Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )

By Wenser ( @wenser 2010 )

Editor's Note: Since the instant success of DOGS last year, the TON ecosystem has attracted considerable attention in the crypto market. However, due to its relatively closed ecosystem, declining token prices, and a dizzying array of hot topics, the TON ecosystem has gradually become marginalized. Despite this environment, a number of projects within the TON ecosystem continue to thrive, with Sticker Pack, a unique emoji market within the TON ecosystem, showing particular success.

At the Token 2049 conference in Singapore in October, we had the opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with the two European founders of Sticker Pack, offering insights into the unique TON ecosystem, a unique business model and "IP gold mine" that spans both Web2 and Web3 markets. The following content is compiled from this interview, with some information adjusted for clarity and length. The questioner was Wenser, a reporter from Odaily Planet Daily; the respondents were the founding team of the Sticker Pack project.

Q1: Could you briefly introduce the project positioning and core functions of Sticker Pack?

A: Yes, Sticker Pack is an emoji platform we built on Telegram. It primarily allows users to create and trade digital collectibles (emojis). These emojis are tokenized on the TON chain and can also be used directly within Telegram.

Public information shows that Line Messenger has generated significant revenue simply from selling sticker packs (Odaily Planet Daily Note: Line attracted over 270,000 users from 145 countries and regions to join the Line Creators Market within seven months of 2023, generating 1.8 billion yuan (approximately $260 million) in related revenue in 2018 alone). The sticker pack market is massive and has enormous potential, which is why we chose to build our project on Telegram. Sticker Pack is the first and currently the largest sticker pack project in the Telegram ecosystem. We have partnered with many well-known IPs from both Web3 and Web2, opening up a new market segment.

Compared to traditional NFTs, Sticker Pack emojis have the following value:

• Everyday use value: Most traditional NFTs just sit in your wallet and collect dust, but Sticker Pack emoticons can be used and interacted with in daily chats;
• Social display value: Unlike traditional NFTs, users can show their unique emoticons (with unique numbers and different images) to friends or others anytime, anywhere;
• Open trading value: Sometimes some emojis have room for appreciation; this is an open secondary market where people can buy and sell at any time.

It can be said that Sticker Pack's emoticon business is a market product that takes into account both Web2 Internet users and Web3 crypto market users. It combines the characteristics of multiple products such as digital collections, NFTs, emoticons, and has unique usage scenarios and transaction value.

Q2: What is your business model? Is it part of the creator economy?

A: Yes, this is indeed a form of the Creator Economy model. Here’s how it works:

Current Mode:

• Well-known IP projects such as Pudgy Penguins, BAYC (Bored Ape), and Doodles will come to us to cooperate in launching IP emoticon packages;
• We evaluate proposals and help them tokenize their IP;
• The creator owns the corresponding IP and therefore receives the vast majority of royalties and primary sales revenue;
• We retain a small portion of primary sales revenue and secondary market transaction fees.

In the future, we plan to expand Sticker Pack's business scope and business model in the following aspects:

• First, Sticker Pack will be an open platform for all creators worldwide;
• Secondly, whether it is a niche author, niche creator or a well-known brand or IP, they can use our platform to upload content and attract fans to buy emoticons;
• It’s worth noting that Telegram’s 1 billion users are an excellent channel for meme creators and IP owners to generate revenue;
• Finally, creators have full authority over the release, creative production, and brand marketing of emoticons, and the vast majority of the revenue belongs to them.

Sticker Pack is not only a platform for creating, publishing and trading emoticons, but will also grow into an "IP super dream factory".

Q3: Are you focused solely on the TON ecosystem? Do you have plans to expand into other blockchain ecosystems?

A: Yes, for us in the early stages of the project, focus is the only way out. We chose the TON ecosystem for the following reasons:

• First, the TON ecosystem is closely connected to the super app Telegram, which has a strong user base.
• Secondly, Telegram is currently the only communication application integrated with blockchain , which is extremely convenient;
• Finally, Sticker Pack’s emoticons exist on the TON chain and can be easily integrated into Telegram;

All in all, the TON ecosystem is the best choice now, the market is there, so we chose it.

We are open to future development. Perhaps emojis will be transferred across chains to other ecosystems in the form of digital collections, but currently TON and Telegram are our base.

