Telegram launches an ad revenue sharing system for channel owners in nearly 100 countries, with a 50/50 split with channel owners, paid out in toncoin
- Telegram is introducing ad revenue sharing and will pay out rewards using toncoin on the TON blockchain. — It will be splitting ad revenue 50:50 with channel owners.
Context & Ripple Effects
Telegram had already been extending TON from person-to-person transfers into commerce, including merchant payments through its Wallet. This move brings that blockchain rail into the platform’s core creator-advertising model rather than treating it as a separate payment feature.
The program also establishes a base for later creator monetization tools, such as paid channel content settled through Stars and convertible to Toncoin.
First-order effects
- Channel owners in the eligible markets gain a defined share of Telegram ad sales, while Telegram retains the other half and makes Toncoin the payout mechanism.
- TON becomes part of the compensation flow for creators whose channels carry Telegram advertising.
Second-order effects
- Creators and channel operators now have a direct financial reason to grow ad-suitable audiences on Telegram, increasing pressure on rival community platforms to improve revenue shares or payout access.
- Paying rewards in Toncoin links creator earnings to Telegram’s on-chain payment ecosystem, potentially increasing the utility of Wallet and TON-based conversion tools for recipients who want to use or exit those proceeds.
Third-order effects
- Telegram is moving toward a vertically integrated monetization stack in which distribution, advertising, creator payments, and blockchain settlement are connected inside one app.
- If creators adopt these tools, platform take rates and payout currency will become more important competitive levers; the trade-off is that token-denominated earnings add a layer of asset-price and conversion exposure to creator economics.
The trend: Messaging platforms are turning creator monetization into a native financial workflow, with blockchain rails increasingly used for settlement and adjacent commerce.