Telegram gifts in December 2025: why "easy money" has ended

Earning from new gifts in Telegram by December 2025 has become noticeably harder. The market has grown and become competitive: there are more offers, fewer secondary market buyers, and fast deals often go to those with experience and speed. Below are the main reasons why new drops often don't bring expected profits, and how to soberly assess risks before buying.

What to understand about Telegram gifts in 2025

Telegram gifts can be not only "decor" but also collectible: they can be forwarded or transferred, and some mechanics are linked to the TON blockchain. Telegram officially wrote about collectible gifts in the early 2025 update.

Telegram also describes the technical mechanics of gifts and conversion to Stars in the API documentation: a gift can be converted to Stars, but this destroys the gift.

Why new gifts often no longer bring profit

1) Market saturation: rarity spreads out, liquidity falls

When more collections appear, money and attention from buyers is distributed among more options. The result is simple:

• it's harder to "catch" massive demand specifically for your gift;
• more positions hang without buyers;
• resale takes more time and often goes with a discount.

I don't know the exact "how many drops" figure — Telegram doesn't have a single public official calendar of releases. Therefore, the correct wording is: the assortment and number of collectible gifts has noticeably increased, which is why rarity has stopped being an automatic advantage.

2) Speed competition: it's getting harder for ordinary users to take "best instances"

On release days of scarce digital items, almost always appear:

• players who react faster (including through automation);
• resellers who take the most "tasty" options in the first minutes.

I cannot confirm the claim "whales control up to 80% of supply" — there is no such universal data in open official sources. It's more correct to say: large holders can noticeably influence price in certain series, but the degree of control depends on the specific collection.

3) Conversion to Stars — not a way to make money (usually it's an exit with loss)

The key moment that breaks expectations for beginners: gift conversion to Stars does not equal full cost refund.

In Telegram's official documentation it's stated directly:

• convert_stars will be less than the Stars purchase price (stars).
• convert_stars can equal stars only if the gift was purchased with "recently purchased Stars", otherwise — less.

Therefore "bought → converted → profited" doesn't work by mechanics. Plus a psychological trap appears: a person sees the nominal value, but the real "exit price" is lower.

About the "85%" fixed conversion rate I cannot say — it's not given as a constant rule in Telegram's official documentation. If somewhere in the interface or translations "85%" pops up, without reference to the official specification, it cannot be considered a universal financial condition.

4) Speculative wave deflation: there are fewer buyers "at the end of the chain"

Speculative markets grow as long as there are new buyers. When demand slows down:

• part of gifts stop growing in price;
• resales go worse;
• "quick flip" turns into waiting or selling at a loss.

The example "X grew from $30 to $1000" I won't confirm — I don't know about which specific sales and what sample it is. More correct: in certain series and certain rare instances, there are indeed sharp price movements, but this is not the norm for every new drop.

Where are gifts usually sold and why it matters

If considering gifts as trading, you critically need to look at secondary liquidity and transaction history. On the TON market, one of the most famous NFT marketplaces — Getgems.

Checklist before buying (to not buy illiquid)

1. Why are you buying?
   • "For profile/collection" — ok.
   • "For profit" — only if ready for risks and competition.
2. Is there real demand, not just hype? "For the soul" demand is usually more stable than "buy because it grows".
3. Exit plan:
   • understand that conversion to Stars may be with discount;
   • decide in advance where and to whom you'll sell (inside Telegram or on marketplace).
4. Risk management: don't go in with an amount you won't survive losing calmly.

Conclusion

New gifts in Telegram in December 2025 often don't bring money because the market has become dense: more collections, higher competition, and "exit to Stars" by mechanics usually worse than nominal.

If you're not professionally trading and not ready for volatility, then buying "for profit" really looks like a lottery, not a stable way to earn money.