The best user experience can create the greatest value for users.
Author: Howard
Translation: Shenchao TechFlow
As a user who still holds Azuki (@Azuki) NFTs (wallet address "howard-peng.eth") and has been deeply involved in the TON blockchain (@TON_blockchain) for over two and a half years, while also working at @Binance for three years, I feel I can quickly share some thoughts on this topic.
I want to explore this issue from two perspectives:
"Content is king, distribution is queen" — user-centered.
The best user experience can create the greatest value for users.
First — "Distribution is important"
Good distribution channels often lead to better (even the best) user experiences. I still remember in 2021, when I shared my NFTs with my "Web2" friends, they asked me, "Why not just copy someone else's NFT image instead of spending money to buy it?"
At that moment, I felt very frustrated and even speechless. I could only say, "No, it's different! It's in my crypto wallet, look!"
But they didn't care at all.
We all remember how the NFT craze of 2021 ended in a painful way.
Maybe I'll keep my Azuki for my son.
My first point: Why are Telegram Gifts different for me?
"It proves ownership in a simpler and easier way."
This is my initial response to the questions you raised. I believe the past NFT experience does not apply here.
(By the way, check out my Gifts 3)
You can check it out here:
https://t.me/nft/PlushPepe-279
Remember the first sentence I started with? Did you check if I really own Azuki?
I guess you didn't.
Because you need my wallet address, and even if I have an ENS domain name (which I do), you still can't easily access it on any website unless there is hyperlink support like Etherscan.io, and you also have to check if my ENS is renewed?
It's so frustrating. I hate it.
I hate it because in every Web3 event, those annoying check-in processes drive me crazy; I also hate it because the experience is so fragmented when showcasing my social attributes and NFTs.
I also hate my Azuki, not only because its dollar value has decreased, but also because even though I've bought it, I still can't easily showcase it! (@Zagabond)
Based on these real pain points we've experienced, I think we should call them "Telegram Gifts" instead of simply "NFTs."
Why?
Because this leads to my second point: Rethinking from Telegram's perspective — how do we provide the best user experience?
So, the second emphasis:
The best user experience can create the greatest value for users.
But the best user experience is not on-chain wallets, MetaMask, Phantom, Rabbit, or other similar products. Sorry, that's the fact — just look at the efforts Binance and OKX have made in the past few years to solve this problem.
That's why you need to shift your perspective.
From Telegram's perspective (or more precisely, from its sole product manager Pavel Durov's (@durov) perspective), user experience is undoubtedly a top priority.
This priority forces you to rethink and adapt to a series of constraints: from the TON blockchain being the only chain for Mini-Apps (@tappscenter) to the birth of Telegram Stars due to Apple’s (@AppStore) policies (the backstory is long, so I won't elaborate).
This is also why I have been advocating the concept of "StarFi" for the past six months (or even longer):
https://x.com/0xHoward_Peng/status/1880314176712896785
https://x.com/0xHoward_Peng/status/1881114449723130250
(Gosh, explaining this historical context is really exhausting.)
In simple terms:
Ensuring that Telegram Messenger is not removed from the App Store is the current top priority.
Under such a premise, designing "digitized content" is undoubtedly a huge challenge.
This is also why the current Gifts model is crucial and simple enough:
Start with giving gifts (sending gifts to Telegram friends).
Optionally convert them into "unique assets like NFTs."
From a business and user experience perspective, this is almost the optimal solution.
I know you might say:
"But it doesn't have on-chain metadata."
"But it wasn't originally minted on the TON blockchain."
"But it's not fully decentralized."
But I want to say that actually delaying the minting process to the last step is a reasonable and elegant design — because it won't scare away most new users. (By the way, I believe you also know that NFTs like Azuki and Bored Ape also have centralized metadata, right?)
Another similar example is skins in CS:GO: Imagine how absurd and terrible the experience would be if users had to bind their bank accounts and set withdrawal passwords before purchasing skins!
As the former head of Asian developer relations at the TON Foundation, I have a deep understanding of the potential of the TON blockchain (both in terms of wallet user base and technical aspects). But after months of reflection, I gradually realized that building an ecosystem is not just about technical feasibility; more importantly, it is about bringing real value to users.
A purely EVM solution is not the only future, and a faster TPS EVM chain is not either. Why? Because users' motivations have not been truly ignited — there simply aren't enough "on-chain users" actively trading (or perhaps only some bots are in action?).
This leads to my second point, which requires deeper exploration — this is more of a business strategy than just a technical issue. After being deeply involved in this ecosystem for over two years, I find that superficial criticism of a platform with a billion users (@Telegram Gifts) is neither wise nor fair.
Ultimately, I think I should spend more time writing structured articles to elaborate on my vision for future directions — whether regarding Telegram Gifts themselves (why and how they appear in their current form) or about future opportunities we can explore. However, given the constraints of time and length, I need to carefully refine these ideas.
Given the TON/Telegram community's exposure on Crypto Twitter (CT) remains limited as always, here are some interesting community tools related to Telegram Gifts:
ZenithTO article: https://x.com/ZenithTON/status/1902405287228874896
Plush Pepe: https://plushpepe.com / @PlushPepeCom
Data sources:
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