Administrators of Ashoo, described by Russian investigative media as the largest escort platform in the country, have announced plans to launch their own line of NFT-style digital gifts on Telegram—mirroring a scheme previously promoted by UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and allegedly supported by Telegram founder Pavel Durov.
According to journalists covering the story, Ashoo’s administrators publicly encouraged users to engage with the upcoming drop and even urged Durov to amplify their announcement. “We’ll suggest to Pavel Valerievich now: put stars under the post, because he has paid private messages,” one admin wrote, referring to Telegram’s “Stars,” the internal currency used for digital purchases. By the time of the post, Ashoo’s followers had already contributed 4.8K Stars, indicating strong engagement from the platform’s audience.
The development has sparked questions about what an escort service might include in a collectible gift pack intended to sit alongside Telegram’s growing catalog of digital items. Unlike Nurmagomedov’s papakha-themed pack or the popular Pepe-inspired stickers, Ashoo’s collection may feature 18+ imagery, potentially placing Telegram in the middle of yet another controversy over adult content and monetization.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of an earlier scandal involving Nurmagomedov himself. The UFC star was accused in Russia of profiting off fans by selling “digital dummies” on Telegram valued at more than 350 million rubles (roughly $4 million). The athlete later deleted all posts related to the sale and removed mentions of Telegram entirely. His longtime rival Conor McGregor publicly criticized him as well, accusing Nurmagomedov of leveraging his father’s name and Dagestani cultural symbols to mislead supporters.
With an escort portal now attempting to replicate the same revenue model, analysts note that Telegram’s rapidly expanding marketplace for digital collectibles appears increasingly unregulated and vulnerable to exploitation. The perceived involvement or tacit approval of Durov continues to attract scrutiny as more controversial actors attempt to profit from the platform’s monetization tools.
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If Ashoo proceeds with its NFT gift launch, it could mark the first instance of an adult-oriented business openly using Telegram’s new financial ecosystem—a move that raises both legal and reputational implications for the messenger’s global user base of more than 900 million people.
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