Telegram Stars
Telegram's in-app currency. Players buy Stars with fiat through the Telegram client; studios receive Stars revenue net of platform share.
Telegram Stars are Telegram's universal in-app currency for digital goods. Users top up with fiat (Apple Pay, Google Pay, card) inside Telegram. Studios accept Stars for in-game purchases through the Telegram Bot Payments API. Telegram pays out Stars revenue to the studio in fiat or TON, net of a platform share.
Stars solve a specific Telegram problem: Apple's and Google's app-store rules forbid alternative payment systems for digital goods inside iOS and Android Telegram. Stars is the native rail that complies with both stores while still letting studios monetize. The tradeoff is platform share on top of the Apple-Google cut.
Studios shipping to Telegram typically wire both Stars (for digital goods inside the Telegram app) and TON wallet integration (for non-IAP transactions outside the app-store rules).