In addition, there are some interesting phenomena worth sharing with you:

• Many non-TON ecosystem projects (such as Azuki, Doodles, BAYC, and Pudgy Penguins) are exploring various aspects of the TON ecosystem. (Odaily Planet Daily Note: Pudgy Penguins previously launched a TON ecosystem mini-game.)
• As part of their business exploration, many projects consider emojis as one of the key pillars for expansion on Telegram and TON;

Wenser: I have to say, collaborating with these well-known NFT projects reminds me of Sofamon , the emoji project from the Base ecosystem. Despite a period of hype, the project has not appeared in the public eye for a long time. For a crypto project, business expansion is undoubtedly very necessary.

Q4: Could you share some key operational data about the current project, such as user scale and transaction volume?

A: Of course. We've intentionally limited the number of emoji packs to prevent overabundance. Therefore, each individual emoji pack has a certain degree of scarcity by default.

Dune data panel information, Sticker Pack strictly controls the number of emoji series

In terms of transaction data, according to the Dune data panel :

• The overall market total transaction volume is currently approximately $10.8 million;
• The average daily trading volume is approximately $200,000;
• Peak daily trading volume is close to $1 million ( usually when well-known IP memes are released);
• Driven by the sales in the primary market, the trading volume in the secondary market will also see a substantial increase.

High-price transaction cases:

• Previously, an extremely rare meme was sold for about $25,000 ;
• Some rare, numbered emoticon packs or emoticon packs with hidden attributes (the quantity is usually limited to dozens or hundreds) can often be sold at extremely high prices, bringing considerable income to the creators or IP owners.

It's worth noting that the Sticker Pack platform officially launched at the end of December 2024, having been operational for less than a year. We're proud of our progress so far, as this vibrant market for sticker creation and trading holds enormous growth potential. We've witnessed this growth firsthand, not just speculative figures.

Q5: Do you have plans to issue tokens? Can different creators issue tokens on your platform?

A: Regarding project tokens, Sticker Pack has no plans to issue them. In fact, we position ourselves as focusing on building some form of Launchpad distribution platform.

There's already a demand for custom tools and emoji staking in the market, and some secondary market trading platforms within our ecosystem are also introducing emoji staking features. While we didn't build these platforms ourselves, we're excited to see the ecosystem thrive alongside us.

Currently, the Sticker Pack platform is mainly operated by our team. We screen high-quality projects, determine the project IP release details and provide marketing support.

In the future, we plan to build a Launchpad platform. This will be a self-service platform open to creators , with the majority of revenue going to creators; creators can freely decide on matters such as meme release, creative production, and brand marketing.

Sticker Pack official website interface

Q6: How do creators, project owners, and users gain benefits or rewards from your projects?

A: Generally speaking, our workflow is as follows:

Step 1: Project Inquiry. Projects or IP owners contact us via a web form or in person. The Sticker Pack team will first assess the IP's potential on the Telegram platform, such as whether the IP has a significant fan base and whether the platform's existing audience is willing to purchase stickers related to the IP. We then work together to determine sticker supply and pricing. IP owners can choose to design their own stickers, or the Sticker Pack team can provide assistance or support.

Step 2: Release and sell. Stickers are published on the open platform within the Telegram app. Previously, the primary payment method was Telegram Stars, but now all payments are made in TON tokens. Typically, many items sell out within minutes. After the sale is complete, the creator receives a corresponding income incentive.

Step 3: Exclusive Payment Method Explanation. Due to the exclusive partnership agreement between TON and Telegram, other blockchains cannot be used for payments or other on-chain operations within Telegram. The TON ecosystem is exclusive to the Telegram platform , which is a key reason why we haven't yet expanded to other blockchain ecosystems. If the TON ecosystem wishes to change this, we will need to evaluate the future development of the relationship between Telegram and the TON ecosystem. Changing this status quo may take some time.

For us, sticker packs are more than just a symbol or a feature of the Telegram platform. They are also the medium and optimal tool for the broader trend of digital asset tokenization within Telegram and the TON ecosystem. With the Sticker Pack platform and various sticker packs, Telegram users can truly own their own digital art assets, while creators and IP owners can receive corresponding financial rewards. The Sticker Pack platform will also contribute to the development of the TON ecosystem and the Telegram platform. This is a win-win for all parties.

In the future, Sticker Pack will continue to develop its project business and cooperate with more traditional well-known IP operating companies to expand its business territory, allowing more users to interact with their favorite IPs through Telegram platform emoticons and enjoy the social value, collection value and economic value brought by it.