Growing Interest?
It sure looks as though there is a growing interest in this new use case for NFTs. For context, users have acquired over 20 million Gifts in just a few months of launch.
Also, the idea of integrating Gifts into the TON blockchain is already showing positive results. Even before the NFTs officially went live onchain, pre-mint trading volumes had already hit $1 million, with a market capitalization of $10 million.
As far as Getgems is concerned, this is enough proof that Telegram-based NFTs have a lot of potential, and 2025 may just be the year that NFTs make a comeback with Telegram being an integral part of this revival.
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