Pavel Durov Sends $12K Plush Pepe NFT to Telegram Designer as a Personal Gift

Telegram's founder Pavel Durov has once again made headlines in the TON ecosystem — this time by purchasing and gifting a rare digital collectible to one of his own team members. Durov acquired Plush Pepe #834 for 7,500 GRAM tokens on The Open Network blockchain, then transferred the NFT directly to Adler Toberg, a designer closely associated with Telegram's visual interface and its rapidly expanding gift system.

This marks Durov's third confirmed purchase of a TON-based collectible within a span of just over six months. His first Plush Pepe acquisition came in December 2025, followed by a Telegram Gift NFT purchase in January 2026. The pattern suggests that Durov's involvement in TON's digital asset space is far from coincidental — it reflects a consistent and deliberate personal commitment to the ecosystem Telegram is actively constructing.

At the current GRAM token price of $1.55, the 7,500 GRAM spent on Plush Pepe #834 translates to approximately $11,625 — making it a notable gesture by any measure. The acquired piece is the Donatello model, a variant with just 1% rarity in the collection. It features a Bell Pepper symbol (0.5% rarity) against a Navy Blue backdrop (2% rarity). Out of 2,861 Donatello editions produced, 2,825 have already been claimed by owners.

Plush Pepes serve as Telegram's flagship collectibles series, minted natively on The Open Network. These digital items have evolved well beyond simple profile ornaments. GOAT Gaming's Underground Pepe project, for instance, integrated Plush Pepes into an active gaming environment, transforming them into functional in-game assets supported by a dedicated rewards currency. The secondary market has also seen impressive activity — a Telegram username recently fetched 500,000 USDT in a TON-based NFT resale, underscoring the rising appetite for Telegram-native digital goods.

The broader TON infrastructure has kept pace with growing demand. A significant protocol upgrade boosted the network's throughput tenfold, achieving sub-second transaction finality and positioning TON as one of the faster blockchain environments available today.

The transfer to Adler Toberg drew attention almost immediately. The official TON Blockchain account on X had jokingly suggested — just before the transaction became public — that Durov should hand the NFT to a Telegram intern as a workplace perk. As it turned out, the reality wasn't far off. Toberg, who has publicly commented on the direction of Telegram's collectibles roadmap and the pacing of new gift launches, received the token directly from the CEO.

The move carries symbolic weight. Inside the Telegram ecosystem, NFT collectibles have gradually acquired social currency, functioning as markers of status and community belonging. When the platform's CEO personally gifts a high-value NFT to a team member, it reinforces that cultural dynamic and signals how seriously Telegram treats its on-chain layer.

Every blockchain transaction Durov makes as Telegram's CEO becomes a visible event across the network — and this one was no exception.

Meanwhile, the GRAM token itself underwent a significant rebrand this year. Previously known as Toncoin, it returned to the GRAM name following an overwhelming 81% governance vote — a nod to Telegram's original 2018 project whitepaper. The network has also broadened its reach through Apple Watch integration and a widening ecosystem push, signaling that TON's ambitions extend well beyond the crypto-native audience.