Telegram Stars Disclaimer

This page explains what Telegram Stars are, how prizes paid in Stars convert to fiat currency, and the limits of what we can guarantee. Read this before purchasing any plan or expecting a Stars payout to translate cleanly into your local currency.

1. What Telegram Stars are

Telegram Stars (currency code: XTR) are an in-platform virtual currency operated by Telegram Messenger Inc. and its affiliated entities. Stars are used to pay for digital goods and services inside Telegram, including premium subscriptions, sticker packs, and apps such as ours.

Stars are not:

• Legal tender in any jurisdiction.
• A bank deposit or other regulated financial instrument.
• A cryptocurrency in the technical sense (Stars are an internal balance, not a token recorded on a public blockchain).
• FDIC-insured or otherwise guaranteed by any government.

2. How Stars convert to fiat

Telegram provides multiple pathways for converting Stars into other forms of value:

Spending Stars inside Telegram

You can use Stars to purchase any service that accepts them, including additional plans on our Service. This is the simplest path.

Withdrawing Stars to TON

In supported regions, Telegram allows certain account types (typically those with verified payouts enabled) to convert Stars to TON, Telegram's native cryptocurrency. From TON, you can convert to USDT or other tokens on third-party exchanges, and onward to local currency.

Conversion rate, eligibility, processing time, and fees are all controlled by Telegram and the third-party exchanges, not by us.

Manual USDT-TRC20 fallback (limited)

For winners in regions where TON liquidity is poor, we offer a manual USDT-TRC20 payout on request. This is reviewed case-by-case. The conversion rate used is the prevailing market rate at the time we initiate the payout, less a small processing fee that covers transaction costs. Contact [email protected] from a verified account to request manual fulfillment.

3. What you should NOT assume

• Do not assume a 1:1 rate. The Stars-to-USD rate fluctuates with the TON market price. The amount in USD you ultimately receive may be more or less than what the prize "looked worth" at the time it was won.
• Do not assume immediate withdrawal. Telegram's payout pipeline can take days or weeks, especially for new accounts. Manual USDT fulfillment can take 3–5 business days.
• Do not assume universal access. Some jurisdictions do not allow virtual-currency-to-fiat conversion at all. Some Telegram payout regions exclude users based on their phone-number country.
• Do not assume Telegram's policies are stable. Telegram has changed its Stars/TON policies in the past and may change them again. We cannot reverse those changes.

4. Tax responsibility

Any prize or commission you receive in Stars, and any subsequent conversion to fiat, may be taxable income in your jurisdiction. You are solely responsible for reporting and paying any applicable taxes. We do not provide tax advice. Consult a tax professional in your country.

For prizes exceeding 100,000 ⭐ in a calendar year, we may be required to collect tax-reporting information (name, country of residence, tax ID) before processing the payout. You will be notified if this applies to you.

5. Jurisdictions where the Service is restricted

The Service is not offered to residents of any jurisdiction in which skill-based gaming with virtual-currency prizes is prohibited, or which is subject to U.S., E.U., or U.N. sanctions. This includes, without limitation:

• Russia, Belarus, Crimea, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and territory occupied by Russia after February 2022.
• Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba.
• Any jurisdiction added to the OFAC SDN list after the effective date above.
• Any jurisdiction whose courts or regulators have specifically prohibited skill-based gaming with prizes (which may include certain U.S. states and certain Indian states — verify locally).

If you access the Service from a restricted jurisdiction, we will refund unused passes upon written request and terminate the account.

6. Our limits

We can guarantee the following:

• If you win a prize on our leaderboard, we will credit the Stars to your Telegram wallet within 72 hours.
• If you earn an affiliate commission, we will credit the Stars within 72 hours of the referred sale clearing.
• If our anti-cheat system flags your score in error, we will review the flag on request and pay the prize if the score is legitimate.

We cannot guarantee:

• The Stars-to-fiat rate you ultimately realize.
• The availability or speed of Telegram's Stars-to-TON conversion in your region.
• Continued operation of any third-party exchange or the TON network itself.
• That Telegram will not change its Stars policy in a way that affects payouts.

7. Risk acknowledgment

By using the Service and accepting Stars-denominated prizes or commissions, you acknowledge that you have read this disclaimer, understand the risks described, and accept them. If you are not comfortable with the inability to fully convert Stars to your local currency in your jurisdiction, do not use the Service.

8. Contact

For questions about Stars, payouts, or jurisdictional eligibility:

[email protected]